The state-owned electricity provider in South Africa, Eskom, said that its CEO, Andre de Ruyter, will resign from his position immediately. The choice was made, according to a statement from Eskom, during a special meeting between de Ruyter and the company’s board.
Although De Ruyter had already left the troubled utility in December, he had promised to continue working there until March 31 while it looked for a replacement. Eskom’s years-long struggles to meet South Africa’s demand for energy have left the public frustrated, hurt businesses, and prompted calls for resignations at the corporation.
The country is currently experiencing the worst degree of power outages ever. According to the South African government, it will take on more than half of Eskom’s 423 billion rand ($23 billion) debt over the next three years to help strengthen its balance sheet and operations and enable it to restructure.
