Dan Marokane appointed as Eskom CEO

Dan Marokane, a former executive at Eskom, has been appointed as CEO of the troubled state-owned power company.

It was already speculated in the media on Thursday that Marokane was chosen for the job. His appointment was confirmed on Friday afternoon by public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan.

Marokane, who is now serving as interim CEO of the sugar company Tongaat Hulett - which has been in business rescue since October 2022 - will join Eskom “no later than March 31,” Gordhan said.

In a statement issued by Eskom on Friday Marokane was quoted saying he looked forward to working with the Eskom executive and board to “accelerate implementation of the generation recovery plan, the creation of transmission capacity as well as other critical Eskom priorities”.

According to the department of public enterprises (DPE) the advertisement for the post attracted 409 applications.

Eskom has been without a CEO since February, after the early departure of André de Ruyter.

Marokane, a chemical engineer with an MBA and more than 20 years senior leadership experience, was chosen for his “experience working in distressed organisations with visible and pressurised turnaround mandates”.

During his previous tenure at Eskom he served as a senior manager from 2010 to 2015, holding various positions including head of group capital.

Marokane was one of four Eskom senior managers suspended during the state capture period. According to the DPE he subsequently resigned and went into the private sector.

“Mandatory checks, which include criminal and credit checks, verification of identity, qualifications, directorships, and establishment of conflicts of interest were completed,” the DPE said.

Gordhan said Marokane will be able to lead Eskom through “a complex but exciting journey” including improving the performance of the generation fleet, implementing the Eskom just transition programme and concluding the restructuring of the utility into separate divisions for generations, transmission, and distribution.

Eskom chairperson Mteto Nyati said Marokane has experience in “managing complex strategic, operational and commercial turnaround across the private and public sectors”.

“He also has in-depth knowledge of the Eskom environment. He leads from the front. He will hit the ground running. That is what Eskom and SA need right now.”

“We are delighted to have him on board and are confident that he, the executive committee and the board will work well together in rebuilding an Eskom of tomorrow that is anchored on high performance culture,” said Nyati.

Marokane joins Eskom during one of the worst years the utility has ever had. The poor performance of the generation fleet resulted in SA experiencing more load-shedding than in the previous five years combined.

By the end of September Eskom has already shed 14,600 gigawatt hours of energy. This was more than the combined total of 12,400 gigawatt hours for the five years from 2018 to 2022.

* This story has been updated to include comment from Eskom’s board.

erasmusd@businesslive.co.za