Serge Belamant steps down as Net1 chairman, remains CEO

Controversial Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) CEO Serge Belamant has resigned as chairman of Net1, it was reported on Friday.

Belamant made headlines in recent weeks for his utterances during the recent grants crisis.

Belamant brazenly declared that CPS was the only company capable of distributing and managing social grants, one of the many comments that led to MPs labelling him arrogant.

“We are not unreasonable people … one thing we have proven is that we can do the job. Another point is, is there anybody who can step in our shoes? The answer is no, except for the post office or the pigeons they can use to, you know … fly money around. But apart from these, who else is available?” the controversial CEO said at the time.

According to a Sunday Times report, Belamant resigned as chairperson of Net1, CPS’s parent company, allegedly following pressure from Allan Gray, a shareholder of the company.

Net1 announced in a statement that it had decided to split the chairperson and CEO roles, in line with a “growing practice of US public companies” as well as that of South African companies to have the chairman be an independent director.

Belamant will remain CEO of the company as well as a director. Christopher Seabrooke was announced as his replacement.

The company further announced that it would appoint more independent directors, adding that the separation of the roles of the chairperson and CEO was an “appropriate corporate governance model for the company” given its high listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as well the significant local shareholder base.

CPS made headlines last month in relation to the SA Social Security Agency debacle.

This came after reports revealed that minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini did not have a plan in place to takeover the distribution of grants to 17 million recipients from CPS – after the Constitutional Court’s 2014 ruling that its contract with Sassa was constitutionally invalid.

The court was given assurances by Sassa and the social development department in 2015 that it would create the internal payment system after it failed to secure a new service provider to replace CPS.

In March this year, the court had to intervene in the crisis and extended the contract with CPS for another 12 months following an application by The Black Sash Trust, which asked the court to resume its supervisory role over the payment of grants.

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