PEARL Sizeka Bengu has been appointed Group Chief Executive Ithala Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) with effect from 1 November.
The organisation’s board said in a statement it had engaged “robustly” with Bengu and that she would work closely with Danny Zandamela Chief Executive in subsidiary, Ithala Soc. Limited, to achieve a full banking licence which, will enable the institution to compete with other banks and manage government accounts.
As the Group CE Bengu will also be instrumental in entrenching the organisation’s new vision, mission and values, all geared towards intensifying Ithala’s effort to spearhead development in KwaZulu-Natal and regain relevance in the province.
“Bengu, who has 20 years of service in Public Sector Banking at First National Bank and six years of service at the helm of the regional division of SASSA, has a keen understanding of our strategic goals and what it takes to ensure we meet them according to the Ithala Board of Directors,” the board said.
During Bengu’s tenure at FNB she became KZN Regional Director Public Sector Banking. She was responsible for implementing a strategy and execution plan to acquire and retain public sector accounts from provincial government, district and local municipalities to all education institutions and affiliates.
She left banking to head up the KZN office of the South African Social Security Agency as Regional Director and had a stint as Acting Chief Executive of the organization during which she contributed positively to its turnaround and ensured processes were streamlined.