By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has terminated economist Thabi Leoka’s membership of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) on Monday, with immediate effect.
The presidency asked Leoka last week to “expeditiously address the matter of her qualifications” in the interests of transparency.
Leoka has been facing questions about whether she received a PhD in economics and economic history in 2008 from the London School of Economics (LSE).
The LSE and the University of London have confirmed that they have no record of Leoka being awarded a PhD from either body.
Leoka, who holds a Master’s Degree from the institution, claimed her name cannot be found among PhD graduates because she changed her name at Home Affairs.
She promised to prove that she does hold a PhD from the London School of Economics.
On Monday, she resigned from the boards of two prominent companies.
Mining company Anglo American Platinum said Leoka stepped down from her position as a non-executive director “in order to attend to her health and the questions she has been facing in relation to her academic qualifications”.
Mobile phone company MTN SA released a similar statement.
On the same day, she was told about “the immediate termination of her membership in the Presidential Economic Advisory Council”, said Ramaphosa’s spokesman Vincent Magwenya.
Membership of the body “does not require formal vetting”, he said.
The council advises on “economic policies that spur inclusive growth”, according to the presidency’s website.
Leoka joins a growing list of high-profile people in South Africa who have falsified their qualifications. In 2014, ANC veteran Pallo Jordan was exposed for not having the doctorate he claimed from LSE. The following year, it was revealed that South Africa’s ambassador to Japan, Mohau Pheko, did not have the doctorate she claimed.
More recently, former DA Western Cape leader Bonginkosi Madikizela was exposed for not holding a BCom in Human Resource Management from the University of South Africa (Unisa) that he had claimed for years on his CV.
Johannesburg Roads Agency CEO, Tshepo Mahanuke, also claimed to have a Harvard master’s degree that doesn’t exist and demanding that his staff call him “Dr” on the basis of an honorary doctorate that can be purchased for a small donation.
In 2018, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) received 982 reports of fraudulent qualifications.
Leoka’s MSc from LSE and her MA from the University of Witwatersrand are undisputed, and professionals agreed that she did not need a doctorate behind her to give her credibility.