Zuma hung me out to dry, Hogan tells commission

Former public enterprises minister Barbara Hogan said she was portrayed as “an anti-transformation racist” by the ANC when she refused to appoint Siyabonga Gama as Transnet chief executive officer.

Hogan says she expected president Jacob Zuma to protect her and back up her decisions, but “the president hung me out to dry”.

Describing her treatment as “inexcusable”, Hogan yesterday told of how her 18-month tenure as minister was marked by constant interference in her executive authority by Zuma, the ANC and the tripartite alliance.

Giving testimony before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, Hogan cited instances where she felt her powers as minister were “usurped”. These included her inability in 2009 to appoint a board-recommended candidate, Sipho Maseko – currently Telkom chief executive – as Transnet Group CEO because Zuma favoured the recently dismissed Transnet boss Gama.

She said section 85 of the constitution was clear on the president’s powers in relation to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) – allocating the minister authority to appoint board members.

Having assumed the Cabinet position after the watershed 2007 Polokwane 52nd ANC conference that saw Zuma unseat Thabo Mbeki as party leader, Hogan sketched a picture of an ANC riddled with “heavy factional battles, which served to entrench nepotism and patronage”.

She said the ANC alliance partners were bent on “directing decisions on who should be CEO” of an SOE.

Hogan, appointed by Zuma in 2009 and fired in 2010, said her department oversaw nine key SOEs, including Eskom, Transnet and SA Airways.

In 2009, Hogan said, she had to deal with a recommendation by then Transnet chair Fred Phaswana whose board wanted Maseko to take over as chief executive, “but Zuma wanted Gama who faced disciplinary charges by the entity’s internal audit”.

“The issue had to do with the purchase of 50 locomotives. Mr Gama wasn’t found guilty of fraud but there were other senior managers found guilty of fraud,” said Hogan when asked what charges Gama faced. “The report that led to his dismissal dealt with anomalies that involved Nyanda Security Services.”

Gama was later reappointed as chief executive of Transnet Freight Rail – a Transnet subsidiary – after being cleared of wrongdoing by the board, before ultimately assuming the position of Transnet Group CEO.

“I was under pressure for not appointing Gama and some people were nasty to me at [national executive committee] and alliance meetings,” Hogan said. “This is unacceptable. You had to walk to Luthuli House and ingratiate yourself to the party.”

When she and her deputy, Enoch Godongwana, met then ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe to explain the matter of Gama, Mantashe endorsed a fair internal disciplinary process but maintained his support for Gama.

The inquiry continues today.

– brians@citizen.co.za

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.