Nominations for GAAL board received; members to be elected soon

The department of roads and transport is in the process of forming a new Gateway Airport Authority Limited (Gaal) board.

Advertisements were placed and nominations were received. Roads and transport MEC Lehlogonolo Masoga and the national minister of transport Dipuo Peters will elect the new board members soon, according to the head of the department, Hanli du Plessis.

Gaal CEO, Thulani Zulu, was suspended as a precaution in February 2012 following allegations of misconduct and the board was disbanded more than a year ago, with Gaal being governed by the department’s administrator in the meantime. Former board member, Sisa Tanda, as well as Polokwane businessman, Letepe Maisela, were arrested by the Hawks in April for alleged collusion and misrepresentation of facts to Gaal regarding Zulu’s recruitment, involving an amount of R285 000.

According to Du Plessis the board’s first function and priority would be to decide about the governance issue at the airport. The decision would have to me made if the airport, which has never made a profit, would be managed by the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA), or alternatively what other model would be implemented in the management of the entity. Advertisements were already placed for a study to be conducted on the best model and the implementation thereof.