PetroSA chair vacates position

PetroSA chairman Benny Mokaba has vacated his position at the company, it was announced on Monday.

Mandla Tyala, spokesman for the Central Energy Fund (CEF) which owns the company, said CEF chairwoman Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele announced Mokaba's departure on Monday morning.

"The move follows the conclusion of an investigation which was ordered by the Minister of Energy... Dipuo Peters to investigate the robustness of the procurement system at PetroSA," Tyala said.

"The investigation was part of an initiative by the minister to ensure adherence to good corporate governance principles and transparency at enterprises which report to the department of energy."

Mokaba's departure was effective immediately.

A preliminary report issued by the investigating team last month found several instances of inappropriate executive override of internal control systems at PetroSA.

This meant proper processes and procedures were not followed with regard to tenders and contracts at PetroSA.

The team's report also made allegations against current and former senior officials.

Tyala could not confirm whether Mokaba had chosen to resign or had been fired, nor could he confirm whether Mokaba had been implicated in the report.