Court battle over CEO
MANGO: BLACK MANAGEMENT FORUM QUESTIONS LAWFULNESS OF PROCESS Gordhan ready to defend the decision to appoint Bezuidenhout in court.
The Black Management Forum (BMF) has filed papers in the Johannesburg High Court challenging the appointment of Nico Bezuidenhout as the chief executive of Mango Airlines.
In the application, BMF president Andile Nomlala asks the court to set aside Bezuidenhout’s appointment and calls into question the lawfulness of the process that was followed to appoint him.
In the papers, which Moneyweb has seen, Nomlala states it is not Bezuidenhout’s capability to do the job that is being questioned, but rather the process.
In the BMF’s assessment, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and the board of Mango, who are listed as respondents, “completely flouted the constitutional principle of equality and fairness and unduly favoured [Bezuidenhout] for the position”.
The low-cost airline is a profitable wholly-owned subsidiary of South African Airways (SAA).
The organisation makes this assertion because when Mango initially put out the post calling for applications for a CEO, about August last year, the minimum requirements included candidates should have a tertiary qualification such as a Bachelor of Administration degree. Persons with an MBA (Master of Business Administration) would have an “added advantage”.
Bezuidenhout only has a matric qualification, and while he was enrolled for a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) and an MBA, he never completed the degrees. Despite this he has extensive experience in the aviation sector.
He was appointed as Mango’s founding CEO in 2006, serving for ten years, and has been acting head of SAA on two occasions (in 2013 and 2015). He has been CEO of UK-based company Fastjet for the past few years, returning to Mango as CEO on October 1.
When the recruitment process was finalised Bezuidenhout was not shortlisted, as he did not meet the minimum requirements, the BMF says in its papers.
Instead, following the conclusion of the recruitment and selection process, the board of SAA referred joint Comair CEO Glenn Orsmond.
In its letter to the minister, former SAA board chair Bhekumuzi Magwaza states that Orsmond’s appointment was approved.
However, Orsmond’s recommendation was subsequently withdrawn. Mango readvertised the position to include persons with matric and more than ten years’ experience as an airline CEO.