INL SA
Moe Shaik, President Jacob Zuma’s ally, has been appointed CEO of the key subsidiary of the Development Bank of Southern Africa
The appointment of Moe Shaik, President Jacob Zuma’s ally, as CEO of the key subsidiary of the Development Bank of Southern Africa has raised eyebrows, with opposition parties questioning his suitability for the post.
The state-owned bank announced yesterday that Shaik – brother to Schabir, the convicted fraudster and former financial adviser to Zuma – had been appointed to head its soon-to-be-launched international subsidiary, the Development Bank International.
The bank’s chairman, Jabu Moleketi, described Shaik as the most appropriate choice to lead the new subsidiary of the bank in its quest to partner similar institutions in the Brics economic block made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and SA.
Moleketi said the aim of the subsidiary would be to |accelerate infrastructure funding to promote regional integration across the continent.
However, some opposition parties cast doubt on the suitability of Shaik to head the institution.
The DA’s Tim Harris described the bank as an institution with a critical role to play in the development of the country and the continent.
“It is important that key positions are held by people with the proper qualifications and competencies to drive the agenda of the bank. The DA will be asking Parliamentary questions of the finance minister to establish whether due process was followed in the appointment of Mr Shaik to this important position,” said Harris.
The IFP said it was hopeful it was Shaik’s qualifications that had propelled him to this strategic position, and that he had not been rewarded for allegedly keeping secret “explosive” information on the Zuma administration.
“Time will tell whether or not as CEO he is able to contribute to [turning] around the misfortunes of the millions of unemployed people. The [bank], up till now, has not risen to the challenge,” said the IFP’s Narend Singh.
Moleketi said Shaik had held several senior management positions in the private and public sectors. These included CEO of CorpAfrica (Pty) Ltd, a consul-general’s position in Germany, an ambassadorship to Algeria, a special adviser position to the former minister of foreign affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, head of SA Secret Services in the Ministry of State Security, and head of policy research at the Department of Foreign Affairs, said Moleketi.
During Shaik’s tenure as the CEO of CorpAfrica, he turned around its asset base and made it more profitable, said Moleketi.
“Mr Shaik’s experience in the field of international relations and diplomatic intelligence will be an added boost for this new subsidiary, DBI. We have no doubt that his prudent expertise will facilitate SA’s investments in the rest of Africa,” said Moleketi.
Shaik holds a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) degree, a Bachelor of Optometry degree and a Master’s degree in Optometry (cum laude), all from the University of Durban-Westville. He has also completed an advanced management programme at the Harvard Business School.
