USA CEO steps down

Johannesburg, 26 May 2006

Sam Gulube, CEO of the Universal Service Agency (USA), has resigned after serving three years at the agency.

Gulube, whose resignation was effective last week, has joined the SA National Blood Service (SANBS), as national medical director.

Motlatso Ramadiba, USA`s new COO, will act in the position of CEO until the position can be advertised, a source within the company says.

Gulube, a medical practitioner and former member of the Medical Research Council, says the move is for personal career growth.

"With accumulated experience in the medical ICT sector, I believe that I can now contribute to the utilisation of ICT in the healthcare sector," Gulube says.

"I have joined SANBS at an exiting time," he adds, alluding to the appointment of Loyiso Mpuntsha as the new CEO of SANBS.

"SANBS is undergoing restructuring and part of the new strategy is to use ICT services to ensure safe delivery of blood," he says.

"If we were to use paper to track down who the blood came from and who it went to, we would be searching through paper forever," Gulube says.

"Although we do have an existing ICT system in place, there is always room for improvement.

"I hope to use my three years of experience gained at USA to find ways to better utilise ICT in the healthcare sector, as well as other sectors like education," Gulube says.