Econ Oil, a privately black women-owned business, is the latest entity to slam allegations made in former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter's book, “Truth to Power, My Three Years at Eskom“.
In a statement on Monday, Econ Oil said the book disseminated a combination of misrepresented facts and outright falsehoods about the company and its director, Nothemba Mlonzi.
“In De Ruyter’s ‘hagiography’, a chapter dedicated to Econ Oil is rife with unfounded, defamatory, and previously refuted accusations. For the past three years, Econ Oil has consistently debunked these allegations in public statements. De Ruyter’s decision to overlook these records while repeating discredited claims is troubling and puzzling,” Mlonzi said.
She said for the past three years, the company had debunked allegations spearheaded by De Ruyter.
Mlonzi accused De Ruyter of consistently vilifiying Econ Oil without backing his allegations during his tenure at the helm of the country’s power utility.
“It’s worth noting that Econ Oil has never been under investigation for corruption or misconduct at Eskom or any other institution. Instead, we believe we’re being unjustly targeted by a system opposed to the success of a black-woman-owned energy company in a predominantly white industry,” Mlonzi said.
Referring to the Bowman’s Draft Report, Mlonzi said the report itself stated that it relied on one-sided information obtained verbally and from some Eskom executives and outside sources and that Bowmans themselves stated that their investigation was incomplete and did not adhere to South African or international auditing standards.
Mlonzi also disputed De Ruyter's assertion that Econ Oil was a middleman.
“This condescending attitude by De Ruyter exposes his deeply hidden racist attitude that reduces black companies to mere ‘middlemen’. We are an energy company with our own production infrastructure and fleet, not a logistics firm.
“We produce HFO for large boilers like those at Eskom, using our blending plants to customise the HFO to client specifications,” Mlonzi said.
Meanwhile, Eskom said it remained committed to keeping the lights on as allegations were made about maladministration and corruption at the state-owned utility, revealed in the former CEO’s book.
De Ruyter’s book speaks of his three years at the helm of Eskom, where he discovered how the utility “was crippled by corruption on a staggering scale”.
Penguin Random House South Africa’s website said the book details how De Ruyter took over as Eskom CEO in 2020, and realised why it was considered the “toughest job in South Africa”.
In a post shared on the publisher’s website, it states: “In his explosive memoir, ‘Truth to Power’, De Ruyter candidly reflects on his three years at the power utility, his successes and failures; his reasons for leaving; and his hopes for the future. As someone who is not beholden to the governing party, he is uniquely placed to speak truth to power.”