Further to our statements - of November 21 2008 and March 2 2009 - on the CEO succession process, we wish to report on the progress made thus far in the process of appointing a permanent chief executive of Transnet Limited.
At the outset, it is important to place on record that this process has taken longer to finalise than we anticipated.
As part of its corporate governance responsibilities, the Board - through its Corporate Governance and Nominations Committee - ensures that best practice succession planning policies are implemented in respect of the Company's executive directors and members of the Group Executive Committee. The appointment of the Company's Group Chief Executive, however, is ultimately the prerogative of the shareholder - in this instance, the government of the Republic of South Africa.
When the former chief executive made known her intention to leave Transnet's employ last year, we proceeded to work towards a smooth succession.
To ensure that Transnet was led by the best candidate available, we widened the internal succession pool by including external candidates who were identified by an independent executive search agency in accordance with criteria set by the Board. At the commencement of the process, the Minister of Public Enterprises, Ms Bridgette Mabandla, MP, was consulted in her capacity as the representative of Transnet's only shareholder.
As part of making a credible choice for the position of the group chief executive of this important institution, we formed a Selection Committee by expanding the Corporate Governance and Nominations Committee to include the chairman of the Board's Remuneration Committee. All these committees are made up of non-executive members of the Board.
The rigorous selection process identified only one unanimous candidate for appointment on time before the departure of the former chief executive. The candidate, who had participated in the selection process, withdrew his candidature after his name was recommended to the Minister by the Board.
The Board had intended initiating a review process, on a fast-tracked basis, to identity a new candidate to be recommended to the Minister as Transnet's new chief executive.
The Minister has since requested an opportunity to engage with the selection process further before the next steps are undertaken.
In the meantime, the Board would like to assure all our stakeholders that we have full confidence in the leadership of Mr Chris Wells, our acting group chief executive, and we are pleased with the way he and the executive team are managing the transition.
Once the selection process is finalised, we will communicate its outcome.
Issued on behalf of Mr Fred Phaswana, the Chairman of the Board, by John Dludlu Transnet Limited spokesman, March 23 2009
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