Johannesburg Roads Agency CEO Tshepo Mahanuke placed on special leave pending ‘re-authentication’ of credentials

The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) announced on Thursday that its CEO, Tshepo Mahanuke, had been placed on special leave. An interim CEO has been appointed pending the outcome of a “re-authentication” process regarding Mahanuke’s credentials.

The JRA’s decision to place Mahanuke on leave follows a recent report by Daily Maverick’s Ferial Haffajee exposing the 34-year-old CEO’s questionable qualifications. The report alleged that the credentials he provided to land his R3.5-million-a-year job were either lies or overstated.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Joburg Roads Agency boss bought a doctorate and claimed a Harvard Business School master’s degree that doesn’t exist”

“The board convened a special meeting to consider the issues pertaining to the allegations around the credentials of the CEO, Mr Tshepo Mahanuke. The resolution reached was to place the CEO on special leave, effective immediately, until the outcome of the re-authentication process is finalised,” said Thabo Motloung, the chairperson of the JRA board.

The process of authenticating Mahanuke’s credentials is expected to conclude on 30 November.

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“This was deemed the most appropriate direction to take in order to allow for a fair process to be conducted by an independent firm,” said Motloung.

According to the Daily Maverick report about Mahanuke, the claims made in his CV are overblown. The issues identified included:

• The December 2019 honorary doctorate that he received from the Trinity International University of Ambassadors — a poorly ranked evangelical Christian university in the United States — can be bought for a small “support honorarium”;


• The master’s degree in “Competitive Intelligence” from ACI College, Harvard Business School, that he claims to have in his CV is not offered by Harvard, while ACI (Academy for Competitive Intelligence) is in fact a separate college; and


• He claims to have an undergraduate engineering degree from the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) in his CV when actually he received a diploma for a course to become an engineering technician.

On Monday, 14 November — a day after the Daily Maverick report was published — Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse called for an investigation into the allegations against Mahanuke, according to News24. She further requested a full report on the matter from Motloung and Funzela Ngobeni, the Joburg mayoral committee member for transport.

Ngobeni released a statement the same day, emphasising that he took the allegations against Mahanuke seriously.

“The allegations have the potential to sully the good work done thus far to bring stability to an organisation that, in recent times, has not lived up to the responsibility for which it was created,” he said.

I take note of a report in the Daily Maverick, calling into question the suitability of Mr. Tshepo Mahanuke, for the position he presently occupies - Chief Executive of the Johannesburg Roads Agency (@MyJRA ) pic.twitter.com/P6gJvsWYBn

— Funzi Ngobeni (@Funzi_Ngobeni) November 14, 2022

These allegations have the potential to sully the good work done thus far, to bring stability to an organisation that, in recent times, has not lived up to the responsibility for which it was created. pic.twitter.com/qfHa8DYukW

— Funzi Ngobeni (@Funzi_Ngobeni) November 14, 2022

Ngobeni said the qualifications that informed Mahanuke’s appointment to the JRA board had been verified and included:

• A national diploma in mechanical engineering from VUT; and


• A BTech in operations management from VUT.

“The [JRA] board has promised to undertake an independent verification process to test Mr Mahanuke’s bona fides, in light of the public’s concerns arising from media reports,” he said.

On Thursday, the JRA board requested patience while the investigation into Mahanuke’s qualifications unfolded.

“We appreciate the orderly manner in which the JRA employees have diligently continued with their daily tasks in order to provide services to the city’s residents,” said Motloung.

“We request to be given the time and opportunity to see the process through … the outcomes will be communicated.” DM