Makhubela to finish term at Brand SA
Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu and the Brand SA board have decided to allow the organisation’s suspended CEO Dr Kingsley Makhubela to finish his term despite a recommendation that he be fired.
Makhubela, a former ambassador and chief of state protocol, was suspended in April 2018 following his run-ins with the previous board of the organisation, a crucial state entity housed in the Presidency to market and manage the reputation of the country.
Last week Wednesday, the new board met Mthembu to discuss Makhubela’s future. The anti-apartheid activist had been embroiled in a protracted battle with the entity’s previous board.
This is after he was found guilty on two of the four charges that were brought against him. They included a failure to disclose a conflict of interest and making disparaging comments about the institution.
Makhubela was not found guilty on a charge of disclosing condential Brand SA information and of breaching the agreed terms of his leave. He was also cleared on a charge of sexual harassment.
The previous board, whose mandate ended in May last year, had handed over the recommendation of Makhubela’s dismissal to the new board under the leadership of former deputy minister of trade and industry Thandi Tobias-Pokolo.
According to minutes of a special meeting signed by Tobias-Pokolo in March, the board, which was appointed last November by President Cyril Ramaphosa, decided that Makhubela should be dismissed in line with the recommendations of the disciplinary outcome against him.
But it also decided that he first be asked to resign from his position in order not to have the dismissal hamper his prospects of finding a new job.
“The board further mandated the board chairperson [Tobias-Pokolo], the deputy chairperson [Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng], and Mr George Sebulela [board member] to meet with the CEO to communicate to him the board’s decision to offer him an opportunity to resign, failing which the board would dismiss him with immediate effect in accordance with the recommendations of the presiding officer,” the minutes read.
“Furthermore, in line with the spirit of ubuntu, the board resolved that Dr Makhubela should be afforded a window to resign for purposes of his future reference and to avoid causing possible jeopardy to his future career opportunities.”
But a source close to Mthembu said the minister in the Presidency and the board last week decided that Makhubela should be allowed to finish his contract, which ends next month. Mthembu’s spokesperson, Nonceba Mhlauli, said that the board had sought concurrence from the minister regarding their recommendation for Makhubela’s dismissal.
She said that the minister was in favour of an “amicable resolution of the matter between the board and CEO” and this was agreed upon at a meeting last week Wednesday.
“Details of the agreed upon way forward can be sought from the chair of the board, ” added Mhlauli.
Makhubela declined to comment, referring questions to Brand SA.
