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Black Business Council: CEO’s exit 'not acrimonious'

Johannesburg - Outgoing Black Business Council (BBC) CEO Mohale Ralebitso “never fought” the organisation, according to its president Danisa Baloyi.

The BBC on Tuesday announced the resignation of Ralebitso, days after his name appeared on a list of 81 CEOs supporting Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

READ: Black Business Council CEO quits

The BBC has previously said it doesn’t support the removal of President Jacob Zuma and also that it “welcomes” what it calls “no political interference” in the National Prosecuting Authority’s decision to charge Gordhan.

Ralebitso only spent about a year at the BBC as its CEO.

But the BBC denied that Ralebitso quit because he was part of the group of 81 CEOs, saying that he plans to return to Itataise Investments, of which he is founder and chair.

"His letter of resignation is dated the 3rd of October, and I can show it to you, long before that thing happened,” Baloyi told Fin24 in an interview after Tuesday’s media briefing.

"I find it a little bit strange because his departure is not acrimonious at all.

“We never fought with Mohale before he came in here. But even when we came here, he had indicated to us that the pressures at his company might force him to go back, because it wasn't doing as well as he would like it to,” she added.

When Fin24 asked Baloyi why the BBC only announced Ralebitso’s resignation more than 20 days after his notice, former government spokesperson Mzwanele ‘Jimmy’ Manyi, who was answering questions along with Baloyi, explained the situation.

"Here's the sequence of events. On October 3, Mr Mohale has a discussion with the president of the BBC to say he wants to hand over the reins,” Manyi said.

"Around that same time, the president of the BBC was on her way to a Brics event that everybody knows about and therefore postponed the discussion (until) later,” Manyi added.

The Brics Summit in India, which was attended by President Jacob Zuma among others, took place on October 15-16.

Baloyi told Fin24 that she spoke to Ralebitso before she left, asking why he wanted to leave.

Meanwhile, in the media briefing on Tuesday, Ralebitso also briefly explained his reasons for leaving the BBC.

'Put on my oxygen mask'

He said he needed to attend to his business matters.

"When you're a business person and you're an anchor in that business, there's that little advice that they give you when you're on an aeroplane and they give you your own oxygen mask,” Ralebitso said.

"I do have to put on my oxygen mask and my colleagues in my business and my investee companies are saying they require my presence.

"I cannot be so arrogant just to think that nobody else but myself can run the BBC. I think the BBC would be spoiled for choice, because what we are doing is just, correct and is just what this country needs,” he said.

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