Now this is interesting...
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-11-19-new-eskom-ceo-is-no-stranger-to-turnaround-projects/I am frankly surprised, because I happen to know De Ruyter personally (we were school mates and have been friends ever since), and as far as I know, he's a veritably foam-at-the-mouth opponent of appointments based on political loyalty. And surely those who appointed him know this? He's going to clean Eskom out, from top to bottom, and it wouldn't surprise me if he fired a third or more of the company's current employees (apparently there are whole legions of "employees" who are on the payroll but don't actually have job descriptions or do much of anything, not to mention the state capturers and Gupta operatives).
He's hugely competent, and as the article notes, there is not the slightest whiff of scandal about him. I have to wonder whether he bit off more than he can chew here. But I can tell you this: if
he can't turn Eskom around, no one can. I very much fear that he will end up having his hands tied by the politicians and unions, in which case he will resign, and quite possibly emigrate to boot (his parents were Dutch, and he has the right to Dutch citizenship).
Still, for the first time in a long time I see a sign of hope. Perhaps the government, or at least some in it, are beginning to realize that you cannot legislate reality out of existence, and that we need drastic action here.
It's actually funny: my landlady and I have long thought that they should appoint some white, Afrikaans, conservative baas at Eskom, and give him free reins to clean the place up. It appears that this is exactly what they have now done. It remains to be seen whether he'll actually have free reins, mind you...