"Any criticism of her ability to head Transnet Freight Rail is therefore not only unwarranted – it is completely disingenuous and uninformed," the former CEO of Business Leadership South Africa said in a statement.

"The combination of her experience in the private sector, entrepreneurship and state-owned companies is unchallenged and only an ill-informed or malicious person would say she does not have the requisite skills and experience to run the Transnet business unit that forms the backbone of the South African economy."

He was responding to a statement from the Democratic Alliance (DA) that said Mzimela’s appointment was a classic example of African National Congress (ANC) "cadre deployment, where ineffective executives hop from one state owned enterprise (SOE) to another".

"Mzimela’s track record at the helm of an SOE is dismal, as is evident by the fact that her previous employer, SA Express, now faces liquidation," Ghaleb Cachalia, DA public enterprise spokesperson, said on Thursday.

"Mzimela’s appointment at such a critical state-owned enterprise is bizarre considering that she only has aviation experience and lacks the requisite experience in the freight and rail sector."

The DA said it would write to Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan, to request information on the appointment ofMzimela as chief executive of Transnet Freight Rail, just days after her resignation as acting CEO of SA Express was announced.

Cachalia said the DA was seeking transparency and clarity on the process which was followed to appoint Mzimela including whether there was a panel that oversaw the appointment process, the criteria for shortlisting candidates, and what the rationale behind Mzimela’s appointment was when she has zero experience in the field.

However, Mohale said Mzimela excelled in everything that she was responsible for and beyond and was promoted to be the CEO of South African Airways where she left a profitable and resilient company.

"I worked with Ms Mzimela, head-hunted from financial services, when I was the first South African executive vice president of South African Airways and was consistently impressed by her uprightness, abilities and capabilities – particularly her ability to understand and deal with complexities," Mohale said.

He said it was no secret that she was fired from SAA because she refused to buckle under pressure from former president Jacob Zuma.

African News Agency