The passing of Fantas Mobu is being felt widely among professionals in the public sector and by members of the State Owned Enterprises Procurement Forum (SOEPF), of which Mr Mobu was President.
“We are at a loss for words. We knew Fantas was unwell, but had hoped he was going to pull through,” said SOEPF’s Chief Executive Officer Kamogelo Mampane.
“This is a great loss to his family, his wife and kids and we would like to express our sincere condolences to them. His passing on is not only a loss to them, but also to SOEPF and the public sector in general,” expressed Mr Mampane.
Mr Mampane described Mr Mobu as “an accomplished supply chain management professional committed to uplifting professionalism in the field and improving the standards and integrity of the profession, especially in the public sector. His extensive business knowledge and his leadership in the field of procurement will be sorely missed.
Mr Mobu was a founder of SOEPF and had held various executive positions in his field.
At the time of his passing he was Eskom’s General Manager: Commercial responsible for tactical procurement. Prior to that he was Group Procurement Specialist at the Airports Company South Africa; a Procurement Executive at the State Information Technology Agency; and Group Executive Supply Chain at the South African Post Office.
Mr Mobu’s procurement experience and knowledge was nourished when he was in Strategic Sourcing at Telkom South Africa where he was, among other things, responsible for sourcing and the performance of strategic supplier alliances.
“A great tree among us has fallen. May all the other trees in the public sector stand and serve in tribute to a life well lived and a career well accomplished,” said Congress Mahlangu, President of the State Owned Entities Communicators Association (SOECA), who attended tertiary education with Mr Mobu and was a friend.
Mr Mahlangu said his organisation was equally saddened at the news. “Fantas leaves a huge void among us as professionals, but his memory will reside forever in our hearts.”
Mr Mobu had served the public sector with such distinction that he was not so long ago appointed by Cabinet to serve as a Board member of the Armaments Corporation of South Africa (ARMSCOR), added noted Mr Mahlangu
“The fact that [Fantas] was subsequently asked to serve as a chairperson of ARMSCOR’ acquisition committee speaks volumes about Fantas the seasoned professional.”
