Directorate at 31 December 2015

Non-executive directors

Chairperson
Chris Molefe (67)
(Independent)
BCom, Postgraduate Diploma in Property Development

Chris, who joined the Merafe Board in 2003, has extensive experience in mining and resources, merchant banking and transformation strategy development. He gained this experience while working for Mobil Oil, Union Carbide, Chase Manhattan Bank, Transnet and Royal Bafokeng Resources Holdings, where he held the position of Chief Executive Officer. He is currently Chairperson of Tjate Platinum Group and is also non-executive director of Jubilee Platinum plc. Chris is a member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, the Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee, an invitee to the Audit and Risk Committee and Chairperson to the Board.

Belese Majova (41)
(Independent)
BCompt, MBA, Certified Ethics Officer

Belese joined the Merafe Board in January 2009 as an independent non-executive director. She is currently Chief Executive of Zeleb Holdings, a company with interests in a number of sectors including: business management consultancy; property development and property management; as well as commercial farming. She also serves on other boards both in the private and public sector. Belese chairs the Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee and is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Abiel Mngomezulu (62)
(Independent)
BSc (Hons), MSc Engineering (Mining)

Abiel joined the Merafe Board as an independent non-executive director in September 2010. He is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mintek, a state-owned enterprise responsible for mineral extraction technologies and beneficiation. Abiel is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Mpho Mosweu (40)
CA(SA), MBL

Mpho joined our Board in March 2011. She is head of the Project and Corporate Finance department at the IDC. She currently serves on various boards and audit and risk committees. She has extensive commercial and governance experience. Mpho is a memeber of the Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee.

Karabo Nondumo (37)
(Independent)
BAcc, HDipAcc, CA(SA)

Karabo, who joined the Merafe Board as an independent non-executive director on 1 December 2010, is currently executive director of KM Tech, an integrated ICT provider to enterprises. Karabo was previously head of the Enterprise Business Unit at Vodacom Group Limited. Prior to this she gained her mining industry experience as an associate of Shanduka Resources and Executive Assistant to the Executive Chairperson. While at Shanduka she served on the boards of Dowding, Reynolds and Associates (DRA) and Lace Diamonds. Karabo is also an independent non-executive director of Harmony Gold Ltd, Sanlam Ltd, Richards Bay Coal Terminal and MTN South Sudan. She is chairperson of the Merafe Audit and Risk Committee.

Zed van der Walt (71)
(Independent)
PrEng, BSc Engineering (MET), MBA, DPLR

Zed was the technical director of Merafe until he retired in February 2008. Prior to joining Merafe, he was the CEO of CMI Limited and has 35 years’ operational and management experience in the ferroalloys industry. He possesses vast operational and management experience and knowledge of the ferroalloys industry. Zed is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee and chairs the Remuneration and Nomination Committee.

Shaun Blankfield (33)
CA(SA)

Shaun is the Head of Business Development for Glencore South Africa. Shaun is a qualified Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)) and served articles with Deloitte South Africa. Subsequently he worked as a manager in the Corporate Finance and Accounting Advisory Services team at Deloitte, Sydney, Australia. Shaun is a member of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee.

Executive directors

Zanele Matlala (52)
Chief Executive Officer
BCom, BCompt (Hons), CA(SA)

Zanele joined the Merafe Board in 2005 as an independent non-executive director. She was appointed Merafe’s Chief Financial Officer on 1 October 2010 and Chief Executive Officer on 1 June 2012. She is a non-executive director of Dipula Income Fund, Stefanutti Stocks Holdings Limited and Old Mutual Investment Group Holdings. Zanele is a member of the Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee and an invitee to the Audit and Risk Committee and the Remuneration and Nomination Committee.

Kajal Bissessor (33)
Financial Director
BAcc, HDip Acc, CA(SA)

Kajal joined Merafe as Financial Controller in March 2009 from KPMG where she was Audit Manager. Kajal was appointed Finance and Investor Relations Manager in June 2010 and was appointed Financial Director in January 2015. Kajal is an invitee to the Audit and Risk Committee and the Remuneration and Nomination Committee and in 2015 was appointed a member of the Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee. Kajal is a non-executive director of Anchor Group Limited and chairperson of their Audit and Risk Committee.

Management at 31 December 2015
Dr Jurg Zaayman (47)
General Manager – Merafe Chrome
BEng, MEng, PhD (Metallurgical Engineering)

Jurg joined Merafe Resources as Operations Manager during 2001. In 2004 he was seconded to the Venture as project leader for the Bokamoso pelletising plant project before being appointed to his current position in 2007. He is Chairperson of the Ferroalloys Producers Association and a council member of the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUC). Jurg is an invitee to the Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee, Audit and Risk Committee and the Board.

Company Secretary
CorpStat Governance Services
William Somerville (59)
FCIS, ACMA, HDip Corporate Law

Appointed as Company Secretary on 1 October 2014

The Merafe Board at 8 March 2016 was Chris Molefe (Chairperson), Belese Majova, Shaun Blankfield, Abiel Mngomezulu, Mpho Mosweu, Karabo Nondumo, Zanele Matlala and Kajal Bissessor.


Steve Phiri, Meryl Mamathuba and Bruce McBride resigned as directors on 2 March 2015. Kajal Bissessor was appointed as Financial Director on 1 January 2015. Brian Harvey was appointed as a non-executive director on 2 March 2015 and resigned on 28 April 2015. Shaun Blankfield was appointed on 13 May 2015. Zed van der Walt resigned on 7 March 2016.

See Our approach to governance for information on the process the Board followed regarding assessing the performance of the Company Secretary.