Former Denel chair still on Presidential SOE council

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She might no longer be active in board level affairs of Denel following her resignation as chair two months ago, but Monhla Hlahla remains a member the Presidential State-owned Enterprises Council (PSEC).

A defenceWeb enquiry to Tyrone Seale, acting spokesperson to President Cyril Ramaphosa, brought the response that “Hlahla remains a member of the Council”.

Hlahla was named a PSEC councillor in June last year along with nine others. They are Joel Netshitenzhe, Executive Director and Board Vice-Chair of the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA); Vusi Khanyile, Thebe Investments chair; Michael Sachs, Wits University adjunct professor; Marion Marole, non-executive director MTN Group and Development Bank of SA; Bajabulile Tshabalala, vice president finance and Chief Financial Officer at African Development Bank; Sipho Nkosi, Sanlam director; Kandimathie Ramon, Anglo Gold Ashanti Chief Financial Officer; Ian Kirk, Sanlam Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director; Nazmeera Moola, economist and head of investment at Ninety One plc.

At the time of her appointment to the Presidential Council tasked with reviving the fortunes of South Africa’s mostly ailing State-owned Enterprises (SOEs), Hlahla had been Denel chair for two years. When the PSEC was announced The Presidency indicated it would “support government to reposition SOEs as effective instruments of economic transformation and development”.

Hlahla resigned as Denel board chair in February, along with Nonzukiso Siyotula, who left as one of Denel’s independent non-executive directors. These were preceded by four other board resignations and the appointment of William Hlakoane as interim chief executive to replace Talib Sadik who also resigned as a director when his acting chief executive contract ended.

At the same time Seale told defenceWeb there is, as yet, no new chair for the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC). This committee is normally led by whoever is Minister in the Presidency. Following the death of Jackson Mthembu, Ramaphosa appointed Khumbudzo Ntshavheni as acting. She is not a Cabinet Minister and cannot be an NCACC member. Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola as deputy chair has taken on the responsibility of chairing the NCACC until such time as a permanent replacement for Mthembu is named.