Malatsi fires B-BBEE ICT council chair amid damning probe

Communications Minister Solly Malatsi has dismissed Minki Mazibuko-Thulo, the chair of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B‑BBEE) ICT Sector Council, immediately due to a collapse of trust and findings from a damning investigation. Established under the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, the council oversees transformation in South Africa's technology industry, ensuring compliance with equality legislation and formulating policies for economic justice.

The investigation uncovered severe dysfunction within the group, financial reporting failures and governance issues dating back to previous council terms. The minister appointed Loyiso Tyra and William Ledwaba as interim chair and deputy chair for six months while the department resolves the council's reconfiguration. The council failed to develop new legislation, submit required annual reports, and had governance and financial management problems.

Financial irregularities included lack of revenue management strategy, poor procurement, and unauthorised expenditure by non-council members. The probe concluded that financial reporting relied on bank statements instead of audited accounts, and the Finance Subcommittee was dysfunctional. Malatsi emphasized the need to reconfigure leadership to restore credibility and ensure the council can effectively contribute to economic equality in the ICT sector.