BERTRAND Russell, the late British philosopher, said in 1951 that one of the painful things about that era was that those who felt certainty were stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding were filled with doubt and indecision.
Nothing much has changed since then. Take the case of Raisibe Morathi, who joined the Group last month as its new chief financial officer. Her appointment has become the stink bomb that the likes of Julius Malema, president of the ANC Youth League, are throwing at the bank. Why? They say Nedbank is racist for giving her only a portion of the job her white male predecessor had.
The truth, however, is different. When Morathi and Nedbank were discussing the job, she and the bank agreed that there were some aspects of the chief operating officer’s job she was not yet ready to take over. In line with its transformation policy, Nedbank hired her and then restructured the chief operating officer’s portfolio, handing to other executives those responsibilities Morathi was not yet ready to perform. As a result, Morathi reports to the bank’s chief operating officer, Graham Dempster, and not the CEO as was the case when Mike Brown (the new CEO) was chief operating officer. This is now being held against Nedbank by Malema and Masedi Molosiwa, the CEO of the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (Absip).
“Nedbank Retail has appointed a black woman as chief financial officer, but they’ve also created a new position for a chief operating officer at the same time — so her powers were removed,” Malema reportedly told the annual conference of the Black Management Forum early this month. Molosiwa told City Press: “A key element of advancing the transformation agenda is the opening up of real opportunities with meaningful roles for black talent where there is a direct link between the title and the scope of work.”
The subtext of his statement is that Morathi has been hard done by Nedbank. He is also casting aspersions on Morathi’s integrity, effectively saying she accepted a token position.
Jimmy Manyi, the Department of Labour’s director-general, has also discussed matters with Nedbank’s top brass, and the bank was due to report back to him before month-end. .
Malema’s comments are made out of ignorance by a young man who has no understanding of workplace issues . But the views of Absip are shocking as they come from an organisation that counts among its leadership experienced financial services executives.
As Reuel Khoza, the chairman of Nedbank, and Tom Boardman, the outgoing CEO, have explained, it was Morathi herself who said she needed the time and the space to “to ramp up on Basel 2 and risk management”.
“We never imposed any responsibilities on her and when she believes she has ramped up sufficiently on Basel 2 and risk management, it will be her call to assume the remaining responsibilities,” Khoza told City Press.
Nedbank had white candidates who were more experienced than Morathi, Khoza said, but the bank chose her in line with its transformation policies.
We should be celebrating Morathi’s maturity rather than casting doubts on her integrity, as Absip and Malema are effectively doing. Morathi’s knowledge of her strengths and weaknesses says a lot about her competency. Research worldwide shows that very often those employees who are the most confident about their level of expertise and skill are those who should not be.
“Poor performers overestimate their performances the most because their incompetence deprives them of the skills needed to recognise their deficits,” write five leading US academics in a paper entitled Why the Unskilled are Unaware: Further Exploration of (Absent) Self-insight Among the Incompetent.
So Morathi’s frank assessment of her skills and expertise shows an uncommon maturity, the absence of which has caused some of the worst management disasters, in the private and public sectors. Morathi deserves praise for frankness, and Nedbank should be given credit for giving her the opportunity to grow into the job.
To drag Morathi’s name in the mud in defence of a boor such as Leonard Chuene, as Malema is doing, is a gross insult to a woman who is capable of rising to greater heights. The best help we can give her is to leave her alone.
Sikhakhane is editor-in-chief of Destiny Man and a freelance writer.