Minister fires Acsa directors

• Board members’ hopes of reprieve cut short

Transport Minister Dipuo Peters has dismissed four Airports Company SA (Acsa) board members, capping a dramatic week in which the nonexecutive directors thought they had been granted a reprieve.

McDonald Kenosi Moroka, Kate Matlou, Bajabulile Luthuli and Chwayita Mabude were served with notices of their immediate dismissal from the Acsa board in their inboxes just after midday on Thursday, when they were expecting to make representations at a shareholders’ meeting about why they should remain on the board.

The minister’s move has split insiders, with some saying the minister was trying to shield CEO Bongani Maseko, while others said Peters had signalled her intent to “strengthen” the board at Acsa’s annual general meeting in 2016. It comes after several Acsa senior managers have been suspended for procurement irregularities.

On Sunday, the spokesman for Peters, Ishmael Mnisi, confirmed she had dismissed the four nonexecutive directors.

Asked why the minister had done this, Mnisi cited recommendations contained in Acsa’s board evaluation report.

“The minister decided to retire some members to strengthen the board with the necessary expertise/skills as identified by the report to guide the company going forward,” he said.

“The minister will embark on the process of advertising and recruitment to fill the four vacant positions in the board with individuals with the appropriate expertise and skills set required to guide the company going forward,” he added.

Both Acsa and Mnisi said Peters’s actions had nothing to do with Maseko.

Late in 2016, Acsa suspended procurement manager Percy Sithole, GM for regional airports Jabulani Khambule and legal counsel Bongani Machobane for suspected supply chain irregularities. They are challenging the disciplinary process.

On Sunday, acting Acsa chairman Roshan Morar referred questions about the board members’ dismissals to the Department of Transport, saying it was a shareholder issue.

Sources, who are not authorised to speak to the media, said the affected board members would not take the surprise move by Peters lying down.

But other insiders said board resolutions would not disappear into “thin air” and would have to be carried out irrespective of who was serving on it.