I would have rather appointed
LOBAMBA – Maxwell Masuku, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), says he is happy with the recruitment process of the Eswatini Television Authority (ESTVA) CEO.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday, Masuku said he did not have appointing powers, but if he had, he could have just chosen the CEO for the government company.
He said he was happy with the recruitment process despite the fact that it was marred by controversy.
The top three candidates who were recommended for the position by the consultants were not considered for the position.
The first consultancy that was engaged by ESTVA to recruit the potential leader of the government company was Kobla Quashie and the second entity was SAMKHO.
CONSIDERED
The two consultancies reports were not considered by Princess Sikhanyiso, the Minister of ICT.
It has been established that the recruitment exercise cost the public enterprise around E300 000.
Instead of implementing the recommendations by the consultancies, the Ministry of ICT submitted the name of Mlamuli Dlamini, who did not sit for the job interview, to the Standing Committee on Public Enterprises (SCOPE) to endorse his appointment as the CEO.
SCOPE, a team of selected Cabinet ministers, rejected the ministry’s request on the basis that it contravened the Public Enterprises Act. Dlamini (Mlamuli) is based in the United States.
He was asked by Ngudzeni MP Bigboy Mamba if he was happy with the recruitment process conducted by the two consultancies. He responded to the affirmative.
He then explained that his happiness should be comprehended in two parts;
He’s happy with the recommendations of the House of Assembly Select Committee that investigated the affairs of the ESTVA;
He’s happy with the CEO recruitment process;
Masuku then told the PAC that it was important for the ministry to consider the House of Assembly’s recommendations to balance up things.
“During the recruitment process, it became vital that we give due consideration to the recommendations made by the select committee of the House of Assembly,” Masuku said.
“We wanted to balance up things.” It must be said that the Industrial Court dismissed the report compiled by the select committee.
The principal secretary pointed out that the recruitment process was still ongoing, with SCOPE seized with the matter.
APPOINT
He said since SCOPE met once a week on a Monday, it was possible for this committee to appoint the CEO anytime.
The PAC members were displeased with the attempt by the Ministry of ICT to recruit a person who did not sit for the job interview, adding that such practice would dent the country’s image. He said the ministry was given 30 days last year to appoint the CEO. He called for the reprimand of the controlling officer.
The Nhlambeni MP said he did not understand why the ministry did not consider the executives who had acted in the position for a long time. These are Mncedisi Mayisela and Kenneth Maziya.
Mayisela was present when the issue was raised.
However, he recused himself from its deliberations. Mayisela said the ministry’s controlling officer was in a better position to shed the light on the issue.
The Times SUNDAY reported last month that a special committee for Cabinet had stopped the appointment of the CEO.
This happened after the Ministry of Information, Communications