Mungo Soggot
FOR a member of the Free Market Foundation, Transnet chairman Louise Tager’s anti-privatisation stance is surprising.
A glance at Tager’s curriculum vitae, supplied by Transnet, shows she has been a member of the Free Market Foundation since 1990, a trustee of the Don Caldwell Trust — another pro-privatisation group — since 1992, and part of the Privatisation Unit for Local Government since 1995. She was a trustee of the South African Foundation until last year and in 1993, she won the Free Market Award.
Despite these affiliations and accolades Tager has indicated she is wary of selling off the state’s transport assets and has at times appeared to adopt an even more cautious approach than Public Enterprises Minister Stella Sigcau.
Privately though, Tager is understood to be less strident in her anti-sell-off stance, indicating she is merely anxious to have both government and labour on board.
Her cv also shows that apart from an outstanding legal career, she is involved with about 40 organisations and committees and is a member of both the Black Housewives’ League and the Black Lawyers’ Association.
Transnet this week refused to comment on reports that Tager earned R900 000 a year whereas her predecessor had taken a knock in salary to R185 000 because he only worked at the parastatal part-time. Sigcau denied the reports, saying Tager earned R500 000 a year.
The only private sector companies of which Tager is a director are Barlows and Wooltru, but she is involved with a host of other non-profit organisations such as the Business Practices Committee, Legal Assist, and the Timeshare Industry of South Africa Disciplinary Committee.
In the public sector, her posts include a place on the Competition Board’s Deregulation Committee, the National Health Legislation Review Committee and the Standing Advisory Committee on Company Law.
Tager was dean of the Law Faculty of the University of the Witwatersrand, the first woman to be appointed dean of any faculty in South Africa.
On winning the 1993 Business Woman of the Year special award for outstanding achievement, she was described as a “knight in shining armour — crusading for the interests of consumers”.