Cadre deployment on steroids: Dlamini’s appointment as new Telkom CFO must be rescinded

The Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele, should immediately rescind the deployment of Nonkululeko Dlamini as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Telkom. It is a disgrace that, a few hours after she jumped the ship before she could be fired as Transnet CFO, Telkom did not waste time in announcing her as their new CFO.

Dlamini’s appointment to Telkom is simply astounding considering the train wreck that she and former Transnet CEO Portia Derby, left behind at Transnet. The DA completely rejects this clear case of cadre recycling, which has been responsible for the collapse of the SOE sector in South Africa.

As Transnet CFO, her job was to make sure that the SOE remained financially viable through prudent financial management. Instead, she has left behind an organisation saddled with a debt of R130.1 billion and paying R1 billion in interest every month on the debt.

Worse still, according to the Auditor General, compliance with auditing and financial reporting standards by Transnet remained weak. These weak controls had direct implications on Transnet’s reported irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure which increased from R1.1-billion in 2022 to R2.3-billion in 2023.

With such a poor and disastrous professional record, Gungubele must explain why they decided to appoint Dlamini to become Telkom’s new financial chief. The appointment raises questions about Telkom’s decision-making process and its evaluation of candidates for such crucial positions. it is perplexing that Ms. Dlamini was seen as “fit for purpose” for the role at Telkom.

It is simply unacceptable that SOEs have been turned into cadre deployment recycling machines despite clear evidence that the policy has destroyed the sector. Transnet should have been the last place where Dlamini held a senior management position, especially one that involves the management of billions of rand.

Dlamini will add no value to the financial management of Telkom, in fact there is a high chance that she will leave the company in the same financial ruin that she left Transnet in. Her appointment should be terminated with immediate effect before Telkom becomes another failed SOE.