Johannesburg - SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral)
engineering executive Koos Smit will act as its CEO when Nazir Alli leaves in
June, it said on Wednesday.
He would remain in the role while the board undertook the
recruitment process, said board chairman Tembakazi Mnyaka.
"He is an engineer of great experience and is widely
known in the industry for his contributions to the agency's successful
development and maintenance of South Africa's national road network.
"The board has every confidence that Mr Smit will
ensure that the daily operations of Sanral continue at the high level for which
the agency is known."
He said the board took note of speculation about Alli's
sudden resignation.
Media reports suggested he was the "fall guy" for
problems encountered in getting the public to accept the introduction of toll
roads in Gauteng.
These included a court interdict granted in favour of the
Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance to stop the start of electronic tolling.
Alli had not said why he was leaving in his resignation
letter, and Sanral "did not believe it necessary in the circumstances to
try to explore with him his personal deliberations and reflections", said
Mnyaka.
"We can be certain, however, that this was Mr Alli's
own choice. He was not asked to resign. In fact, in the recent performance
assessment of the CEO, the board assessed him as well above average in his
performance.
"It is widely acknowledged that Sanral's record of
delivery under Mr Alli has made it one of the best-performing state owned
enterprises for a number of years.
"Further, the agency has been independently named an employer of choice for two consecutive years. We believe this decision of a chief executive with a long record of service and achievement should be respected rather than interrogated," he said.