Dube new Hippo chairman
Listed sugar producer Hippo Valley Estates Limited has appointed lawyer and corporate governance expert Canaan Dube following the resignation of Daniel Makorane.
Dube, who has vast experience in corporate leadership mandates and investment analysis at both national and international level, was added onto the Hippo board last August after the firm had just weathered a corporate governance problem at parent firm level.
Dube’s appointment is with effect from May 1, 2021.
“The board wishes to advise shareholders of the appointment of Canaan Farirai Dube, as chairman to the Hippo Valley Estates board, with effect from 1 May 2021. Canaan is an accomplished lawyer and senior partner in one of Zimbabwe’s leading law firms, Dube, Manikai and Hwacha Legal Practitioners,” said company secretary Pauline Kadembo in a notice.
“He has extensive knowledge and experience in Corporate Governance, Mergers and Acquisitions and Trade and Investment Law and will bring the much needed legal and public relations guidance to the board.
Dube is highly experienced in corporate leadership mandates and investment analysis and holds the distinct honour of having contributed significantly to the National Code on Corporate Governance in Zimbabwe in 2014.
He serves as a director in a number of companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and is the chairman of Delta Corporation Limited.
Hippo was suspended from the ZSE in 2019 pending finalisation of investigations by Hippo’s South African-headquartered parent firm Tongaat Hullet Limited (THL), as well as publication of the company’s FY2019 financials.
The parent firm’s investigations came on the back of an initial investigation uncovered business and accounting gaps that required further investigation and as a result PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services (PwC), was appointed to undertake a thorough interrogation of the alleged irregularities.
The resultant PwC report that ensued on November 29, 2019 implicated certain executives in undesirable accounting practices that among other things led to overstatements of certain assets and profits in THL’s financial statements.
The suspension was listed last February.
But the investigations led to a number of director and executive exits.
Around November last year, Tongaat Hulett intended to institute civil claims against some of its former top executives, including former Hippo Valley financial director John Chibwe.
CEO Sydeney Mutsambiwa also left Hippo Valley and was replaced by Aiden Mhere. Parent company Tongaat Hulett also got a new chief executive officer Gavin Hudson. Dube replaces Makorane who has resigned after a 3-year tenure.
“Daniel Leseja Marokane has resigned from the board of Hippo Valley Estates Limited with effect 1 May 2021.
“Daniel gave his professional and personal commitment throughout the 3 years that he served as chairman of the board,” said Hippo.
“He provided the board with strategic leadership in commercial, governance and risk management which assisted the company in navigating through complex challenges.”-ebsinessweekly.cl.zw
