Bernard Hellberg jnr: Chairman of the SAGMJ

Is it correct to assume that the guild’s top structure found Mr Hellberg snr not guilty on the first charge of racist commentary and allowed his membership to continue?

No, it is not correct. The “first charge” to which you refer is a complaint brought to the guild by Mr Thegandra Naidoo in December 2017, which contained a screenshot of two emoticons. The guild never had the opportunity to test the veracity of the alleged racist commentary of the “first charge” as a disciplinary was not held due to a failure of procedure. This failure occurred at the first committee meeting of the year, where I was not present, which was chaired by the guild’s vice-chairman, Mr Eugene Herbert (who has since resigned).

Is there justification for the guild to rescind the membership of an individual accused of insensitive but non-racial comments yet pardon Mr Hellberg snr for his earlier, racially insulting comments?

Following from your first question, Mr Hellberg snr was not pardoned, so inferring that is not correct. Mr Bernard Hellberg snr resigned from the guild after the guild brought a disciplinary action based on information gleaned from a Sunday Times report on April 15 2018. The other disciplinary procedure to which you refer is that of Mr Thegandra Naidoo in February 2014, which process was concluded without a resignation taking place. If Mr Naidoo had decided to resign from the guild back then, there would have been no further action taken against Mr Naidoo, who would have been free to rejoin the guild after one year.

What is the current state of affairs when it comes to representation in the guild?

One of my first actions when I became chairman in 2015 was to create a transformation portfolio. This was chaired by Mr Leo Kok, but has been chaired by Mr Lerato Matebese since I asked him to join the committee in 2017. Given the urgent need for transformation in the industry, Mr Matebese has been working on the guild’s policy, with the aim of developing measurable transformation goals. We see transformation not only as an historical imperative, but also as crucial to the future success of the guild and the industry.

There have been calls for you to resign as chairman. What’s your view on this, more so with reports suggesting that you neglected or opted not to follow proper procedure in lieu of the first offence?

I deny that I neglected or opted not to follow procedure. When the guild office received notification of a complaint in December, I responded to the complainant both in writing and by telephone. The process that failed us after that has been corrected, and will be effected by an amendment to the guild’s constitution at the AGM.

Do you not think you should also “do the right thing”, so to speak, for the good and dignity of the organisation just as Messrs Hellberg snr and Mark Lamberti have done?

I don’t believe that it is fair to make these situations also applicable to me. I have made it very clear that I distance myself from any comments or actions made either by my father or anyone else, as I do not condone such actions.