RAMAPHOSA AXES ADVISER OVER DUBIOUS PHD
JOHANNESBURG - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has dropped a high-profile economist from an advisory panel as questions are being raised about her PhD. Thabi Leoka has said that the London School of Economics (LSE) awarded the degree but journalists from the online Daily Maverick have said they have not been able to find a record of it.
Last week, Leoka denied misrepresenting her qualification.
On Monday, she resigned from the boards of two well-known companies.
Mining company Anglo American Platinum Limited said Leoka stepped down from her position as a non-executive director "in order to attend to her health and the questions she has been facing in relation to her academic qualifications."
Mobile phone company MTN SA released a similar statement.
On the same day, she was told about "the immediate termination of her membership in the Presidential Economic Advisory Council," Ramaphosa's spokesman Vincent Magwenya said in an interview.
Membership of the body "does not require formal vetting," he said.
The council advises on "economic policies that spur inclusive growth," according to the presidency's website.
In earlier comments to the Daily Maverick, which had asked for evidence of her qualification, Leoka had said that she had been busy and not had the time to get hold of her degree certificate.
"I'm not based in (South Africa) full time... I have been at the Miami Bascom Palmer Eye Hospital as I have glaucoma and have since lost sight in my right eye," she said to the online publication.
"You also don't have my names as reflected on my degrees," she added.
Last week, she said she was about to undergo surgery.
When asked on Radio 702 "have you misrepresented your qualifications?", she responded: "The answer is a straight no."
She also said that she had qualified under a different name which was why the LSE was not able to find evidence of her PhD when asked by journalists.
Leoka has become a well-known commentator and economist in South Africa, serving on several boards as well as advising the government.