Telkom chief executive Nombulelo "Pinky” Moholi has resigned, the parastatal announced on Monday (05/11/2012).
"Moholi has notified the company of her intention to step down before the end of her contract period,” it said in a statement.
"She has given the board the requisite six months’ notice in this regard.” Telkom said the resignation would not impact its operational capabilities.
The company’s board director Neo Phakama Dongwana also resigned.
"The board thanks Ms Dongwana for her valuable contribution to Telkom and wishes her well in her future endeavours,” Telkom said.
Once the "current vacancies” on the board were filled, it would start looking for a new chief executive.
"The process of filling the vacancies on the board has commenced and announcements will be made in due course,” it said.
Website BDlive reported that at Telkom’s annual general meeting (AGM) in October, Communications Minister Dina Pule managed to vote off four board members. Pule, who represented government - Telkom’s majority shareholder - was initially prevented from doing so by a proxy from her department to support all the AGM’s resolutions. The proxy was eventually suspended, allowing Pule to vote.
The AGM was last chaired by Lazarus Zim after he announced his resignation as Telkom chairman in September. Moholi previously rejected speculation that she intended resigning after Zim left.
"There’s nothing like that. Have you ever heard a quote from me saying that? All I can give you is I’m denying the rumour,” Moholi told Business Report.
Moholi was appointed chief executive in April last year, after acting head Jeffrey Hedberg decided earlier in 2011 not to renew his contract.
She became the first black woman to head up a Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed telecommunications company in South Africa.
She was previously Telkom’s chief sales and marketing officer from 2002 to 2005, before moving on to Nedbank for three years.
In 2009 she returned to Telkom as a managing director. - Sapa
