Explosive letter suggests tension between Safa boss Jordaan and former acting CEO Mokoena

"The president instructed the acting CEO to ignore legal procedure to rationalise staff‚ in other words he gave the acting CEO an illegal instruction"

27 April 2020 - 12:07 By Mahlatse Mphahlele
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SA Football Association former acting CEO Gay Mokoena (R) with President Danny Jordaan (L) at a media briefing in Johannesburg on March 18 2020. Mokoena, a high-ranking member of the high-decision making Safa Council, accuses his President of flouting corporate governnance protocols at the Association.
SA Football Association former acting CEO Gay Mokoena (R) with President Danny Jordaan (L) at a media briefing in Johannesburg on March 18 2020. Mokoena, a high-ranking member of the high-decision making Safa Council, accuses his President of flouting corporate governnance protocols at the Association.
Image: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix

Tension appears to be mounting between SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan and former acting chief executive officer Gay Mokoena after a lengthy and explosive letter suggested that the battle lines between have been drawn between the two officials.

Mokoena made serious allegations in the leaked letter seen by TimesLIVE and accused Jordaan of running the financially ailing organisation like his own fiefdom‚ flouting corporate governance principles and violating Safa statutes‚ among a host of other allegations.

In the letter that was circulated to the members of Safa, the Safa Council‚ Mokoena said his actions were not motivated by sour grapes after he had to leave his office last week.

“It is important to mention that I am not raising these issues because I have sour grapes as the president (Jordaan) requested me to vacate the acting CEO position on 15 April 2020.

"Some of my colleagues would know that I exited the jobs market 22 years ago.

"I am raising these issues because “our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr).

"More so‚ I have a fudiciary duty to the Association as a member of the NEC‚” wrote Mokoena.

“The position of Chief Executive Officer or Secretary General is a (constitutional) position imposed by the Constitution of the Association. It is very important to the organisation.

"This means that‚ at the moment‚ Safa is violating its own constitution by not having a permanent CEO or an acting CEO.

"It is not an issue who this person is. There should be always a CEO (or an acting CEO) and a president (or an Acting President) at Safa.

"There cannot be a vacuum for these positions.”

Mokoena acted as Safa's chief executive officer from November 1 2020 until his contract came to an end in April 15 2020. He could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Safa president Jordaan and spokesperson Dominic Chimhavi were also not immediately available for comment.

Some of the issues raised by Mokoena in his letter are:

- President does not have the powers to appoint or dismiss a CEO‚ COO and/or CFO‚ therefore he has violated Clause 37.3 of the Safa constitution.

- The President failed to recommend to the NEC the appointment of an acting CEO‚ leaving the organisation without a head of the general secretariat.

- The president appointed the CFO to also act as the acting CEO or alternatively as a supervisor or contact person or coordinator‚ positions that do not exist at Safa he does not have the power and the authority to do so.

- The president instructed the acting CEO to ignore legal procedure to rationalise staff‚ in other words he gave the acting CEO an illegal instruction.

- The president dismissed staff without the approval of the NEC.

- The president appointed a member of the NEC Mr. Mxolisi Sibam‚ a chairperson of the Audit and Risk Committee to do consulting work at the Association without the necessary approval from the NEC.


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