A storm is brewing in the Department of Transport led by minister Barbara Creecy, regarding alleged double standards in two cases involving suspended CEOs of the Cross Border Road Transport Agency (CBRTA) and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), respectively.
The department, through its spokesperson Collen Msibi, issued a media statement on November 8 that the suspension of the CEO of the CBRTA Lwazi Mboyi by the former board of the agency on grounds of administrative issues, was irregular.
Mboyi was suspended in October, just a few days after the CBRTA annual general meeting (AGM) on September 29.
“The suspension was without the consultation with the minister in her capacity as the shareholder, nor concurrence from the minister. The decision is considered to be inconsistent with the provisions of the CBRT Act.
“Section 14(1) of the act expressly vests the authority to appoint the CEO in the minister, and it follows, by necessary implication, that the board does not possess the authority to suspend the CEO without the concurrence of the shareholder, making this suspension therefore unlawful,” said Msibi.
The new board was directed by the department to regularize Mboyi’s suspension and to see if the administrative issues raised by the former board hold any merit.
Msibi said that the new board was expected to report to the deputy minister, Mkhuleko Hlengwa in due course, and also look into allegations that the former board chairperson communicated Mboyi’s suspension to staff before he was formally informed of it as well as that the previous appointed the acting CEO irregularly.
Paradoxically, RTMC CEO Makhosini Msibi was also suspended by the board without the knowledge of the shareholder yet this was not challenged by the department.
The RTMC CEO was suspended on July 1, pending investigations, after a whistleblower made serious allegations against him. The allegations pertain to procurement irregularities worth R800-million. Separate investigations into the allegations by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) and Sandton-based law firm, Lawtons cleared him of any wrongdoing yet he was not reinstated to his cushy job.
Msibi has since taken RTMC and Creecy to the Pretoria High Court, where he is demanding that his suspension be overturned. He is arguing that his suspension was unlawful because the board lacks the statutory power to do so.
This is very same argument the department advanced against the suspension of Mboyi.
Responding to Sunday World, the transport spokesperson (Msibi) hid behind confidentiality, stating that the matter is subjudice.
“The statement I issued on November 8 2025 regarding the irregular suspension of the CBRTA CEO, had two legs to it. First, to regularise the suspension, and second, to check the merits of the grounds of his suspension.
“The RTMC matter is under judicial consideration and, therefore, prohibited from public discussion elsewhere. Save to say the statement issued on the CEO was not an end in itself. There was more formal and official communication between the board and the shareholder, classified as confidential.
“With regards to the suspension of the RTMC CEO, the matter is before the court I’m advised by the legal team not to comment. I’ll therefore stick to my guns. The suspension of the RTMC CEO was not irregular,” the spokesperson said
“The issue of the Auditor-General’s report is a matter that should be processed by the board. I cannot confirm if the suspension is pending the outcome of the investigation by the AG.”
Creecy had not responded to the questions sent to her at the time of going to print.
