HIS BACKGROUND

Marokane holds a BSc in chemical engineering from the University of Cape Town and a master’s in petroleum engineering from the University of London. He also has an MBA from UCT.

But the thing that really impressed the Eskom board is his experience with what they refer to as “distressed organisations with visible and pressurised turnaround mandates”.

He started his management career with an 11-year stint at state-owned petroleum company PetroSA, where he rose up the ranks to become vice president of the operations division.

From 2009 Marokane worked at Eskom in several capacities, including managing director of the group capital division, one of the utility’s most important portfolios which saw him dealing with major projects such as the construction of the Kusile and Medupi power stations.

He was suspended in 2015 after he and other senior executives took “an ethical stand” against corruption at the parastatal.

At the Zondo Commission of Inquiry it emerged that then-president Jacob Zuma wanted Marokane and the other managers out.

“The suspension of these executives was a crucial step to pave the way for the capture of Eskom by the Guptas,” Justice Raymond Zondo wrote in his final report.

Although an internal Eskom inquiry eventually found there was no credible reason for Marokane’s suspension, he felt his relationship with the board was broken. He accepted a R6 million settlement and left the company.

In 2019 he was appointed executive director at TongaatHullett following an accounting scandal in which senior executives were accused of misleading shareholders about company profits for years.

Marokane was promoted to acting CEO in February last year just as the company, which is R7 billion in debt, entered business rescue.

Although he’s been at the helm for a short time, Tongaat has credited him with playing a key role in leading the company’s “turnaround journey”.

He’s currently finalising his resignation and is expected to join Eskom before the end of March.