‘I didn’t do it’ – Maanda Manyatshe
Former MTN South Africa managing director Maanda Manyatshe says that his resignation from the cellphone company will give him time to concentrate on clearing his name.
Manyatshe resigned from MTN on Monday following media reports alleging that he received favours from a contractor, which was paid R100m by the South African Post Office to revamp branches.
These allegations relate to Manyatshe’s tenure as CEO of the Post Office.
Manyatshe said that he considered the negative impact the allegations would have on MTN, and decided that it was in the company’s best interest to step down.
“There was no pressure for me to step down. I just believe that my ability to do my job at MTN was hampered by rumours and there was a cloud hanging over me,” he told Moneyweb Radio on Monday.
The Mail & Guardian (M&G) broke the story saying that it had evidence that Vision Design House (VDH) – the contractor – worked on design plans for Manyatshe’s Johannesburg home.
This allegedly took place days before Manyatshe signed the contract between the Post Office and VDH.
The M&G also reported that the Post Office, under Manyatshe, improperly awarded a branch revamp contract to VDH, and that VDH fraudulently inflated costs.
Manyatshe attempted to stop the story from being published in the M&G through a gag order, which he now regrets doing.
“My course on the gagging was probably wrong, because it looked like I was running away,” he said.
Communications expert, Clive Simpkins says that Manyatshe made two fatal mistakes: “Getting a gag order on the newspaper, and stepping down. If he’s clean then he should have stayed and fought.”
Manyatshe says he plans on fighting the allegations.
“I don’t think I could have continued to have authority at MTN. The company was being dragged into this mess. It’s not fair to for shareholders. It’s not fair for the company.
“Now I can start dealing with the matter … I didn’t turnaround the Post Office by being corrupt. That process of awarding the contract went through numerous checks. It was cleared by the board. How many times must it be cleared to say that there was nothing wrong with the way the contract was awarded?” he said.
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