Maintaining Gautrain Management Agency’s Standards of Excellence, Innovation and Good Governance
By Sinazo Mkoko
Gauteng MEC for Transport and Logistics Kedibone Diale-Tlabela has announced that the current Gautrain CEO, William Dachs, will step down at the end of his tenure in January 2024. William Dachs was appointed Chief Executive in February 2020, taking over from Jack Van Der Merwe who retired. Prior to this, William served as Gautrain Management Agency’s Chief Operating Officer since 2014 and has worked as an Executive Manager in the technical services unit.
Hon. Diale-Tlabela expressed her gratitude to William for his solid and impeccable leadership. “He has maintained GMA’s standards of excellence, innovation, and good governance. We were also fortunate to have someone of his calibre and experience lead the GMA when the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the entire world,” she said. She added that they were also fortunate to have had someone of Williams’ calibre and experience to lead the GMA when the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the entire world.
A professional engineer with degrees in civil engineering and law, William was one of the founding members of the Public-Private Partnership Unit at the South African National Treasury and has led the unit, working on several large infrastructure PPP projects in various sectors, including renewable energy, health, transport, and logistics. He has also worked for the World Bank as a senior finance specialist, focusing on infrastructure finance in Central and East Asia. In 2020, GMA was nominated for the Standard Bank Top Women Transport Award, and their CEO, William, was nominated for the Male Driving Gender Empowerment Award.
Leaving The Management Agency In Good Shape
William leaves the management agency in good shape, as it has recently recorded its eleventh consecutive clean audit. The current board chairperson, Mogopodi Mokoena, has congratulated the public entity for achieving its 11th consecutive clean audit outcome for the 2022–2023 financial year. GMA is one of only three entities in the province to achieve the gold standard of ten consecutive clean audits.
“The agency’s agile management team and staff, provincial leadership’s unwavering support, uncompromising governance and oversight mechanisms, and an organisational culture of continuous improvement have been key to achieving these outcomes. GMA has matured into a Centre of Transport Excellence for the province and continues to contribute positively to the Gauteng economy by meeting and exceeding its socio-economic development targets,” he said.
William will be succeeded by Tshepo Kgobe, who the provincial department said maintains its standards of excellence, innovation, and good governance, and “cements its position as a Centre of Excellence in the rail and public transport sectors,” effective February 1, 2024. Hon. Diale-Tlabela also announced the appointment of a new GMA board to ensure a similar smooth and seamless handover at that level as well. The current board’s term of office expires this year. Effective from 1 January 2024, the new Agency Board Members will be:
• Chairperson – Mfanelo Patrick Ntsobi
• Deputy Chairperson – Malebo Matolong
• Tebogo Nancy Seale
• Lungile Mtiya
• Mamela Luthuli
• Desmond Khalid Golding
• Kgotso Maja
• Irvin Bafana Sibisi
• Bongisizwe Mpondo
Effective February 1, 2024, the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) will have a new Chief Executive Officer.
Source: Gauteng Gov | APMG International | SAGov
