Ray Smuts
AS THE search for a 'super manager' to drive Cape Town's new R9 billion unicity moves into top gear, the names of Saki Macozoma, Coleman Andrews and Hennie Taljaard - ironically all with transportation expertise - have cropped up as the ideal sort of candidate for a job being chased by more than 40 applicants.
Macozoma, former m.d. of Transnet, and Andrews, who announced last week that he would relinquish his position as c.e.o. of South African Airways this year, are credited with reviving the fortunes of their respective companies, while Taljaard has claimed that he helped to turn a R19 million financial loss in 1993 into a cumulative profit of R500 million over the years.
Taljaard, former Cape Town general manager of the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA), was recently cleared of allegations of mismanagement and has resigned to pursue other interests, but both he and Cape Town Partnership chief executive Michael Farr have denied applying for the position.
Finding the right sort of person will not come cheap. Up to December last year Ketso Gordhan, city manager for the then greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council, is reported to
have earned between
R2,5 million and R3 million a year including performance bonuses.
The manager of a typical medium-sized American city investigated by the Democratic Alliance which will be in control of the unicity, earns almost R4 million a year while the city manager of Leeds in England earns the equivalent of about
R3,5 million a year.
Problem is that unless a suitable candidate is available locally the search will have to go abroad, and Cape Town is unlikely to be able to afford the best international talent available given the current exchange rate.
Copyright Now Media (Pty) Ltd
No article may be reproduced without the written permission of the editor
To respond to this article send your email to joyo@nowmedia.co.za
