GovChat appoints board chairman

Michael "Motty" Sacks has been appointed as chairman of the board at GovChat.

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GovChat, the official citizen engagement platform for the South African government, has appointed Michael “Motty” Sacks as chairman of its board.

This comes on the back of last week’s announcement that it had secured up to R20 million in funding from the JSE-listed Capital Appreciation (Capprec).

A qualified chartered accountant, Sacks’ career spans 50 years, having worked in the corporate business world as a financial consultant and advisor, according to the GovChat statement.

He is also co-founder of several listed companies, most notably private hospital group Netcare.

Furthermore, Sacks has served as chairman and director on several boards, including Fedsure Holdings, Federated Employers Mutual, Automobile Association, Clinic Holdings, Advtech, Adcock Ingram and the International Association of Political Consultants. He also serves as Capprec’s non-executive chairman.

“I am delighted to join the board of GovChat, and equally pleased to have allocated R20 million [in] funding to GovChat, through our Capprec Group Enterprise Development Fund,” he says. “The GovChat team, under Eldrid Jordaan, are energetic and ambitious and I look forward to being part of GovChat’s exciting journey.”

Commenting on Sacks’ appointment, GovChat CEO Jordaan adds: “We’re delighted to have Motty serve as chairman of the board; his extensive experience in business, his current BEE mentoring activities and his BEE promotional history suggest a mutually rewarding relationship going forward.”

As the official citizen engagement platform for government, GovChat was introduced in partnership with the South African Local Government Association, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and Government Communication and Information System.

GovChat says it makes government and a number of its services accessible to citizens, while receiving service delivery data, statistics and related messaging in return. The platform is accessible via WhatsApp, USSD and Facebook Messenger, with plans to launch on Telegram and Viber soon.