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Zuma, Godsell meet over Maroga  Comments

BMF throws weight behind Eskom CEO

November 9, 2009

By Political Bureau


The Black Management Forum (BMF) will on Monday discuss what action to take against what it has called a trend of turning state-owned enterprises, such as Eskom, "into slaughterhouses for the black professionals recruited to head them".

BMF managing director Gaba Tabane said on Sunday that a meeting of its board would come up with specific "cases in point", such as the leadership stand-off over control for Eskom between CEO Jacob Maroga and board chairman Bobby Godsell.

The BMF accused Godsell of not being "frank" when he announced Maroga's resignation last week. Suggestions have since been made that Maroga was not quitting.

President Jacob Zuma is understood to have met Godsell on Sunday to discuss the tensions behind the reported resignation.

The meeting, confirmed by well-placed sources, appeared to be a departure from Zuma's earlier stance not to interfere with leadership tussles at other state-owned enterprises, such as Transnet.

Neither the Presidency nor Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan's office would confirm the meeting. Godsell was not prepared to confirm or deny it.

"We are following a particular process and we will comment formally through a media statement or briefing and we are not doing either right now," Godsell said.

On Friday, the BMF threw its weight behind Maroga and Transnet executive Siyabonga Gama, who is trying to have his suspension overturned to be in the running to succeed Maria Ramos as Transnet CEO.

The BMF said the Eskom stand-off was evidence of a "covert anti-transformation and racist agenda" that tacitly "stereotypes black Africans as incompetent irrespective of their qualifications, skills and ability".

It said it would "no longer watch when the vehicles of our developmental state agenda, our SOEs (state-owned enterprises), are being manipulated to perpetuate the skewed racial economic relations".

Acting

"We shall act and we are acting." Tabane said the BMF board would decide whether to try to meet Godsell and the Eskom board.

"We are going to discuss the... issue of what is happening to executives in SOEs in general and then some cases in point will come out, the Transnet issue and the Maroga issue," Tabane said on Sunday.

He dismissed media reports Sunday that suggested the BMF would accompany Maroga back to work on Monday. "We've never said that. Mr Maroga can make his own arrangements on whether he is going to work," he said. "But we stand by our statement that we support him."

BMF deputy president Tembakazi Mnyaka accused Godsell of being "less than frank and candid" when he announced that Maroga had resigned. "Misinforming the public and the international investor community that Maroga resigned smacks of nothing but travesty of justice and good corporate governance," he said.

The BMF called on Godsell and the board to do "the honourable thing and resign".

Maroga could not be reached for comment.
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Showing page 1 of 1 comment pages, 5 total comments
13 Weeks ago MM wrote :
Who cares. Who need Eskom, SAA, and SABC Liquidate them and spare our taxe money for beter causes.
13 Weeks ago Binga wrote :
Whoever is feeding DA and its sister papers and radio stations is misleading them. First there was no resignation by the CE, secondly Godshel lied to the staff that the CE had resigned and thirdly there was never a Memo about the CE having resigned. Its all imagination from racists maclontents and their stooges such as some 702 radio presenters and the Citizen. Pamberi nehondo. Bhunu nebara kumusana.
13 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
Why doesn't anybody report the fact that 6 black directors resigned from Eskom under the leadership of Mr Maroga. The BMF was quiet then!! The Eskom board consists of a majority of black persons and foreigners. Mr Godsell was merely THEIR mouthpiece, the fact that HE he happens to be white person is being used to flame hatred against thw whites in this country. BMF themselves should stop "misinforming" the nation.
13 Weeks ago Realist wrote :
The problem is people are put into positions because of who they know and not what they know.....The end result is you have rolling blackouts :-) If this was a private institution what would of happened....those responsible would of been removed and replaced...this is not a colour problem but a question of competence..... But unfortunately it is the blind leading the blind.... and its become obvious in SA some people are untouchable....tothe detriment of all tax paying law abidding citizens..
13 Weeks ago Phiwa wrote :
thank you, its appraciated and long overdue.
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