BL Premium reports that AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) has come out in defence of its chair, Maria Ramos, who has been accused by Absa non-executive director Sipho Pityana of improperly influencing the banking regulator to block his appointment as chair of the Absa board.

AGA also said it had complete confidence in a report that it conducted in 2020 into allegations that Pityana had sexually harassed a senior member of staff, when he was the chair of the mining company. Pityana resigned from the company after an investigation into the matter made an adverse finding against him. However, he maintains that the investigation was not properly done as crucial witness evidence was not considered. Pityana is now suing the Prudential Authority (PA), which regulates the sector, for failing to follow the procedures outlined in the Banks Act for the approval of directors of lenders and allowing third parties, such as Ramos, to influence procedures. Pityana also maintains the long-standing friendship between Ramos and Kuben Naidoo, head of the PA, enabled her to have “unfettered access” to the regulator. On Tuesday AGA said: “AngloGold’s board emphatically rejects the allegations being made by Mr Pityana against its chairman, Maria Ramos, and against AngloGold Ashanti, which are baseless. The matter of Absa’s chairmanship is one between Mr Pityana and the board of that company.” In his affidavit to the Gauteng High Court, Pityana pointed out that a review of the investigation commissioned by Absa had found the 2020 AGA report to be fundamentally flawed.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

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