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Telkom makes board changes

Sibahle Malinga
By Sibahle Malinga, ITWeb senior news journalist.
Johannesburg, 09 Sept 2020
Alphonzo Samuels, CEO former of Openserve, has joined the Telkom board as non-executive director.
Alphonzo Samuels, CEO former of Openserve, has joined the Telkom board as non-executive director.

Telkom has announced changes to its board, including the appointment of new members.

In a notice to shareholders, the telecoms operator today announced the appointment of Alphonzo Samuels and Hemmanth (Herman) Singh as non-executive director and independent non-executive director to the board of directors, with effect from 1 January 2021 and 25 September 2020, respectively.

This follows the retirement of Santie Botha and Khanyisile Kweyama, both independent non-executive directors of the board of directors, which come into effect from 25 September and 31 December, respectively.

“Telkom welcomes Samuels and Singh to the board of directors, and looks forward to their contributions to the company,” it says.

“Samuels is well-positioned to help companies and boards understand information communication technology, digital transformation and its immense opportunities to improve the sustainability of businesses. Singh is an innovative business thinker and a high impact player with a mix of business technology, leadership and entrepreneurial skills, and has led and guided many disruptive businesses in the ongoing convergence of technology and business for over 20 years,” it adds.

The new board announcement comes as Telkom implements a new organisational structure, after retrenching over 2 000 employees so far this year.

In January, the telecommunications giant announced its intention to cut up to 3 000 jobs, and this was then followed by a consultation process involving the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.

Last month, the Communication Workers Union launched an urgent court application to interdict the operator from implementing the new structure until it complied with a “fair labour process”.

Samuels holds a Bachelor of Technology degree from the University of South Africa and is a seasoned executive with more than 35 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry. He also completed an Executive Development Programme and a Programme for Enterprise Leadership.

Samuels was at the helm of Telkom’s Technology and Openserve leadership team for six years, until he retired on 31 March 2020.

Singh holds an MBA, BSc Mechanical Engineering and a Graduate Diploma, Industrial Engineering from the University of Witwatersrand.

The company also extended its gratitude to Botha and Kweyama for their contributions over the last few years and wished them well in their future endeavours.

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