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Former CEO of Transnet, Siyabonga Gama. Photo by Gallo Images
- Mafika Mkhwanazi was the chairwoman of the board that reinstated the disgraced executive Siyabonga Gama.
- Mkhwanazi could not tell the Zondo commission if the board’s decision was influenced by external factors.
- Gama headed Transnet’s freight rail services and later became CEO of the group after its reinstatement.
Evasive, slippery, insecure, and uncompromising. These are some of the words that could be used to describe the evidence of former Transnet president Mafika Mkhwanazi before the Zondo commission on Friday.
Mkhwanazi played a central role in the 2011 reinstatement of Siyabonga Gama, who had been convicted of three counts of what had been described as serious misconduct charges, and whose name was later linked to allegations of helping to empty the state-owned entity by entities linked to Gupta.
On Friday, Mkhwanazi, who oversaw Gama’s reinstatement and his promotion to the position of CEO of the Transnet group in 2016, could not directly answer why the board had found it acceptable to remove the executive and then consider his application for the position.
The commission, which is investigating the allegation of corruption in government and state entities, has heard evidence from numerous former Transnet executives who were involved in the Gama saga, including a legal adviser who represented Transnet at the disciplinary hearing, Christopher Todd , as well as the firm’s own head of legal services, Siyabulela Mapoma.
Both legal advisers indicated that Gama’s disciplinary process and his dismissal verdict were fair and that the company had a good chance of winning the case if it was brought to arbitration. However, the company reached an agreement with him, paid a large part of his legal expenses, got him back and set his salary back.
At the time of his removal, Gama was the CEO of the Transnet freight rail unit and had been removed from his post in June 2010 for procurement-related violations.
However, the question that remained was why the board was so hell-bent on reinstating Gama and if there was an outside influence informing its decision. Zondo repeatedly told Mkhwanazi that he found it difficult to understand why Gama had been taken back, unless the board was pursuing another agenda.
“It was not that there was some injustice in his dismissal, it was not just a case that the board would lose in the arbitration, there were some other considerations.”
Mkhwanazi responded to Zondo’s poll with “I understand what you are saying,” adding that he cannot criticize his assessment.
His endorsement of Zondo’s statement characterized his many responses to questions posed during the all-day session, where he appeared to strive not to implicate anyone, while failing to present a compelling argument for his board’s decision to act on Gama’s favor.
Witnesses, who had previously testified before the commission, including former public companies minister Barbara Hogan, indicated that the influence for Gama’s appointment as CEO of Transnet came from former president Jacob Zuma. Mkhwanazi did not commit to any inference that the board was acting on someone’s instructions.
After hours of arguing about the matter, an exasperated advocate Anton Myburgh, who was leading the evidence, asked Mkhwanazi: “I don’t know why you don’t just accept that I had another agenda.”
“Do you at least accept now … that the board’s decision and its decision to reinstate Mr. Gama in these circumstances is meaningless?” Zondo asked.
Again, Mkhwanazi was unable to provide a direct answer and instead pointed to a legal opinion that they had tried to evaluate the company’s case prior to the arbitration process that Gama intended to follow.
Gama was finally fired from Transnet in October 2018 after the firm’s new board of directors cited serious violations of his fiduciary duties and the directors lost trust in him.
His name is among other former Transnet executives who are being sued by Transnet in its attempt to recover R1.3 billion that is said to have been squandered under his supervision through irregular contracts and other forms of mismanagement, including channeled funds. to entities linked to Gupta as Capital of the Regiments.
The company benefited from a massive overpayment for its role as advisors to Transnet in the acquisition of the 1,064 locomotives for 54 billion rand. Regiment should have received 15 million rand for his services, but he was paid 166 million rand.
Mkhwanazi will continue his tests on Monday.
