When Bongani Maseko, CEO of Airports Company SA (Acsa), circulated a letter to staff at the state-owned entity on March 27, he implored them not to leak information to the media but to use official channels instead.
He was referring to letters written by staff members to the Presidency and the departments of transport and finance, calling on the state as shareholder to suspend Maseko and to take disciplinary steps against him and other senior personnel.
The staff’s pleas stem from a board resolution on February 3 2017 to take disciplinary action against Maseko and others implicated in forensic reports commissioned by Acsa. These letters and details of the charges against Maseko have been leaked to Business Day. The letters and forensic reports formed the basis of news reports over the past month, which, in turn, prompted Maseko’s letter to Acsa staff.
The trouble with Maseko’s letter is that it fails to respond to the charges against him, save to say that processes were under way and that he believed "we should respect these as they develop". Nowhere does Maseko mention that the allegations against him are serious and that his own board has resolved to act against him.
Yet nowhere does he mention the finding of Dr VS Mncube Consulting, which was hired by Acsa to investigate alleged irregularities in its supply-chain management
Instead, he emphasises Acsa’s operational successes and tackles the subject of the forensic reports as "media reports relating to events surrounding the board [and] governance-related issues, and in particular myself".
"What concerns me most is how the good name of Acsa and us, its employees, continue to be dragged into this unfortunate sequence of events," he writes.
Yet nowhere does he mention the finding of Dr VS Mncube Consulting, which was hired by Acsa to investigate alleged irregularities in its supply-chain management. These are presumably the same irregularities referred to in the auditor-general’s (unqualified) 2017 report.
The findings are damning and, left unattended, could expose Acsa to reputational damage and litigation, the consulting firm said. It also found that Maseko had unduly interfered with the forensic investigation, which led the firm to suspect that he intended to stop the investigation into instances of alleged misconduct.
The firm said that "various leading Acsa personnel, as well as any other bid adjudication members who are identified as implicated in the tender irregularities, may be said to be guilty of offences in respect of corrupt activities … and [if found guilty] may be sentenced to imprisonment for life".
The report, dated August 4 2016, recommended that it would be in the best interest of Acsa that Maseko and others "be suspended or put on special leave pending the finalisation of the disciplinary proceedings to create an environment which is conducive for a proper investigation of the charges".
Mncube Consulting’s report was adopted by the board on February 3 2017, following which it resolved to implement the findings. Three senior managers cited in the report, Percy Sithole (procurement), Jabulani Khambule (regional airports) and Bongani Machobane (legal counsel), were subsequently found guilty by an internal disciplinary hearing of corruption and wasteful and fruitless expenditure. They were suspended on full pay.
Maseko, however, remains at his post even as Acsa’s inaction has led to an apparently dysfunctional board. Until last week, when the transport department confirmed that former acting chairman Roshan Morar was no longer eligible as a director as of December 31, the board laboured under Morar’s influence, including having to postpone a succession of board meetings to discuss Maseko’s position. The board has also been unable to appoint a company secretary or a chief financial officer.
The severity and authenticity of the charges have led Acsa’s own legal counsel, Bonginkosi Mfusi, to seek a court order to compel Acsa to provide reasons for not having suspended and disciplined Maseko.
The state, as 74.6% shareholder, has indicated through the transport department that some sort of action may be under way, though it has not provided details. Acsa itself has consistently sidestepped inquiries directed at the board, which means the full story is yet to emerge.
What is certain, however, is that the issues at Acsa are not media reports but matters of fact. Maseko has not been found guilty of the alleged offences, but the weight of evidence and forensic opinion demands that he be suspended while the matter is resolved.
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