CAPE TOWN — South African Post Office (Sapo) board chairman Simo Lushaba yesterday failed to attend a critical governance briefing before Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa), ironically because he was committed elsewhere: training company directors on corporate governance.
Due to Mr Lushaba’s absence, Sapo CEO Mark Barnes and his delegation were sent packing, with committee members from all political parties condemning his nonappearance, saying the meeting could not go ahead without him.
In terms of the Public Finance Management Act, the chairman of the board is the accounting authority and the only person authorised to speak on behalf of the company at this forum. The CEO cannot perform this function.
Mr Lushaba and his board were scheduled to appear before Scopa to be questioned on the financial mismanagement and fraud that has wracked the organisation and prompted investigations by the Special Investigating Unit and the public protector.
Mr Lushaba had written to committee chairman Themba Godi stating he would not be able to attend as he was already committed to providing training to company directors on corporate governance for the Institute of Directors, which is how he earns his income. He said the directors were coming from all over the country and the arrangements had been made well in advance.
Mr Godi said his explanation was unacceptable and indicated a “lackadaisical” attitude. If there had been adequate notice, alternative arrangements could have been made. “We want more seriousness about the responsibilities, especially given the dire state of (the Post Office),” he said. He noted that Sapo owed creditors R900m and was losing R125m a month.
Mr Lushaba said in a statement that it was unfortunate that when the Scopa invitation arrived the training programme had already been finalised. He asked for the Scopa meeting to be rescheduled until today but this did not materialise. He reiterated his respect for both Parliament and Scopa.
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