Senior executives bid farewell
EPTC is at a critical stage of its business life cyle, drastic measures are now necessary to set the correct organisational culture and foundation for its survival,” he said.
MBABANE – After serving the corporation for a collective period exceeding three decades, two senior managers are set to leave the telecommunications giant EPTC at the end of the year.
Highly-placed sources within the Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC), a Category A public enterprise, have disclosed that two executive committee (EXCO) members will exit at the end of next month.
The exit of the two GM’s will result in the corporation losing three experienced executives following the earlier departure of Francis Dlamini, who was General Manager Eswatini Telecom – a position that remains vacant.
The EPTC EXCO is made up of seven senior executives, comprising the MD, GM Finance, GM Eswatini Telecom, GM Eswatini Post, GM Corporate Strategy, GM Corporate Services and GM Information Technology.
AMICABLE DECISION
According to the highly placed sources, the departure of the two senior managers is said to have been an amicable decision between the parties.
Themba Khumalo, the EPTC Managing Director since September 2021, though not wanting to specifically discuss the contracts of the two executives, did not deny that they would exit.
“The question on specific individuals and internal affairs of the organisation cannot be addressed in the public space, the contracts of engagement are of limited duration and confidential to the parties.”
Rather than enquiring about the senior managers’ contracts, Khumalo said the question should be on what EPTC has achieved over the past many years and what real value has been created for stakeholders and the shareholder.
He highlighted that the organisation was at an important period of its lifetime that called for radical actions.
“EPTC is at a critical stage of its business life cyle, drastic measures are now necessary to set the correct organisational culture and foundation for its survival,” he said.
The MD said the management was obligated to operate with a clear focus of the fundamentals and prioritise all their positive energies on the constructive processes of rebuilding EPTC.
Khumalo did not directly address the questions that sought to establish the sort of relationship he had with the EXCO after the Times SUNDAY was informed that it was not at its best.
This publication has learnt that Khumalo has discontinued the culture he found at EPTC of having EXCO meetings every Tuesday of the week.
He did not respond to the question of what could have influenced this decision and how he now gets to be updated on what is happening in the various departments?
One of the impeccable sources said by doing away with the EXCO meetings, the other managers had felt that the MD did not believe in their contribution to the future direction of the company.
“In effect, they feel that this is a clear indication that they have no role to play in the organisation post the expiration of their contracts,” said the source.
VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE
Again this was put to the MD but he did not respond to the question, which was framed as follows: “Isn’t the doing away with the executive committee meetings a vote of no confidence by the MD on his leadership team? And doesn’t this lead to the Executive Committee members feeling they are being excluded from being part of the company’s leadership and future plans?”
Furthermore, the MD did not address the question of how he had managed to foster unity, job security and sense of belonging among his EXCO members who may be disturbed by the departure of their fellow colleagues.
Khumalo also did not respond to an additional question on whether the