Movie-like dramatic scenes erupted at the headquarters of Rea Vaya’s bus operating company in Meadowlands, Soweto, when angry shareholders stormed the office and frog-marched the company’s board chair, advocate Nomazotsho Memani.
They also demanded Memani’s immediate dismissal.
Pio-Trans, which is owned by the Taxi Operation Investment Companies (TOIC) made up of nine taxi associations based in Soweto and surrounding areas, is facing operational challenges that include, among others, running out of fuel and being dragged to court by former CEO Mochele Noge, who wants the company liquidated.
According to information received, Memani was in a meeting with officials from the City of Johannesburg when the shareholders, who are unhappy about the company’s challenges, forced their way into the meeting room and harassed Memani.
They yelled, kicked the boardroom doors and demanded that Memani, an influential ANC member, quit from the company, saying she is running it down.
In a recording which we have listened to, some shareholders alleged that Memani “ran Pio-Trans like the ANC and her own private fiefdom”.
“We have repeatedly as shareholders called for the current chairperson of the board to leave our company, and [to have the] board dissolved,” said one of the shareholders.
“We are not talking stories here, but as shareholders, we gathered many times and took a conscious decision that the chairperson, Ms Memani, must leave the board of Pio-Trans.
“Our calls have been ignored. She is not the first chairperson to be here, so we demand she leaves our company without a fight.
“Her predecessors, when asked to leave, left without lifting a finger. She must leave now, and the board members should also resign or be forced out.”
Another shareholder, Busi Mnguni, can be heard saying: “Memani has messed up the company. We do not want to hear anything from her.
“You have divided us as shareholders. We don’t want excuses, we want you to leave now or else we will frog-march you out of here. Stand up sisi [my sister] and leave.
“We don’t have a chairperson as your contract had expired long time ago. You ate our money, and you left our company with nothing.
“The company no longer has reserves, and you have run it to the ground, the business has no money to fix broken buses and buy fuel and tyres.”
Kgomotso Moloto, another shareholder, added: “Nomazotsho is running our company like a political party. This is not the ANC … You were made to stay as a chairperson through bogus proxies. Take your bags and go.”
On Friday, Mnguni and Moloto confirmed that Memani had been forced to leave the company as she had become a persona non-grata.
“We forced her to leave and told her that she was no longer the chairperson of our company. She messed up our business,” said Mnguni.
Memani had not responded to questions sent to her at the time of going to print.
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