Johnathan Paoli
THE Presidency has weighed into the controversy surrounding popular economist Thabi Leoka on allegations that she embellished her CV by claiming to have a PHD from a London school.
Leoka also sits in the Presidents’ Advisory Council, the Remgro group, MTN and other boards but the Presidency has said there was no vetting required for those who sat on the board because they did so voluntarily.
The Presidency has officially demanded provision of the qualifications from Leoka, with spokesperson Vincent Magwenya saying that in the interest of transparency, they requested that she address the matter of her qualifications expeditiously.
Magwenya, however, confirmed that because its Economic Advisory Council was a non-statutory body, vetting was not required when appointments were made.
He said members volunteered their time and were not employed by The Presidency, nor were they remunerated by the State, and that appointments were based on experience and qualification, with a PhD not being a requirement.
Business Day reported on Tuesday that Leoka, appointed to the council, lied about obtaining the qualification from the London School of Economics, in the UK.
However, Leoka has persistently denied any wrongdoing and said that she would be considering taking legal action against the publication house but has failed to provide proof that she in fact obtained a PHD.
Remgro’s Lwanda Zingitwa said that Remgro was aware of the unconfirmed allegations that have been raised in the media against Leoka and that she was appointed as an independent non-executive director of Remgro, effective 22 March 2023 subject to shareholder approval at an AGM.
“The appointment was, however, not ratified at the Remgro AGM on 4 December 2023 as she advised the board that she opted to no longer stand for election as an independent non-executive director of the company due to personal reasons, at which point her tenure as a director of Remgro ended,” Zingitwa said.
Remgro did not respond to questions on whether it vetted Leoka’s qualifications when she joined the group.
This follows a rise in the number of fake qualification scandals over the years with the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia), which came into effect in 2021, making it increasingly difficult for journalists to confirm whether prominent figures hold the degree they claim from South African universities.
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