Broadcast excerpt·SUN, 04 OCT 2026 · 11:47:16–11:49:46 SAST
A short excerpt captured live from Power FM. Watermarked for fair-dealing attribution, free to share.
As transcribed
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Most during my challenges at Eskom, you know, with State Capture. Very, very supportive as well on the leadership side. You know, in fact, I want us to go there. Nanto, you know, one of the things that we don't celebrate enough are people who stood up at a time that many feared to stand up. And you were one of those who wanted to be counted on state capture. Yeah. Do you want to?
Tell us what made you so courageous to say, I am not going to just lie down and let everybody just walk over me and do what they want with an institution I care about. In reverse, also looking at South Africa that you are dreaming of. What did it take for you to go there? Yeah. You know, firstly, I must say that Eskom was a very good organization.
When state capture happened, I had been with the company almost eight years. So I saw what the people had built. Very proud. You know, we had the Eskom Leadership Academy. Eskom was at that time being rated among the best by engineering students in all the top universities in South Africa. At some point, it was the number one top utility globally.
We went through that journey with Eskom at that time. It had brilliant people. Sadly, state capture happened with government interference at that time. And I think for me, when that happened, it was what do I believe in? What are the value systems that I was told that I will stand by?
It starts for me with that, that I think it wasn't something that I saw in textbooks. Yes, when you studying your, you, our, you know, in the accounting and auditing profession, we get taught about standards. But it was something that I grew up with, something that my father taught us. So it came from the roots. And there was no doubt in my mind what was the right thing to do, no matter what. One of my colleagues then,
Even before I assumed the role of finance director, because we pick out things from time to time when I was customer services exec, and I would say, no, we have to stop this, it can't be done, etc. And he would say to me, Boss, be careful, these people will kill you. And I said, no, only God will decide on my fate. That's what I used to say, you know, because God knows I'm doing the right thing. And there was never, ever any doubt in my mind what was the right thing.
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