Durban — Energy company Econ Oil has accused former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter of disseminating a combination of misrepresented facts and outright falsehoods about the company and its director in his recently published book, Truth to Power, My Three Years at Eskom.
The company said it rejects misrepresentations in De Ruyter’s book, adding that it reasserts its “commitment to integrity and excellence”.
Econ Oil, a private black female-owned business and level 2 B-BBEE company, supplies a range of fuel oils to its clients in the automotive, energy generation, mining, tyre, milling and other industrial sectors.
The company offers services including petroleum blending and refining, laboratory testing, bulk storage, fuel distribution, pump and tank installation and provides renewable energy solutions.
The company’s director, Nothemba Mlonzi, wrote: “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.
“It has been more than three years since Econ Oil first found itself at the centre of false allegations spearheaded by De Ruyter.
“It is worth noting that Econ Oil has never been under investigation for corruption or misconduct at Eskom or any other institution. Instead, we believe we are being unjustly targeted by a system opposed to the success of a black-woman-owned energy company in a predominantly white industry.”
Elaborating, Mlonzi said to debunk the lies, they wanted to offer a detailed response to De Ruyter’s false claims in his book:
• Without any evidence to back his claims, De Ruyter leans on the self-discredited draft report by auditors to reiterate unproven allegations. The auditors themselves stated that their investigation was incomplete, and did not adhere to South African or international auditing standards. They also admitted that Econ Oil and those it made allegations against were not given a chance to respond, and the veracity of the information they used could not be guaranteed.
• The report said it relied on one-sided information obtained verbally and from some Eskom executives and outside sources.
Slating the book, Mlonzi said the sinister meetings at the coffee shop between the auditors and De Ruyter, as reported, to give him the uncorroborated and incomplete “report” with unverified claims exposed their sinister motives.
“De Ruyter’s false accusations, even when given the benefit of the doubt, remain far-fetched and untrue.
“To claim that Econ Oil colluded with a single manager to win bids is implausible,” Mlonzi said.
“Econ Oil has always upheld an ethical, professional and constructive relationship with its clients.”
Mlonzi added that De Ruyter’s plan had always been to use innuendo and conjecture to smear Econ Oil.
Econ Oil is an “energy company”, she said, and not a “middleman” as asserted by De Ruyter, calling it “misguided”.
“This condescending attitude by De Ruyter exposes his deeply hidden racist attitude that reduces black companies to merely ‘middlemen’, as the title of his chapter on Econ Oil says. Econ Oil has never been a ‘logistics company’, as he claims.
“We are an energy company with our own production infrastructure and fleet, not a logistics firm. Our production plants physically exist and are verifiable, which is why we could pass all technical requirements during tendering processes.”
Mlonzi said the claim that only oil majors or refineries could provide superior pricing or value was misleading.
“De Ruyter’s book and chapter on Econ Oil represents a calculated weaponisation of corruption narrative.
“We invite De Ruyter and Eskom to bring their evidence to court, where we are confident we can disprove their claims.
“His book and media smear campaigns are a deliberate strategy to economically cripple Econ Oil, as seen in the past three years.
“We refuse to be used as a scapegoat to distract from the failures of an incompetent individual who presided over the decline of a state-owned enterprise.
“We also remain resolute in defending our company and its director’s reputation, steadfastly committed to operational integrity, excellence and the continued delivery of exceptional service to our clients,” the statement said.
Econ Oil said it remained committed to its core values, which are dedication, honesty and delivery excellence, adding that no amount of “smear books” could derail it from that.
The Daily News called De Ruyter on his mobile number, which directed the reporter to leave a message, send him a text message, or contact his PA’s Joburg landline number.
On attempting to do this, the landline number gave a series of instructions, which all proved fruitless.
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Daily News