Telkom confirms resignation of three executives
Human resources executive Oupa Magashula, chief of sales and marketing Nombulelo Pinky Moholi and investor relations executive Belinda Williams were suspended on September 19 – weeks after Papi Molotsane took over as the chief executive of the fixed-line monopoly.
The arrival of Molotsane, who replaced former CEO Sizwe Nxasana, coincided with the reshuffling of the Telkom management structure. The reshuffling saw Reuben September being named chief operations officer (COO) but apparently led to some unhappiness, given that it was seen – by some – as a move that sidelined and indirectly demoted certain executives.
Telkom chief of corporate affairs Mandla Ngcobo, however, told I-Net Bridge that the appointment of a COO was a board issue and had nothing to do with issues of corporate governance or sidelining of managers at the listed company.
Although Telkom had promised to announce the findings of the probe without delay, Ngcobo declined to say why the inquiry was instituted in the first place, but confirmed that "it didn’t take place after all."
Molotsane told those attending the interim results presentation that the issue was resolved and that the trio had parted with the company "amicably".
Asked why the group took so long to announce the departure of Magashula, Moholi and Williams – as the inquiry never took place – Ngcobo said: "We were careful not to rush things and looked at various options. . . this issue deals with people’s lives but there are also issues of confidentiality and I can’t comment on other aspects.
"All I can say is that this was resolved between the parties, it was an internal matter," Ngcobo continued.
He said the three interim executives Charlotte Mokoena, Wally Beelders and Ian Timmerman would continue as acting chiefs while the fixed-line monopoly looks for replacements.
Molotsane said the company has "a depth of skills" and reiterated that Telkom had a succession plan in place.
Mokoena, Beelders and Timmerman are interim group executives in human resources, sales and marketing and investor relations respectively.
According to Molotsane it was business as usual and staff morale had not been affected by the two-month long suspensions.
On Monday morning, the monopoly announced a 35% rise in interim headline earnings per share (HEPS) to 775.9 cents for the half-year ended September 2005.
The figure is in line with the company’s trading statement where it said it expected a 35% to 55% jump in HEPS.
Basic earnings per share surged 46.3% to 792.7 cents with operating profit jumping 37.3% to 7.517 billion rand from 5.474 billion rand.
At 13h33, Telkom shares were at 137.75 rand per share – down 0.90% or 125 cents. Monday’s release of the interims pushed the group’s share price to an all-time high of 145 rand in early trade on the JSE.
Inet-Bridge ||
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