Summit Africa’s co-founder admits to faking qualifications

Summit Africa’s co-founder admits to faking qualifications

Another qualifications scandal has rocked the business world in South Africa, with investment firm Summit Africa at the centre of controversy.

Summit Africa manages assets worth about R1.6 billion from clients such as Telkom, Alexforbes and municipal pension funds to name a few.

Langalezwe Madonko who is the company’s co-founder and investment principal, admitted to faking academic qualifications and employment history on his CV.

It has been reported that Madonkoi had also claimed to be affiliated with the London School of Economics (LSE) and other firms such as McKinsey & Co and JP Morgan.

This scandal comes just after last month, popular economist, Thabi Leoka came under fire after her qualifications was called into question.

Leoka was accused of faking her PhD degree which she purportedly attained from the London School of Economics (LSE). Leoka, who served as economic advisor to President Cyril Ramaphosa, is said to have only a Master’s degree.

The discovery about Summit Africa’s Madonkoi was discovered after an internal review was conducted.

The review was regarding discrepancies noted in versions of Madonko’s biography.

Professor Parmi Natesan, CEO of the Institute of Directors shared some insights with Business Report on how faking of qualifications can have far reaching impact on companies.

Natesan said, “Performing due diligence on any appointment in any organisation, and especially senior appointments, is basic good governance. Given the huge responsibility that directors carry, and their importance to the organisation, they of all people need to be thoroughly vetted before appointment,” she says.

She further stated that research by the IoDSA shows that board composition probably has a greater impact on the future success of an organisation than any other aspect of governance. It therefore follows that ensuring the board members have the right skills for the organisation’s needs is vital, in line with Principle 7 of King IV: The governing body should comprise the appropriate balance of knowledge, skills, experience, diversity and independence for it to discharge its governance role and responsibilities objectively and effectively.

Ethical standards of a board

Recommended Practice 19 specifically advises that “candidates’ backgrounds should be independently investigated, and their qualifications should be independently verified”. Despite this, recent news reports indicate that a number of organisations on whose boards the director served have never vetted her qualifications as this was either not felt necessary or was not a requirement.

Professor Natesan says that failure to perform this item of governance housekeeping makes an organisation vulnerable to reputational damage, while longer-term harm could be caused by the unqualified director’s inability to provide the quality input needed.

BUSINESS REPORT