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Johannesburg - The board of Portland Pretoria Cement [JSE:PPC] on Wednesday accused its former chief executive of making defamatory statements following his resignation, fuelling a public spat that has undermined investor confidence.
Former CEO Ketso Gordhan resigned from PPC in September over the board's refusal to back his decision to fire a senior executive. He later rescinded the decision but the board declined to reinstate him.
Gordhan told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday his exit could cost PPC a $200m loan from a development finance institution, which he did not name.
But the board on Wednesday said in a statement the assertion was "factually unfounded and damages the image of the company", adding that Gordhan's recent comments were "defamatory" and could be interpreted as "actions of a delinquent director".
It said it remained committed to appointing a new chief executive as a matter of urgency.
The cement company's board also said on Wednesday that one of the reasons Gordhan tried to fire a senior executive was because she had a bigger office than him, reported Sapa.
The board on Wednesday named the PPC senior executive as chief financial officer Tryphosa Ramano and said Gordhan gave the following reasons for wanting her fired:
- She had a bigger office than him.
- She had requested reserved parking, which was declined.
- She refused to participate in a voluntary salary sacrifice scheme, which Gordhan had initiated to bridge the wage gap between the highest and lowest paid worker.
- She was interrogating a loan agreement, which Gordhan had verbally agreed to with a potential funder.
- She had ill-treated an employee, who Gordhan had employed. This employee and her husband worked in the same department.
"The board was of the view that the reasons advanced by Mr Gordhan were not substantive and did not warrant the termination of the CFO," it said.
"The current board has the expertise to run the company, and has never faced criticism in this regard until accepting the resignation of the previous CEO."
The board said Gordhan was in breach of a separation agreement by
recently making "defamatory" remarks about the board in the media, and
was also in breach of an undertakings given by his lawyers, Harris Nupen
Molebatsi Inc.
"The
board had previously indicated to his lawyers that if Mr Gordhan
continues to ignore the terms of his separation agreement, and continues
to make disparaging comments about the board, the executives and the
company, the board will be forced to place into the public domain, the
embarrassing circumstances surrounding the reasons for his resignation."
Gordhan could not be immediately reached for comment.
- Reuters, Sapa
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