Praise for AG-elect Maluleke
Ex-colleagues label Tsakani principled
Tsakani Maluleke, who is set to become the first female auditor-general of SA after her unanimous nomination by a parliamentary ad hoc committee this week, has been showered with praise from all corners for her leadership.
Maluleke, who has been making huge strides in her career, is tipped to succeed Kimi Makwetu when his term finishes next month. Sowetan spoke to former colleagues of the deputy auditor-general who described her as an accomplished leader and professional.
Victor Sekese, the CEO of Grant Thornton who served with Maluleke at Advancement of Black Accountants of SA (Abasa), said though Maluleke was sought after by the private sector, she was willing to make a sacrifice by working in the public sector.
She is a person who approaches life from a principled point of view. You might be friends or friendly with her but when there ’ s an issue in which she needs to take a decision, she won ’ t be swayed by that friendship or relationship,” Sekese said.
This is what we need in society now, to have principlebased and firm leaders. It is those principles that lead to ethical leadership and I think she ’ s an epitome of ethical leadership in action.
As firm as she is, she has that human element of being approachable. When we grew up we were told that as a leader youneed to befirm, strongand people must fear you. However, I think her office is an approachable office.”
While her nomination as the next AG is subject to approval by the National Assembly, her support from the ad hoc committee breached the political divide. Once the National Assembly has recommended her, President Cyril Ramaphosa has to sign off on her appointment.
A chartered accountant and registered auditor, Maluleke came to prominence about 13 years ago when she served as president of Abasa, an organisation that develops and mentors black accountants.
A daughter of the late judge George Maluleke and sister of African Bank CEO Basani Maluleke, she serves as a nonexecutive board chair of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica), a professional body that regulates the conduct of chartered accountants.
She holds a postgraduate diploma in development and public management as well as a postgraduate diploma in accountancy. She was also the chair of the CACharter Council, which looks into the overall transformation of the chartered accountancy profession.
Delloite Southern Africa CEO Lwazi Bam, who also worked with Maluleke at a number of organisations, described her as an intelligent and dedicated professional.
Her primary focus is serving and she has a very committed life of wanting to be of service to the public. She is someone who could have been in the private sector and would have reached even better heights.
But what really mattered to her is that she always saw public service as an opportunity to give back to the public and make a difference to the country, ” said Bam, also a past president of Abasa and chair of Saica.
He said Maluleke was focused on getting the job done.
“We have debated a number of things but she is extremely rational and sticks to issues. It ’ s never about politics or people... I ’ ve had occasion where she would call and challenge decisions that I have made or should ’ ve made and we would have robust conversations around those. I appreciate the frankness she approaches issues [ with]. She is someone who you never doubt what her intentions are.”
Mzwanele Manyi, who worked closely with Maluleke when he was Black Management Forum president while she was leading Abasa, said she was a solid leader.
At ethical level, there has never been any blemish on Tsakane and if you are looking for somebody to run that kind of function [of AG], you need somebody with this kind of a background.
No-one is going to say here is a skeleton here, here is a skeleton there. The auditorgeneral job was made for Tsakani, said Manyi, who has known her for almost two decades.
One of the things she has mastered more than all of us in this space is the ability to stay out of politics. For that I must give her 10 out of 10. She has managed to stay out of politics and just stick to her profession and that ’ s what would make her the most appropriate appointment as the auditor-general.