The International Marketing Council (IMC) has become the latest target of government restructuring, apparently because it is "full of white liberals" and chaired by a COPE member.
The IMC board, chaired by Wendy Luhabe, wife of Cope's co-founder Mbhazima Shilowa, was informed by Collins Chabane, minister in the Presidency, earlier this month that it would be replaced on November 1.
This was confirmed by Chabane and IMC chief executive officer Paul Bannister, who said the last board meeting would be held on October 29 to prepare an exit report.
A source said the board, whose term of office was extended when it expired before the April election by then-president Kgalema Motlanthe, was perceived by Chabane as an "irritation" and "a political nuisance", especially because it was seen as being run by white liberals, and because of its ties to Cope.
Continues Below ↓
| Most of its international managers are not black Africans |
The IMC was also frowned upon because most of its international managers are not black Africans - its offices in London and New York are headed by John Battersby and Simon Barber, respectively.
Motlanthe extended the board's tenure to allow the Zuma administration time to decide what to do with Brand South Africa, which had been widely regarded as a pet project of former president Thabo Mbeki.
The IMC was established in 2002 to help create a positive image for South Africa through a co-ordinated marketing initiative aimed at attracting investment and tourism.
Speculation earlier this year had it that the IMC would be dissolved and incorporated into GCIS, the government communication service. Bannister said there had been "a lot of conjecture in recent months, and that we hope to have some resolution now on the way forward".
Chabane last week said the IMC would continue to exist and there were no plans to incorporate it into GCIS.
"There is still a place for BrandSA. South Africa is competing not just with developing nations for trade, investment and tourism. We are also competing with developed nations for attention and the government's view is that BrandSA is even more important now."
According to the source, the apparent trigger for the IMC board's departure is linked to the World Cup. Entertainment conglomerate Time-Warner had offered to bring about 300 world CEOs to South Africa for the event and the cabinet had been asked to fund the project - however, the IMC had said it had no money to do so.
Chabane said the board executive committee had asked to meet him shortly after he took office. The first meeting was held on July 30 in Johannesburg. Chabane told the board the Zuma administration was conducting a review of state institutions "with regard to their location, role and whether they still needed to exist".
At a second meeting Chabane informed the board the cabinet had decided that there was "still a need for the IMC to exist" and that the IMC would continue to report to the minister in the Presidency via GCIS. He advised them that a new board would be constituted in November, and that the present board would serve until the end of October.
According to the source, Chabane had "tactlessly and undiplomatically" informed the board that their services were no longer required.
- This article was originally published on page 6 of Cape Argus on October 25, 2009
|
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Delicious
Newsvine
Facebook
muti
Twitter
