On the morning of 8 September (2022), I received a series of urgent WhatsApp messages from Ayanda Dlodlo. The former cabinet minister was now the bank’s executive director for Africa. She wanted to see me.
As minister of state security, Dlodlo had been a member of the panel that interviewed me for the Eskom job. She is a strong proponent of using clean coal to generate power. For many years, carbon emitters around the world have punted the alluring prospect of clean coal. Capturing carbon emissions, collecting