SABS placed under administration

This comes after the Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, last month removed the entire SABS board because he had lost faith in its ability to effectively manage the bureau. 

In a statement on Monday, the department announced the appointment of three SABS co-administrators, namely SABS group operating officer Jodi Scholtz, the deputy director-general of the Industrial Development Division at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Garth Strachan, and the chief director of technical infrastructure institutions at the department, Tshenge Demana.

The co-administrators have been tasked with drawing up a turnaround plan for SABS.

"They had been given all powers and duties necessary or incidental for the proper functioning of the SABS," the statement read.

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The SABS last year reported a R44.3 million loss for its 2016/17 financial year.

The minister said he had dissolved the board after he received numerous complaints the quality of SABS' services, and having considered 'unpersuasive' representations from board members.

SABS came into the spotlight after it was allegedly involved in the approval of coal for Eskom from the Gupta-linked mining company, Tegeta.

The SABS had reportedly failed to perform in line with its mandate and Davies lost confidence in the board’s ability to manage the entity effectively.

The appointments will be from 2 July 2018 to 30 January next year.