Delta Property appoints Siyabonga Mbanjwa as CEO

Delta Property Fund, which was plagued by allegations of fraud under former CEO and founder Sandile Nomvete more than a year ago, has appointed Siyabonga Mbanjwa as its permanent CEO.

In February, Mbanjwa will replace Bongi Masinga, who has been acting CEO after Nomvete, along with former CFO Shaneel Maharaj, resigned in August 2020, two months before an investigation by accounting firm Mazars found evidence of irregular payments and procurement at the company.

The former executives have dismissed the allegations as baseless.

Mbanjwa, who has 24 years of experience in the construction and property sector, was recently MD of privately owned Pace Property Group, Delta said in a statement on Wednesday. 

He previously worked for Old Mutual Property, property company Crowie Holdings and engineering group SENER.

The incoming CEO faces an uphill battle to turn Delta around, which is also saddled with a debt burden that is threatening its going-concern status.

Its current liabilities of R4.4bn exceeded its current assets by R4bn in the six months to August, which renders it technically insolvent.

In a statement earlier this week, Delta said it was working on selling off noncore assets to reduce its loan-to-value ratio, which measures the company’s debt relative to its assets.

The LTV ratio stood at 55.7% in the six months to August from 56.5% in February.  A sustainable LTV ratio should be about 40% and below, according to fund managers.

The share price was up 2.90% to 79c in early trade on the JSE, having lost 83% over the last five years.

mahlangua@businesslive.co.za