JOHANNESBURG, September 28 (ANA) – Transnet on Thursday, decried a statement by Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) that it suspended the state-owned rail and logistics company’s membership as “inaccurate and misleading” .
Instead, Transnet said that it had decided not to renew its membership with the business lobby group in a bid to cut costs, and that the two parties have not had the opportunity to meet due to diary clashes.
This comes after BLSA on Thursday, announced that it has suspended the membership of both Eskom and Transnet with immediate effect over allegations of “state capture”.
BLSA said this followed engagement with the two state-owned enterprises in connection with extensive allegations of corrupt behaviour over a long period.
Transnet spokesperson, Molatwane Likhethe, said in a statement that “this is inaccurate and misleading”.
“BLSA approached Transnet early this year, requesting it to consider renewing its membership for 2017. Transnet elected not to renew the membership due to cost-cutting measures. This was communicated to BLSA on 09 August 2017,” Likhethe said.
“The company subsequently received a meeting request from BLSA CEO Mr Bonang Mohale to discuss the cancellation. The meeting has not taken place due to diary clashes.”
In a BLSA statement, Mohale said that South Africans had been rightly disturbed in recent times at the numerous allegations of corrupt behaviour and colossal failures of corporate governance and accountability at both Eskom and Transnet.
“This behaviour is entirely at odds with the values of BLSA, captured in our Integrity pledge. Neither of the SOEs were able to give BLSA comfort that they appreciated the seriousness of the issues at hand, or that they had the requisite will and purpose to put their houses in order,” Mohale said.
“This left BLSA with no choice but to suspend their memberships from the organisation. We have to live by our values and will take a zero-tolerance approach to any organisation found in breach.”
But Likhethe said while Transnet appreciated the role played by BLSA in South Africa, it was unfortunate that “Mohale opted to mislead the public in such a spectacular manner”.
“Transnet is aware of reports casting doubt on the integrity of its procurement processes. The company views these in a serious light and is currently conducting its own investigation on all allegations made,” Likhethe said.
“Should any actionable facts arise, necessary steps will be taken.”
– African News Agency (ANA)
