The man doing what Andre de Ruyter could not

Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati has praised current CEO Dan Marokane for his work in turning around the ailing utility, saying the chief executive does not get the acclaim he deserves and his efforts have been overlooked. 

Nyati said in a social media post that, had Andre de Ruyter turned Eskom around, he would have been widely praised by the country’s media and called ‘Mr Fix-It’.

In contrast, Marokane’s work in leading the utility’s operational improvements, which have translated into significantly reduced load-shedding, has gone under the radar. 

“Dan’s efforts are overlooked, attributing Eskom’s turnaround to the private sector or a miracle,” Nyati said in the social media post. 

Nyati and Marokane have both previously said the credit should go to Eskom’s head of generation, Bheki Nxumalo, for his work in driving the improved performance of the coal fleet. 

The chairman’s social media post comes after Nedbank released its latest Energy Tracker, which showed that the reduction in load-shedding can be largely attributed to a permanent decrease in demand created by the private sector’s investment in alternative energy sources. 

Nyati believes this view overlooks the work done by Eskom’s management team to improve the performance and reliability of its coal fleet. 

“When we look back over the past three years, there has been great work done at Eskom, and it has largely been done by the employees led by people like Bheki Nxumalo and power station managers,” Nyati told Newzroom Afrika. 

“Dan Marokane joined as CEO and has been great in ensuring that he orchestrated the turnaround strategy laid out by the board.” 

Nyati made it clear that these individuals came from within Eskom and have a deep understanding of how the utility operates within South Africa’s electricity sector. 

This gives them a natural advantage as they do not have to learn on the job. They can implement solutions and quickly identify what is going wrong. 

“We only see load-shedding as the public, but there are many other dimensions of this turnaround, including trying to address municipal debt and improve the culture at Eskom,” Nyati said. 

Eskom’s management team has also been hard at work implementing government reform to unbundle some of its operations and create a competitive electricity sector. 

“These are all big things that Dan and his leadership team have done. But, when you look around at the online media in South Africa, you are consistently finding that the work is being undermined,” Nyati said. 

“For me, I think that is unfair and is something that people like myself, as a board chair, need to step up and address.” 

The man with the toughest job in South Africa

Dan Marokane rose to become Eskom CEO after the utility suffered a period of immense leadership instability, with 15 CEOs, in various forms, occupying the position from 2007 to 2024. 

In contrast, between 1985 and 2007, Esom only had three CEOs – Ian McRae from 1985 to 1994, Allen Morgan from 1994 to 2000, and Thulani Gcabashe from 2000 to 2007.

The instability of Eskom’s leadership and the utility’s declining operational performance led to its CEO position being labelled the toughest job in the country. 

Eskom’s CEO currently reports to at least two government departments and has to deal with widespread corruption and crime, all while keeping the lights on. 

Marokane’s predecessor fell victim to the impossible nature of the task, describing the role as bruising, highly pressured, and extremely complex. 

“I would have liked to be seen as the knight on the white horse coming in and fixing all the problems. Clearly, this is impossible,” De Ruyter said.

Marokane inherited an Eskom on its knees, which experienced record levels of load-shedding in 2023 and needed a government bailout to survive. 

In the year before his appointment, South Africa suffered 205 days of load-shedding as Eskom’s coal-fired plants regularly broke down and the utility ran out of money to buy the diesel needed to supplement its capacity.

Marokane, a chemical engineer by training, has years of leadership experience in working at Eskom, serving as chairman of Eskom Enterprises and chief commercial and technology officer at a group level. 

Most notably, Marokane rose to become the group executive for capital, which very quickly turned into a target on his back.

According to the Zondo Commission, the plan to rid Eskom of Marokane and the other executives was hatched at the Durban residence of former president Jacob Zuma. 

Marokane battled to regain his position at Eskom but decided to leave when it became clear that his relationship with the board was broken beyond repair.

He then gained immense experience working on Tongaat Hullet’s business rescue as a member of its executive team. 

After PwC completed its probe into Tongaat’s finances, Marokane was appointed to the company’s board and eventually became acting CEO in February 2023. 

After less than a year as Tongaat’s acting CEO, Marokane was appointed to the top job at Eskom, where the utility was trying to regain the skills lost during state capture.

“Dan has in-depth knowledge of the Eskom environment. He leads from the front. He will hit the ground running. That is what Eskom and South Africa need right now,” Nyati said.

Eskom’s board appears to have been proven right in appointing Marokane to the CEO position, with the utility significantly improving its operational performance and substantially reducing load-shedding. 

The utility is also on track to post a R10 billion profit in the most recent financial year on the back of its improved operational performance.