ECDC board sacked as forensic audit gets underway

LEONARD NEILL
THE ENTIRE Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) board has been sacked by the provincial economics MEC Andre de Wet, who has also suspended from duty the corporation’s chief executive Mcebisi Jonas.
The announcement during the past weekend, which has sent shock waves through the Eastern Cape business comm.unity, is linked to the deal made by the ECDC for the sale of the Mpekweni resort near Port Alfred.
The resort, formerly part of the Fish River Sun leisure and casino operation which was owned by Sun International, is reported to have been sold to a business consortium for R9million when other bidders were understood to have been prepared to pay more.
De Wet called for a forensic report on the sale details, and after studying this announced he was replacing the entire board under the chairmanship of advocate Naledi Burwana-Bishwe with immediate effect.
The firing of the board is the latest in a series of upheavals in recent weeks in which a number of top provincial government and parastatal officials have been removed from their posts in dramatic fashion.
At the beginning of September premier Nosimo Balindela sacked provincial finance MEC Enoch Godongwana and suspended treasury finance head Monde Tom. Last week two more senior treasury officials were suspended pending investigations into the province’s finance. They are deputy director-general Ms Mendo Dukaka and financial adviser Thys de Beer.
In another move the entire Eastern Cape Tourism Board resigned when De Wet, acting in his other role as MEC for tourism, appointed Glenton de Kock to the post of ceo Eastern Cape Tourism. The board stated the MEC’s decision had not been ratified by them. De Wet immediately named a new board which, in turn, has ratified De Kock’s appointment.