The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is vehemently opposed to the appointment of Ben Magara as the new CEO of Exxaro Resources. The Exxaro board has not been engaging with us in good faith in that we had a meeting with them on 19th February 2025 with the follow-up meeting scheduled for 17th March 2025 discussing the CEO saga in the company.
“Since the NUM is a mandate-driven organization, we had to consult our members who constitute more than 80% across the group to ascertain the marching orders from our constituency about the suspension of the then CEO Dr Nombasa Tsengwa. The feeling of our members on the ground was that Nombasa Tsengwa would remain the darling of the workers and workers are willing to do anything to have her back at Exxaro as it is clear that her suspension was unjust and unfair since her sins were insourcing core business within the group which gives sustainable jobs to our members. This insourcing approach by the suspended CEO happened to be acting against the interest of the board that is for outsourcing business with the aim of self-enrichment. Before we could give feedback on the feelings of our members and have meaningful engagement on the scheduled meeting on the 17th of March 2025, Ben Magara was appointed the new CEO,” said Tshilidzi Mathavha, NUM Highveld Regional Secretary.
The NUM has been engaging the board on the state of affairs at Exxaro, specifically the way the Board has orchestrated the suspension of the former CEO Dr Nombasa Tsengwa to disguise its protection of Kgabi Masia from facing a fair process of investigation for misconduct. Ben Magara was allegedly part of this orchestration, he was a part of the decision to suspend and charge the former CEO and also supported the smokescreen created by the Board to shield Kgabi Masia’s misconduct and irregular activities that have resulted in over-expenditure in the trucking of coal to Maputo. Having overspent by more than 40% in coal logistics to Maputo compared to other mining companies in the same area.
It is no surprise that Grinrod, a company Ben Magara is a director was advantaged over other competent companies, nominated as the sole service provider to truck and rail coal from Exxaro mines to Maputo at exorbitant rates, yet to a Grinrod Coal Terminal. It is unheard of in our industry that one company provides a wall-to-wall logistics solution, (ie. trucking, railing and loading) created specifically for Exxaro to its terminal. It is uncompetitive to do this especially with a director of Grinrod seating on the Board, and also in the Logistics subcommittee of the Board where these decisions are discussed and approved. These matters are still under the Bowman’s investigation on Masia, and Magara is very conflicted and we do not believe there will be a fair outcome with him at the helm. He’ll never go against a company he is also an active director of.
We believe the abuse of primary mining equipment rentals is deliberate as Masia strategically delayed the purchase of trucks from reputable companies and opted to rent trucks from unheard-of companies in Belarus, also meant to benefit companies like Tau Mining with little or no technical support for their equipment. Also irregular mining standards and massive losses at Leeuwpan are still under Masia’s prolonged and ever ongoing investigation. Therefore we have no confidence that Ben Magara and the Board will be keen to expose Masia given the current Board’s intention to cover Masia up through a prolonged tedious investigation compared to the hastened ENS report on the former CEO that was rushed so that Ben Magara can be appointed within 4 weeks of the former CEOs resignation. Why? Was this pre-determined? We believe Ben Magara is only coming to the CEO seat to implement the Board’s agenda including its business interests as we have mentioned before to the Chairman of the Board.
How is Magara appointed with all his personal business interests which overlap to those of Exxaro, namely copper, manganese, lithium, logistics, coal etc?
We are also aware of Magara’s role in the demise of Lonmin post-2013 when he took over as CEO and Director there. He is known to disrespect the voices of employees and more so of women. As his previous record, we expect him to retrench and fire employees at will. Exxaro has made massive losses in 2024 from the cost burden in the coal business under Masia, and given Magara’s record we have no confidence in his ability to preserve jobs for our members. The news headlines alone during his tenure at Lonmin tell the story of Magara’s track record.
We believe Magara’s swift appointment and announcement were pre-planned, aimed at confusing the market and covering up the extent of losses resulting from Masia’s conduct. We are aggrieved about the continued disregard of our plea to the Chairman to curb corruption in the company and we are left with no option but to approach Exxaro’s shareholders on the risk of working under the leadership of Magara and the Board that seems to care more about their business interests rather than those of the workforce, shareholders and stakeholders at large. This appointment has indicated the refusal by the Board to listen to us as organised labour, representing about 80% of its employees. Therefore, we raise this matter as urgent and cannot wait for a Monday meeting after this unfortunate announcement when the signs are clear of the unstoppable interests perpetuated by the Board.
