PARLIAMENT - Cabinet this week confirmed the appointment of a new board to Transnet, South Africa's state-owned rail and logistics company.
In a media briefing in Cape Town, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said interim board chairman Popo Molefe was appointed permanently to the post.
Other board members are Mpho Letlape, Louis von Zeuner, Ursula Fikelepi, Dimakatso Matshoga, Ramasela Ganda, Edward Kieswetter, Aluwani Ramabulana, Flolisani Mufamadi, Vivien McMenamin, Oupa Motaung, and Gratitude Ramphaka.
Molefe, a former North West premier, chaired the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa and earned a reputation there for attempting to fight corruption.
Gordhan fired the remaining three board members last week after considering and rejecting submissions from them on why they should retain their posts at Transnet, which has been named as one of the companies where state capture had been rife.
Earlier this month Transnet appointed Mohammed Mahomedy as interim chief financial officer to take over from Garry Pita who resigned last month amid a financial scandal involving the Guptas.
Transnet said that Mahomedy, a chartered accountant who has been with Transnet for 12 years, would be a member of the board and would report to group chief executive Siyabonga Gama.
Transnet said before his appointment, Mahomedy was a general manager for finance at Transnet Group Capital. He also set up and managed the Group Capital Integration Assurance portfolio and was part of the finance executive at Transnet Freight Rail, its biggest division, where he also acted as chief financial officer.
“Mahomedy will formulate and lead all aspects of the company's financial strategy, including overseeing the company's funding, capital investment programmes, managing procurement, financial risks and adherence to the highest standards of governance and internal controls,” the utility said.
Pita - a former chief procurement officer at Transnet - resigned from the freight logistics group, citing continued ill-health and strain from the job. Pita was highly implicated in state capture allegations.