Johannesburg - Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele, has rubbished claims of alleged interference with the board of Postbank.
Gungubele, who has since removed the entire board of the embattled entity after the resignation of board chairperson Thabile Wonci and other non-executive members, said a KPMG investigation into illegal contracts worth millions was the reason the members staged a mass resignation ahead of his formal decision to fire them.
Yesterday, a leaked letter purported to be from dissatisfied non-executive board members led by Wonci alleged that the source of their resentment was due to alleged interference by the minister.
In a letter dated September 12, the members cited the severity and recurring nature of the negative treatment and hostility they have suffered at the hands of Gungubele.
However, the minister said these members had pre-empted his decision to remove them and chose instead to resign ahead of his formal press briefing to address the matter.
“One of the fundamental problems has been the continuation of an illegal contract that paid no less than R140 million without a justifiable explanation for it to be allowed to continue,” he said.
In their letter to the minister, the now-axed members argued that, in spite of dedicating their time and hard work to serving Postbank, they have been forced by recent circumstances to rethink their role in the institution.
“Our common goal has been to contribute to the growth, stability, and success of Postbank. However, recent events and unfortunate circumstances between the minister and the board have compelled us to make this difficult decision. There is absolutely no self-respecting board that can perform any meaningful work with the level of external interference, undue pressure, and influence that our board has endured over the past couple of months. This obviously disturbed us,” Wonci and others said.
However, the minister has refuted these claims and said he removed the board of directors due to allegations of impropriety by some of the non-executive members.
“The removal of the board follows damning allegations from the forensic investigation report by KPMG that the board has continued to use service providers that have not been lawfully contracted.
“These service providers were being paid millions without valid contracts and proper procurement processes being followed. The forensic report recommended that the shareholder must act against the board of directors, a recommendation that was supported by senior counsel’s legal opinion, taking into account the details of the report,” the minister said.
Gungubele dismissed allegations of interference, saying that as the minister, he was compelled to act in the interests of the institution, adding that in light of the damning report, he needed to stop the rot at Postbank.
Spokesperson for the minister, Tlangelani Manganyi, said prior to the report, the minister held several engagements with the members of the board and followed due processes to arrive at his decision, adding that the mass resignation through a leaked letter was a mere publicity stunt.
“The minister further condemns the public stunts of leaking documents and refutes with contempt the spurious allegations by the former board members in their letter they chose to leak via WhatsApp,” Manganyi said.
The minister has appointed Khayalethu Ngema as the administrator of the bank, pending the appointment of a new board.
The Star