Govt denies reports over Transnet CEO

Pretoria - The new Transnet board appointed on Wednesday in a bid to place the parastatal on a "firmer footing", has at least three months to announce a chief executive officer.

The CEO position has been vacant since Maria Ramos stepped down last February to join Absa Group [JSE:ASA].

"By March 2011 we should have the group CEO, then after that we'll look at other vacant posts," Minister of Public Enterprise Malusi Gigaba told journalists in Pretoria.

He said he was being liberal with the mandate he was giving the new board of 15 - which resumes duty on December 13. Ideally, he would expect an announcement of a new CEO by January.

'We are quite aware of the fact that it might become an enormous exercise requiring a whole lot of work of searching and evaluating the potential candidate."

He denied as false reports of a shortlist and that former CEO of South Africa's Public Investment Corporation, Brian Molefe had been earmarked for the position of Transnet CEO.

"I would not have given the board any shortlist because I expect them to give me a shortlist. That's their responsibility," said Gigaba.

"I read about that speculation. I've also heard about many other names touted out there. People come to me for advice and I really appreciate it, but they've just been advising the wrong person."

On Tuesday, the New Age reported that Molefe would take over as CEO, without saying where it got the information.

Unfortunate delay

Transnet was on the verge of appointing BP executive Sipho Maseko as CEO when a storm broke out in the ANC after some cabinet ministers publicly stated that they wanted Transnet head of freight rail Siyabonga Gama -who was not even recommended by the board - to be appointed to the position.

As a result, Maseko later withdrew from the race only to see Gama being fired from Transent for misconduct.

Appointing the new board alone had taken the logistics company over a year. The board has been in an acting position since August last year, when its acting chair Fred Phaswana resigned. His position was taken over by Geoff Eviringham.

Acknowledging the delay as "unfortunate", Gigaba said he was confident that the appointment "places the company on a firmer footing to achieve its strategic mandate as set out by the state".

There were still quite a number of vacant posts to be filled at the Transnet national ports authority and Transnet freight rail, besides those of the CEO and chief financial officer. These would also fall on the shoulders of the new board.

Gigaba reserved one board vacancy for a ports specialist. He said this would be filled sometime next year. Cabinet had also agreed that more time was needed to identify the right person.

He said the board had the required skills and experience. It would be chaired by Mafika Mkwanazi, a member of the state-owned enterprises review committee and non-executive director of the South African Bureau of Standards.

Gigaba said the appointments brought some stability to its leadership, and allowed it to better focus on its core business.

The appointments were endorsed by Cabinet on Wednesday. The board members are: Mafika Mkwanazi (chairperson), Peter Malungani, Israel Skosana, Nazmeera Moola, Michele "Mike" Fannuchi, Doris Tshepe, Donald Mkhwanazi, Tembakazi Mnyaka, Ellen Tshabalala, Iqbal Sharma, Harry Gazendam and Professor Juergen Schrempp.

The board members retained from the outgoing board are: Peter Moyo, Nolwazi Gcaba and Nunu Ntshingila.

Mkwanazi who was present during Gigaba's announcement tin the Union Buildings, said after going through a thorough induction, their focus would indeed be bringing in the executives at Transnet.

Gigaba thanked outgoing members of the boarss, saying Transnet continued to post positive results and managed to forge ahead with its investment programme.

"This is testament to the calibre of leadership at the utility," he said.

The ANC on Wednesday congratulated newly appointed chairman Mkwanazi, and other directors.

"We have full confidence in Mkwanazi's leadership skills to steer Transnet in the right direction and in meeting the government's developmental agenda," ANC spokesman Brian Sokutu said in a statement.

"We are also happy that the Transnet board collective is representative of men and women who are seasoned business leaders with a track record in the public and private sector, something that will bring stability to the state-owned enterprise."