Golding resigns from HCI

28 October 2014 - 02:00 By Aarti J Narsee
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RESISTANCE: Suspended e.tv boss Marcel Golding at his labour court hearing this week
RESISTANCE: Suspended e.tv boss Marcel Golding at his labour court hearing this week
Image: ADRIAN DE KOCK

Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) executive chairman Marcel Golding has resigned, citing a broken "relationship of confidence and trust" between him and board members.

This comes after a judge rubbished the claim that he was ousted over political interference at e.tv.

But the Labour Court in Cape Town acknowledged that the claims were "serious" and should not be swept under the carpet.

Dismissing the urgent application yesterday, Judge Anton Steenkamp described Golding's urgency as "self-created" and said he was well aware Golding's week-long HCI disciplinary hearing was scheduled to start yesterday.

Golding - who earned a monthly salary from HCI of R480239 - faces five counts of misconduct for dereliction of duty, gross negligence, dishonesty and breaches of fiduciary duty and the company ethics policy.

Golding claims the disciplinary action and his suspension last week were motivated by an "ulterior to force him out" of the company he co-founded with partner Johnny Copelyn.

He accused Yunus Shaik, South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union representative on the HCI board, of attempting to interfere in e.tv's editorial independence through his "increasing role and influence".

HCI is a shareholder in e.tv's owner, Sabido.

HCI said Golding was suspended after buying a secret R24-million stake in electronics company Ellies Holdings without consultation.

The judge said Golding's claims were "not borne out of evidence".

In court papers, Golding cites an e-mail Shaik allegedly sent to him in March, in which he said that President Jacob Zuma's opening of a new dam would be a good lead news item because the "building of dams is a big issue and has big impact on our country".

Steenkamp described the allegations as "serious" and "on the face of it, not without substance".

"It is indeed startling and harks back to the tragic time in our history when ministers of the apartheid regime sometimes dictated the contents of news broadcasts on the SABC; that a director of HCI should suggest to directors of e.tv what they should carry as a lead story ... at the behest of a cabinet minister," he said.

Announcing Golding's resignation yesterday, HCI said he " reserved his rights to pursue claims against the group in the future".

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