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ZIWAPHI • VOL 4 NO 8 • 23 April - 6 May 2010

Winds of change are beginning to blow at Mpumalanga Government’s biggest parastatal, Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) with the demotion of the agency’s former Chief Executive Officer, Nosizwe Nokwe.

The MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Jabulani Mahlangu announced earlier this week that Gijima Dladla, who is also the CEO for the Mpumalanga Housing Finance Corporation (MHFCo) has been appointed as the acting CEO of the new entity, which is still called MEGA.

While the news for Nokwe’s demotion were received with jubilation within the offices of the agency earlier this week, employees described the mood within the parastatal as “tense”, but that they were happy to see that the once powerful CEO was as vulnerable as the victims of her strong hand tactics.

Nokwe took over the controversial parastatal from Phillip Dexter in 2006 following the merger of the Mpumalanga Investment Initiative (MII) and Mpumalanga Economic Empowerment Corporation (MEEC). Dexter subsequently became the board chairperson but was fired following a forensic investigation that was instituted by former MEC Craig Padayachee.

MEGA was formed to promote trade and investment and to provide funding for enterprise development within the province, however problems started surfacing at the parastatal when allegations started to emerge that MEGA was funding businesses that are based in Gauteng province and Mozambique, as well as allegations of mismanagement.

Almost a year later, MEGA has failed to answer media enquiries even after they had appointed a reputation management company to answer media enquiries.

Dladla has been in charge of the MHFCo for more than a decade and the corporation remains one of the success stories of the province. It has developed a reputation of exceeding whatever housing targets that it had set for itself since its inception.

The company is currently engaged in several ambitious projects aimed at integrating previously separated white and black settlements in a number of municipalities in the province, such as Thaba Chweu.

The new MEGA’s interim board is headed by Zweli Mncube, who took over from Dexter following the latter’s dismissal and is also constituted by other board members who were part of the previous boards of MEGA, MHFCo and the Mpumalanga Agricultural Development Corporation (MADC).

Mahlangu also brought on board new blood in the form of former Deputy Speaker of the Legislature, Boy Nobunga and trade unionist December Manana-Mavuso who is the provincial secretary of the National Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU).

The establishment of the new MEGA means the demise of the former MEGA which hogged media headlines for all the wrong reasons, such as defying Premier David Mabuza and MEC Mahlangu.

Old habits, however, seems to die hard in MEGA because despite the MEC’s announcement that MEGA had ceased to exist, reports reached Ziwaphi that the senior management of the old MEGA were still convening their management meetings without informing the new leadership.

“As promised, we can report that the Honourable Premier has assented to the Bill which merges the old MEGA, the MADC and the MHFCo, to establish a new entity known as the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA), in terms of the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency Act of 2010 (Act 1 of 2010). This therefore means that the old MEGA and the MADC have ceased to exist, in terms of the law, by the end of March 2010, with the exception of the MHFCo, which still needs to be de-established in line with the Companies Act of 1973…” Mahlangu said on Monday.

Nokwe’s five-year contract ends in March next year, however, if it is found that she has transgressed the laws of the country, she may be terminated before that time.