Tag: Parmi Natesan

Just days after Mpho Phalaatse was removed as Johannesburg’s mayor, a letter to all municipal entities surfaced on social media, in which the Acting City Manager of Johannesburg instructs the boards of municipal entities to cease holding any “strategic sessions, including the [sic] Board and Sub-Committee meetings” until further notice.

Comair returned to the headlines by advising on 1 June that it was voluntarily suspending its flights until the funding necessary to resume operations had been secured. What has got customers hot under the collar, though, is that it had advertised a one-day sale on the previous day (31 May).

The news that John Lamola will assume the roles of both Executive Chair and CEO of South African Airways (SAA) suggests that the state has not learned the lessons of the past few years regarding the importance of good governance.

In view of their important role in supporting governance, boards must take steps to protect whistle-blowers and promote a culture of whistle-blowing.

Volume 1 of the second Zondo Report (Zondo 2), which deals with Transnet, graphically shows how important it is for a CEO to appointed who has the right qualities - and, consequently, the board’s respect. CEO appointments should be the prerogative of the board in terms of governance best practice.

In detailing some of the crimes and misdemeanours that enabled state capture, the Zondo Commission’s report is in fact offering office-bearers across business and society a morality tale. In this spirit, the assessment of the performance of the erstwhile Chair of South African Airways, Dudu Myeni, acts as a case study of how important the role of the Board Chair is, and how not to do the job.

Conclusions and recommendations made in part one of the state capture inquiry report align closely to a letter sent by the Institute of Directors South Africa (IoDSA) to the Zondo Commission in September 2021. The letter included recommendations on director competencies as well as the nomination and selection of directors.

Reading through the proposed amendments to the Companies Act again, it struck me that they are symptomatic of a general South African problem: too much regulation, too few results. No doubt some of these amendments are necessary, but will they actually address the big issues that concern us all?

An interview with Parmi Natesan, CEO, The Institute of Directors in Southern Africa (IoDSA), and Dr Ivor Blumenthal, CEO, ArkKonsult, discussing the importance of corporate governance, accountability, skills and independence for directors, so that they can fulfil their duties, in the light of the recent testimony by Dudu Myeni and Yakhe Kwinana at the Zondo Commission.

The recent testimony at the Zondo Commission by Dudu Myeni (former Chair of the SAA Board) and Yakhe Kwinana (former Chair of SAA Technical) should be a wake-up call both for directors and the government.