February 5, 2003
By Thomas Thale
JASON NGOBENI is a man on a mission: "to maximise returns on City investments and to reduce the City's borrowing costs to a minimal".
The recently appointed treasurer of the City has his work cut out for him. His brief is to re-establish and modernise the department of treasury in the City. "It is my duty to determine the cash requirements of the City and to determine when, where and how to borrow." To achieve this, he will get input from the council's utilities, agencies and corporations to determine such funding and liquidity programmes.
For the past three years, some special functions in treasury have been performed by outside consultants because the City did not have internal capacity. "As financial institutions get more sophisticated, municipalities generally lag behind. It is difficult to keep up with expertise in the financial sector. We therefore outsourced the management of debts, bonds and loans," explains City manager Pascal Moloi. "But this was just an interim intervention. The city is committed to building internal capacity and then phasing out the use of consultants."
Hardly a month in his new job, Ngobeni, an MBA graduate, has already set himself goals: "I will focus on optimising the borrowings and investments program of the City, fine-tuning treasury management information system, revisiting policy and procedure framework and improving internal staffing capacity."
His tall and muscular frame, accentuated by his designer suit, makes him look imposing and elegant - in a word, a hunk. The urbane Ngobeni is a humble man with a taste for fine things in life. "I belong to several wine tasting clubs and I am a keen collector."
His concern with minimising risks governs all aspects of his life. "I believe that a healthy body nurtures a healthy mind and reduces the risk of disease," he says. To keep in shape, he frequents the gym and plays golf, which he describes as "a sport of precision. It teaches you discipline and passion. It also challenges your conscience and your ethics." Ethics will definitely come in handy for someone who will be handling the City's finances.
"What qualifies me for this job is my experience, background and qualifications, my knowledge of the functions of treasury functions, with a focus on investment and borrowing strategies."
But it is his track record that explains why he is the man for the job. Ngobeni's experience includes working in the banking and financial markets, and in a corporate treasury environment.
He was behind moves to reduce the fuel costs and foreign exchange impact on South African Airways, where he worked as executive manager financial risk until December 2001. As an executive manager of corporate risk management of the National Housing Finance Corporation, he was responsible for ensuring that money borrowed to housing finance intermediaries are done so safely and prudently.
Describing Ngobeni as "a man with a right mix of skills", Moloi expresses confidence that the department of treasury is poised for a successful overhaul. "You must get a thief to catch a thief," says Moloi, pointing out that Ngobeni understands the workings of financial markets intimately.
Ngobeni will be responsible for investing surplus funds and for sourcing money from capital markets to finance the City's capital expenditure programmes.
As part of the finance management team, Ngobeni will play a pivotal role in the process of preparing the city budget.
The appointment of Ngobeni should leave ratepayers hoping that he will have good taste when it comes to identifying investment and borrowing avenues for the City.
