At That Point
  • home
  • our story
  • our services
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News

IoDSA to President: No excuse for lack of rapid action on SOE board appointment process

24/10/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
In his long-awaited plan to address the Zondo Commission’s recommendations, the President has set unwarrantedly long timelines in place for the establishment of better processes for selecting board members for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), says Parmi Natesan, CEO of the Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA).

“The Zondo Commission quite rightly found that the appointment and removal of board members and senior executives are being manipulated to facilitate state capture. This is an issue that the IoDSA has been highlighting for several years now and, more to the point, we have put in a lot of work with Government to provide solutions,” she says. “The lengthy timelines indicated in the President’s written response simply do not make sense, especially given the urgency of the matter.”

In his response, the President indicates that Government accepted the need for “a process for the appointment of boards of state-owned enterprises that is not open to manipulation”. This process will involve independent panels with the appropriate technical expertise to recommend suitable candidates. Crucially, the “Guide for the Appointment of Persons to Boards and Chief Executive Officers of State-Owned and State-Controlled Institutions” that such panels would use will only be finalised in the 2023/24 financial year.

“The President’s timeline is too long given the urgent need to begin repairing our SOEs; it’s also unwarranted because the Guide was apparently finalised in early 2019 after input from the IoDSA, among other organisations,” says Parmi Natesan, CEO of the IoDSA. “I can accept that there would be a need to revisit the document in the light of the Zondo Report, but this could be done rapidly. The IoDSA stands ready to work with the Department of Public Service and Administration to get this done, and certainly before the end of the current financial year. The work is largely done, assuming that the recommendations originally made by the IoDSA are in the existing version of the guide, why the delay?”

She adds that she assumes that the independent panel would include representation from the IODSA which represents directors and is responsible for setting and maintaining the standards of professionalism amongst its members. The IoDSA is also the custodian of the King Code of Corporate Governance, which also continues to provide internationally respected guidance, including the governance of SOEs.

The government also proposes the establishment of a central database of potential candidates, but this is again a duplication of work that has already been done, Ms Natesan continues. The IoDSA’s database of individuals who have obtained one of its two certifications—Certified Director and Chartered Director—already exists. These certifications offer a way to identify individuals who have been found to possess the professional skills and personal qualities necessary to act as directors based on the IoDSA’s Directorship Competency Framework.

“I’m sure I don’t speak just for the IoDSA when I say that we are growing weary of responding to the Government’s requests for help in sorting out the governance mess at the SOEs and not seeing any action,” Ms Natesan concludes. “We implore the government not to reinvent the wheel here—much of the work needed to put a proper process for making credible board appointments is already done. The country cannot afford any further delay.”

[1] The full text of the speech is available at https://www.gov.za/speeches/president-cyril-ramaphosa-response-president-cyril-ramaphosa-commission-inquiry-allegations. 

ENDS
​

MEDIA CONTACT: Stephné du Toit, [email protected], 084 587 9933, www.atthatpoint.co.za
For more information on the IoDSA please visit:
Website:  www.iodsa.co.za
Twitter:  @The_IoDSA
LinkedIn:  Institute of Directors in South Africa Company Page  
Facebook: Institute of Directors South Africa
 
The full text of the speech is available at https://www.gov.za/speeches/president-cyril-ramaphosa-response-president-cyril-ramaphosa-commission-inquiry-allegations. 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome to the IoDSA Newsroom.
    IN THE MEDIA

    2023
    ​

    2 March
    Financial Mail: 5572bb70-29ab-48f8-b5df-79c7bb7f27dc.pdfIN 


    Archives

    May 2025
    February 2025
    November 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All
    702 Sun International CEO SleepOut™
    ABSA
    Accountability
    ACGN
    Advocate Fay Mukaddam
    Africa
    African Governance Showcase
    AGM
    Alex Granger
    Angela Cherrington
    Angela Oosthuizen
    Ansie Ramahlo
    Ansie Ramalho
    Audit Committees
    Auditor General
    Board
    Board Meeting
    Boards
    Budget
    Business
    CD(SA)
    Central Energy Fund
    CEO
    CEO Tenure
    Certified Director
    Chairman
    Chartered Director
    CIPC
    City Of Johannesburg
    Clover
    Companies Act
    COO
    Corporate Governance
    Corruption
    Cricket SA
    Delinquent Directors
    Director
    Directors
    Directors' Sentiment Index Report
    Disclosure
    Discrimination
    Dudu Myeni
    Economic Growth
    Eskom
    Eskom Board
    Ethics
    Executive Pay
    EY
    Fair Pay
    FEDSAS
    Fraud And Corruption
    Governance
    Governing Bodies
    Gupta
    Huge Group
    Institute Of Directors In South Africa
    Integrated Reporting
    IoDSA
    Johannesburg Property Company
    Karin Ireton
    King Code Of Corporate Governance
    King IV
    KingIV
    King IV Launch Conference
    Leadership
    Local Elections
    Management
    Mervyn King
    Mid-term Budget 2021
    Mini-budget 2021
    Municipalities
    Non-Executive Directors’ Fees Guide
    North West Cricket
    Parmi Natesan
    Politics
    Professionalising Directorship
    Property
    Public Sector Boards
    Ray Harraway
    Remuneration
    Remuneration Committee Forum
    Richard Foster
    SAA
    SABC
    SA Express
    SAPO
    School Governing Bodies (SGB)
    Service Delivery
    Shareholders
    Sikkie Kajee
    SME Growth
    Social Inequality
    SOEs
    South African Airlines
    South African Airways
    South African Forestry Company
    Stakeholders
    State Capture
    State-owned Enterprises
    State-owned Entities
    Succession Planning
    Sustainability
    Sustainable Development Forum
    The Ethics Institute
    The Institute Of Directors South Africa
    Transnet
    Trends
    Tsakani Maluleke
    UCT
    Vikeshni Vandayar
    Women
    Women's Day
    Zondo Commission

    RSS Feed

CONTACT US

office [at] atthatpoint [dot] co [dot] za
© COPYRIGHT 2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
  • home
  • our story
  • our services
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News