OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 2.00PM.
SESHI CHONCO has resigned as CEO of arms manufacturing parastatal Denel, he claims, because of a conflict of interests. The Sunday Times reports, however, that Chonco was pushed following a long-running dispute with Public Enterprises Minister Stella Sigcau over the pace of his privatisation plans.
Chonco says he handed in his resignation on July 17, and that it was accepted at a board meeting on Friday. Denel board member Dr Danisa Baloyi issued a statement on Saturday confirming Chonco’s resignation was accepted at Friday’s meeting, at which Flip Botha, a group executive director, was appointed acting chief executive officer.
Chonco says his resignation is a simple conflict of interest related to his substantial shareholding and board seat in an information technology company called Elexir which might compete with the interests of a Denel IT company, Ariel Technologies.
He said he is returning to the private sector in the belief that he achieved what he set out to do at Denel, “… which was to leave the company with a clear programme for restructuring.”
“The Masterplan for Privatisation which I have prepared and handed over to government will sufficiently position the company … The Masterplan argues for 40% partial privatisation, which will provide capital to enable Denel to meet research and development costs.”
He dismissed the idea that he and Sigcau departed on bad terms. “I am not leaving on Stella Sigcau’s orders,” Chonco said on Saturday.
However, Botha’s first statement as acting CEO suggests another story — he committed himself to continuing Chonco’s privatisation plan “regardless of the consequences”.