This follows after seven of the nine members of the board of directors resigned after they illegally suspended MEGA

CEO Xolani Sithole, and he had to let go of the two that were left.
Kholwane was speaking during a media briefing after the provincial budget speech on Tuesday. The board acted illegally and outside of the legal framework.

“I must give them an agreement to say ‘yes, go ahead’, but I did not give them that, and then they suspended the person.

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“The board has no power to suspend the CEO. They contravened the MEGA act and I cannot work with people who contravene the act. I asked them if they realised that they contravened the act, but they gave me a general explanation and I referred them back to the MEGA Act,” said Kholwane.

Their term would have ended in May and MEGA is working on appointing an interim board. The agency has already advertised.

Kholwane says there is a misunderstanding that he agreed on the suspension.

“They gave me the board resolution. I asked them to give me an an opportunity to apply my mind on the report. I still had the report. They then suspended the CEO,” said Kholwane.

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He added that the investigation into the CEO had to nevertheless continue, as “no one is untouchable”.
Meanwhile construction at the Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market could be delayed.
Construction stopped a week ago after a group of men demanded that the workers stop and that they should be given the job instead.

“The issue is that we have a time frame. It is no longer a MEGA issue, it is a community matter,” he said. It is unclear when will they resume, although MEGA said they are working on the issue.
Kholwane says the budget of the construction is not affected by the issues, but they still need assistance.

“There is still a budget included in the budget of 2019/20. As government we had said it will be difficult to fund everything. We are also exploring getting a private investor, because we need about R1,2 billion for the top structure. With the competing needs of the departments of health and education we do not have the luxury of having such money,” he said.