Communications & digital technologies minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams says allegations of interference at state-owned entities (SOEs) under her department are baseless, and she has challenged anyone with evidence to report her to law enforcement agencies.
“Anyone who suspects or has evidence of any criminal activity, including undermining of the governance protocols, should report those to law enforcement agencies,” she said at a media briefing on Tuesday.
The minister said she had a “clear conscience” on these matters.
Ndabeni-Abrahams said she was the shareholder minister of 11 entities, including the SABC and SA Post Office, and could not get involved in operational matters.
“Mine is to provide political direction and ensure that the policies create an enabling environment for those mandated to lead these institutions,” she said.
Ndabeni-Abrahams has been on a collision course with some Post Office board members and is facing a court challenge over her demotion of board chair Colleen Makhubele, who accuses the minister of having ulterior motives in her decision to remove her.
Makhubele has also accused the minister of abusing her powers and acting unconstitutionally.
There have also recently been media reports that Ndabeni-Abrahams had interfered in tender processes at the embattled Post Office.
The entity is in a dire financial position and has asked for more than R7bn in additional funding from the state. The government itself is facing a record budget deficit and has been trying to wean SOEs off bailouts.
The Post Office told parliament’s portfolio committee on communications in September that it had a first-quarter net loss of R925m in the 2020/2021 fiscal year. It said it had asked management to approach banks and private companies for potential funding.
Ndabeni-Abrahams on Tuesday said her engagements with the Post Office board have always been within the parameters of the law in her capacity as the shareholder minister, and she had always discussed matters within her purview.
She said she had filed a notice to defend the court application lodged by Makhubele, but would not go into detail about the matter.
Post Office acting board chair Tia van der Sandt defended Ndabeni-Abrahams, saying she had not interfered with any procurement at the Post Office or put pressure on it to use certain service providers.
Van der Sandt said Ndabeni-Abrahams addressed this issue at an August 7 meeting and had asked whether the board was aware of her interfering in the Post Office’s affairs, and no board member had raised an issue.
This is not the first time Ndabeni-Abrahams has been accused of interfering in entities under her portfolio. She has on numerous occasions also knocked heads with the SABC board and has been accused of interfering and working against the public broadcaster’s turnaround strategy.
She has previously tried to stop planned retrenchments at the SABC, which is in a precarious financial position, and in August told parliament she had again told the broadcaster to stop planned retrenchments because it had not followed due process. The SABC said its management and the board were entitled to restructure the broadcaster to return it to profitability.
The minister on Tuesday defended her decision to stop the retrenchments at the broadcaster.
“As any responsible government, it is our responsibility to avoid getting people out of jobs,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ndabeni-Abrahams on Tuesday announced that the Post Office had now appointed a permanent CFO, Khathutshelo Mike Ramukumba, and that the board was finalising the recruitment of a permanent CEO.
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