- Jenitha John resigned as IRBA CEO amid concerns around her non-executive directorship at Tongaat Hulett.
- Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni is appointing a caretaker board following the dissolution of the IRBA board.
- The caretaker board includes Nonkululeko Gobodo and Roy Andersen, while Imre Nagy serves as acting CEO, and Karen Maree as acting accountant general.
The Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors announced on Tuesday that its CEO Jenitha John tendered her resignation, amid concerns around her non-executive directorship at Tongaat Hulett.
In a statement, IRBA announced that Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni would appoint Nonkululeko Gobodo and Roy Andersen to a caretaker board after the IRBA board was dissolved.
John spent the better part of a decade as chair of the audit committee at Tongaat Hulett until 2019, when the company was rocked by an auditing scandal that saw it fined and suspended from trade by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
The IRBA statement said John made full and frank disclosure of her non-executive directorship of Tongaat Hulett and the issues which surrounded that directorship at the beginning of the selection process.
'Negative perceptions'
"It is unfortunate that negative perceptions about Ms John persist and this has unfortunately impacted her role at the IRBA. Consequently, Ms John feels that it would be in the best interests of the IRBA for her to stand down as CEO," the statement said.
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The statement said John will be available over the next three months to assist the caretaker board with any necessary guidance it might need.
"While the Caretaker Board has not conducted its own investigation into the process to recruit and appoint Ms John, it can confirm that an independent review was conducted and that the process was found to be compliant with the IRBA recruitment policy," the statement said.
The statement also announced the immediate appointment of IRBA acting CEO, Imre Nagy, and Karen Maree as acting accountant general.
