Johannesburg, 02 May 2012
The Chairperson of the Board of Broadband Infraco, Mandla Ngcobo, would like to acknowledge the announcement by Cabinet of the new Chief Executive Officer for the company.
The Chairperson, speaking on behalf of the Board, further wishes to extend due welcome to Puleng Sejanamane, who joins the company with a wealth of experience, and therefore a critical part of the broader efforts to ensure the gains of the past financial year are sustained towards the full growth trajectory of Broadband Infraco.
As part of the current Executive Team, Sejanamane has been pivotal in the repositioning of Broadband Infraco and has worked very closely with the outgoing Acting Chief Executive Officer, towards implementing best practices in the company, and including improving shareholder relations, as well as stakeholder and customer relations.
Said Ngcobo: “We welcome Ms Sejanamane's appointment and we congratulate her on the confirmation of her appointment. We are confident that her telecoms experience and including her current efforts as a member of the Executive Management Team will assist to advance the strategic vision of Broadband Infraco, and that her leadership of the company will further enable the company to realise its full potential.”
Further to this, the Board wishes to thank the current Acting Chief Executive, Dr Shaw, who led the transition period and put a number of systems in place to turn the company into the stable entity that it is today. Dr Shaw had been brought in as part of an interim exercise to urgently address shortcomings at Broadband Infraco, and was therefore not only responsible for resurrecting the company's Executive Management layer, but also for presiding over the installation of a number of systems and processes, that had been aimed at stabilising the company.
“We thank Dr Shaw for having marshalled the company (as part of interim efforts) through this difficult transition and we wish him well as he prepares for his new senior role at PriceWaterHouse Coopers, from 1 June 2012.”
FACT SHEET
Andrew Shaw was brought in as interim CEO to bring stability to the Broadband Infraco business, which during the early part of 2011 was faced with deep governance failings and system weaknesses. These shortcomings implicated all but one of the executives and the previous CEO had resigned as a result. Disciplinary charges were initiated against these executives as well as many other senior managers in the company.
Minister Gigaba brought in Andrew Shaw (previously a DDG and Acting DG at DPE) on a one year contract (for the 2011/12 financial year) to oversee corrective actions within the company. It was made clear that this was an interim assignment with Andrew mandated to fill full a clear set of interim functions and deliverables.
Part of this mandate included overseeing a detailed forensic investigation as had been initiated by the previous Board and to also to take all necessary and required actions to supervise the disciplinary processes taken pursuant to internal and external audit findings.
Andrew's focus during 2011/12 was to set in place corrective actions aimed at improving and in many instances, instating for the first time appropriate and PFMA aligned internal controls across the organisation. As part of this process and in the interests of the business function of Broadband Infraco there was a comprehensive restructuring of the company.
In the absence of an executive layer (all but one executive was dismissed from the company), the Interim CEO was required to initiate a recruitment process aimed at bringing executives of the correct calibre and skill to take the company forward. All key executive posts were filled by December of 2012.
A further area of focus for the Interim CEO was to align the company to the strategic intent of the Department of Public Enterprises. Broadband Infraco had during 2010/11 failed to meet the majority of the shareholder compact targets set for it. Substantial progress is likely against the targets set for the 2012/12 financial year due to more targeted delivery and re-alignment within the company. All financial targets and more than 90% of other targets are forecast to be met within the current 2011/12 audit.
On the 1st June 2012 Andrew will join the advisory services group at PWC at a senior level where he will focus on infrastructure funding and investment.
Issued by: Corporate Communications Services Broadband Infraco
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