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Johannesburg - Two of the new ministers in the economic cluster – Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba and Communications Minister Roy Padayachie – have a lot of work waiting in their in-trays.
At the top of their “to do” lists will be the task of filling the vacant director-general positions in their respective departments. Gigaba has the added task of finding a chief executive for Transnet, the transport and logistics parastatal.
Observers say Gigaba may take his cue from the ANC’s deployment committee, which could advise him on who to appoint, or he could consider recommendations from Transnet’s board.
A third option for Gigaba would be to take direction from the presidential review committee which was set up by President Jacob Zuma earlier this year to offer guidance on how 300 state-owned enterprises and agencies could contribute more to economic growth and -development.
Gigaba was quoted by the Mail & Guardian newspaper as saying that filling the post was the “number one” priority.
There is talk that Siyabonga Gama, a former senior Transnet executive, might return to take up the role of CEO.
Gama was fired in June for misconduct related to awarding a security tender to a company owned by former communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda’s family and an “irretrievable breakdown” in his relationship with Transnet. He is appealing against the axing.
But a member of Zuma’s state-owned enterprises review committee said this was unlikely.
“Gama’s name has been tarnished and if he were appointed that would undermine Zuma’s -efforts to clean up the government,” the member said.
Gama’s lawyer, Themba Langa, confirmed that his client was appealing against his dismissal.
“If he wins he will go back to his position,” Langa said.
Transnet has had a leadership vacuum since March 2008, when Maria Ramos left to join banking giant Absa Group [JSE:ASA].
Chris Wells, the current caretaker successor, announced this week that he was leaving the parastatal, just a day after former public enterprises minister Barbara Hogan was swept out of office by Zuma in a Cabinet reshuffle.
Appointment of a Transnet chief executive is significant because whoever gets the post will oversee the parastatal’s nearly R200bn of infrastructural spending over the next three years.
Padayachie has inherited a dysfunctional department from Nyanda, who axed director-general Mamodupi Mohlala in July after she accused him of attempting to interfere in the awarding of tenders. Several senior officials in the department have since left, including the chief operating officer.
“Padayachie’s appointment is going to restore confidence in the department because he has experience in the ICT industry,” said a former official in the department.
Padayachie is seen as having the capability to turn around the fortunes of the ailing department and ensuring that telecoms costs across the ICT sector are brought down and made affordable for consumers and businesses.
Padayachie’s headache starts with poorly performing and controversy-plagued entities such as the SABC, signal distributor Sentech and the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA (Usaasa).
He also has to speed up digital migration, which needs to be implemented before 2015.
Usaasa is tasked with promoting universal access by South Africans to telecoms services such as the internet and phones, but some observers say the organisation is failing to meet its mandate.
- City Press
For more business news, go to www.citypress.co.za.
At the top of their “to do” lists will be the task of filling the vacant director-general positions in their respective departments. Gigaba has the added task of finding a chief executive for Transnet, the transport and logistics parastatal.
Observers say Gigaba may take his cue from the ANC’s deployment committee, which could advise him on who to appoint, or he could consider recommendations from Transnet’s board.
A third option for Gigaba would be to take direction from the presidential review committee which was set up by President Jacob Zuma earlier this year to offer guidance on how 300 state-owned enterprises and agencies could contribute more to economic growth and -development.
Gigaba was quoted by the Mail & Guardian newspaper as saying that filling the post was the “number one” priority.
There is talk that Siyabonga Gama, a former senior Transnet executive, might return to take up the role of CEO.
Gama was fired in June for misconduct related to awarding a security tender to a company owned by former communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda’s family and an “irretrievable breakdown” in his relationship with Transnet. He is appealing against the axing.
But a member of Zuma’s state-owned enterprises review committee said this was unlikely.
“Gama’s name has been tarnished and if he were appointed that would undermine Zuma’s -efforts to clean up the government,” the member said.
Gama’s lawyer, Themba Langa, confirmed that his client was appealing against his dismissal.
“If he wins he will go back to his position,” Langa said.
Transnet has had a leadership vacuum since March 2008, when Maria Ramos left to join banking giant Absa Group [JSE:ASA].
Chris Wells, the current caretaker successor, announced this week that he was leaving the parastatal, just a day after former public enterprises minister Barbara Hogan was swept out of office by Zuma in a Cabinet reshuffle.
Appointment of a Transnet chief executive is significant because whoever gets the post will oversee the parastatal’s nearly R200bn of infrastructural spending over the next three years.
Padayachie has inherited a dysfunctional department from Nyanda, who axed director-general Mamodupi Mohlala in July after she accused him of attempting to interfere in the awarding of tenders. Several senior officials in the department have since left, including the chief operating officer.
“Padayachie’s appointment is going to restore confidence in the department because he has experience in the ICT industry,” said a former official in the department.
Padayachie is seen as having the capability to turn around the fortunes of the ailing department and ensuring that telecoms costs across the ICT sector are brought down and made affordable for consumers and businesses.
Padayachie’s headache starts with poorly performing and controversy-plagued entities such as the SABC, signal distributor Sentech and the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA (Usaasa).
He also has to speed up digital migration, which needs to be implemented before 2015.
Usaasa is tasked with promoting universal access by South Africans to telecoms services such as the internet and phones, but some observers say the organisation is failing to meet its mandate.
- City Press
For more business news, go to www.citypress.co.za.
