Still no Board of directors appointed for RSTP
MBABANE – A parastatal that is meant to be the engine and heart of creativity and innovation of the country has for over five months been operating without a Board of directors.
That is none other than the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP), a public enterprise established with the aim of being a focal point for research, to facilitate the links between research and industrial communities and stimulate the development of knowledge-based businesses through the incubation of techno-preneurship and high-tech enterprises.
EXPLORING SCIENCE
It is the same parastatal that is expected to make the Kingdom of Eswatini, a country renowned for swiftness in exploring science, technology and innovation as a means of creating the country’s economic growth and increase capacity by developing a knowledge-based economy and infrastructure, thus alleviating poverty.
The term of office for some of the members of the previous Board, which was chaired by businessman S’thofeni Ginindza, is said to have ended in August last year.
“I have not attended any Board meeting because as far as I know, our term of office came to an end. I do not know about the rest of the members because we were not appointed at the same time. What I know is that our term ended,” one of the former Board members said.
He mentioned, however, that the appointment of the Board needed to be done properly in such a way that the members are competent and relevant to what the RSTP is all about.
“This means that they should be individuals who are well-versed with technology work. Otherwise, yes the minister needs to appoint a Board soon, especially since already the entity will receive a budget from the government. The Board needs to be there to guide the CEO on the utilisation of the funds and ensure that there is accountability,” said the former Board member.
MANDATE TO APPOINT
As per the law, the mandate to appoint a Board at the RSTP lies with the Minister of Information Communication and Technology (ICT).
The appointment of the Board is in line with the provisions of the Public Enterprises (Control and Monitoring) Act, 1989.
In the Act, the Boards are referred to as governing bodies of public enterprises.
“Except in the case of the University of Eswatini, the members of the governing body of each category A public enterprise, other than the chief
executive officer (CEO), shall be appointed by the minister responsible in consultation with the standing committee and in making the appointments, he shall ensure that an overall balance of technical, professional, commercial and financial skills is maintained on the governing body, and shall endeavour to ensure that, in the interest of continuity, not all the members of the governing body shall be retired at the same time,” reads part of the Act.
One of the responsibilities of a Board, in terms of the Act, is to nominate the CEO and the chief financial officer (CFO) of a parastatal.
MANDATE TO DISMISS
A Board also has a mandate to dismiss the CFO in consultation with the substantive minister.
Also, a Board has the responsibility of nominating auditors of a public enterprise who shall be appointed and or dismissed by the minister in consultation with the standing committee.
The hot seat of ICT minister is currently in the hands of Savannah Maziya, who was appointed by His Majesty King Mswati III in November last year.
When sought for comment on why the Board had not been appointed, Principal Secretary Phesheya Dube said it would happen soon and that the delay was caused by the fact that the minister was still settling in.
“As you may be aware, there are consultations that have to be done before a Board can be appointed and that is exactly what is happening now,” he said.
Issues that have to do with the Board are nothing new at the RSTP.
In December 2020, this publication reported how the appointment of Ginindza and businessman Walter Bennett was met with fierce resistance by some of the institution’s stakeholders.
As a result, it was reported, the Board went for weeks without holding a meeting.
The failure by the Board to hold meetings was said to be a concern as it caused delays in a number of initiatives, especially procurement decisions that have to be made.
Impeccable sources disclosed that there were cliques that wanted to ‘fix’ the Board’s complement to better serve their interests.
Ginindza and Bennett were appointed alongside Chief Officer in the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) Prince Hlangusemphi and University of Eswatini (UNESWA) Research Fellow Dr Gugu Sibandze.
Ginindza was appointed Board Chairperson to replace Dr Phindile Masangane, the Director of the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA), who resigned from the position.
While at the helm of RSTP, questions were raised over Masangane’s nationality, with unsubstantiated allegations that she had denounced her Eswatini citizenship and was now a South African citizen.
Masangane resigned together with Professor Theodore Davis – an American who, at some point, worked for the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) as a lecturer.
FOREIGN CITIZENSHIPS
As previously reported by this publication, the fact that Masangane and Davis held foreign citizenships triggered concerns that since the RSTP handles sensitive data for the country and clients, putting it under the control of professionals paying allegiance to foreign States could possibly compromise the confidentiality of information.
However, Khumalo allayed these concerns by stating that the two would not be handling operational issues but were appointed for governance (administration) of the public enterprise.
But, a month later, they resigned their positions in the Board.
The RSTP, located in the Kingdom of Eswatini on the continent of Africa, is a public enterprise established through an Act of Parliament in 2012.
This is the brainchild of His Majesty
King Mswati III as a result of his insatiable desire to help stimulate economic growth through foreign direct investment, thus leading the Kingdom of Eswatini into First World status.
The sole objective of RSTP is not only to be the leading oasis of science and innovative technologies for wealth creation, but also to promote the development of information technology (IT) and research and development.
It is divided into two divisions, which are the Nokwane (headquarters) site and the Phocweni site.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The Nokwane site is responsible for biotechnology, while the Phocweni site is liable for information technology (ICT).
RSTP manages a total of 317.7 hectares of land, of which its master plan comprises of 159 hectares for industrial development ideally located in close proximity to import and export routes through highway access to the Republic of South Africa and Republic of Mozambique and a dry port railway leading to Maputo Sea Port (Mozambique) and Richards Bay (South Africa).
The entity has now been designated as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), and this was implemented through the SEZ Act of 2018.
The head of State is still the brains behind the SEZ Act initiative targeted at attracting foreign direct investment into the Kingdom of Eswatini.
The SEZ drive is designed to help promote export- oriented growth, generate employment with the intention to ensure technology transfer among the Eswatini populace and subsequently stimulate economic growth.
TARGETED INVESTMENTS
Currently, at least 80 hectares of the industrial development land at Nokwane is serviced and readily available for the potential targeted investments to set up shop.
Despite its potential, the RSTP has been found to be heavily reliant on government finances, which it unsustainable.
Also, the Office of the Auditor General Timothy Matsebula has in recent years decried that the entity also has a huge wage bill, that is 87.4 per cent of the subvention received from government and that it also witnessed significant increases in its operating costs.
The public enterprise only generated income of around E2 million from its operations and government was pushed to increase the shareholder loan to keep the entity running, which is not sustainable.