Hogan: Hold CEOs accountable

[Mila]

http://fin24.com/articles/default/d...icleId=1518-25_2579761&IsColumnistStory=False

Cape Town - CEOs of state-owned industries must be held accountable by their boards, insisted Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan hotly defending her budget in parliament on Thursday.

"From now on the message must go out very clearly," Hogan told MPs in the extended public committee of the National Assembly where the debate took place, "that potential and incumbent CEOs cannot act as though they are above its board. Just as a municipal manager is accountable to a council, so is a CEO accountable to a board.

"In equal measure, boards must exercise their prerogative to hold CEOs accountable. If these two prescripts are adhered to, we will be on the road to restoring good corporate governance in our parastatals."

She warned that for as long as CEOs resort to mounting the equivalent of public campaigns to secure their positions, the company would suffer.

"For as long as the position of CEO becomes a hotly-contested matter in the public domain, other candidates who are perfectly qualified and competent to do the job will not make themselves available for such positions."

Turning to the current row over the World Bank loan to Eskom and the relationship between Eskom, Hitachi Africa and the ruling political party, Hogan told MPs that the loan from the bank is not going to fund the boilers, from which Hitachi and the ANC will benefit.

The ANC's investment arm, Chancellor House Holdings, will not benefit from a R3.75bn World Bank loan to, among other things, build Eskom's new Medupi power station.

Hogan told journalists ahead of her budget speech in parliament on Thursday that the loan did not cover a contract to build a boiler for Medupi by Hitachi Power Africa, in which Chancellor House had a 25% share.

"I don't understand what the conflict of interest is, when there is no political party involvement, where there is no beneficiary," Hogan said.

"One of the issues that comes up continually is that the World Bank loan covers the boiler contract, which is what the Hitachi contract is for.

"The World Bank loan does not cover the Hitachi contract. It is completely separate from the boiler.

"So the World Bank is not involved in funding the boiler programme that Hitachi has contracted for."

But the public will be funding the Hitachi part? So the ANC will still be making the bucks, since they won the tender?

1. did I understand the problem better than the minister?
2. Is the minister just blowing smoke
3. do I have the Cat by the tail?
4. oink!!
5. all of the above?

 

[Tassidar]

Right so I lend you 200 bucks. I tell you that you may not buy new shoes with it (which you want).
So what do you do, you spend the R200 bucks on buying food and the R200 that would have been spent on buying food goes to the shoes.

Either way, the R200 has still helped you to buy the shoes.

Is Hogan much more thick than I thought. Actually, she's still with the ANC - no need to answer that one.

 

[Mila]

Right so I lend you 200 bucks. I tell you that you may not buy new shoes with it (which you want).
So what do you do, you spend the R200 bucks on buying food and the R200 that would have been spent on buying food goes to the shoes.

Either way, the R200 has still helped you to buy the shoes.

Is Hogan much more thick than I thought. Actually, she's still with the ANC - no need to answer that one.

Jip.. the wheels of the gravy train goes round and round round and round..

Oink.

 

[HavocXphere]

In equal measure, boards must exercise their prerogative to hold CEOs accountable.

That thats where the entire thing falls apart. They are handing out bonuses not reprimands to CEOs who manage the SOE into the ground.

Turning to the current row over the World Bank loan to Eskom and the relationship between Eskom, Hitachi Africa and the ruling political party, Hogan told MPs that the loan from the bank is not going to fund the boilers, from which Hitachi and the ANC will benefit.

Stop spin this k@k. The boilers are going to get paid. Whether its from a loan or whatever doesn't matter: The taxpayer is gonna foot the bill at the end.