State Information Technology Agency (Sita) managing director Andy Mabaso abruptly resigned following allegations of widespread interference and verbal abuse against board members.
Mabaso’s resignation was confirmed in an email distributed to company staff on Friday. He is currently serving notice and will leave at the end of this month.
Mabaso, who had been occupying the hot seat since April 1, had written an explosive letter in September to Sita board chairperson Kiruban Pillay, where he alleged there were board members who were performing executive duties.
Sita spokesperson Tlali Tlali yesterday confirmed Mabaso had complained to the board.
“We confirm Dr Mabaso had concerns, which he raised with the board. Those matters received attention and were resolved. However, in relation to the grievance as regulated through a defined process, our view is that there is currently no submission with the board that complies with the provisions of Sita’s grievance prescripts,” said Tlali.
He said there were moments where the board’s intervention was required when performance cases had been escalated to the board for intervention or resolution. “This does not mean interference in operational matters as failure to intervene meaningfully could mean dereliction of duty by the board.”
Though Mabaso did not name the board members, a union leader and highly placed source fingered the company’s non-executive director, Luvuyo Keyise, as central to the allegations of executive interference.
Keyise has, in a statement, denied the allegations.
In the letter Mabaso sent to Pillay in September, he cried foul on lapses of good governance by board members, saying this ultimately contributed to
Sita management failing to discharge its fiduciary responsibilities. “This is bringing instability at senior management level, which has a significant impact on Sita’s ability to fully execute its mandate, which should be noted by the chairperson of the Sita board.
“These practices by board members place the senior management in a difficult position to have overall management of the affairs of the organisation in most instances.
“The board of directors or board members are not required to manage the day-to-day affairs of Sita, as this should be left to the executives to execute,” wrote Mabaso.
He said at the special meeting that was held on August 28, it was revealed that one of the board directors performed delegated responsibilities of Sita’s managing director and the role of senior executives, including managers, by performing the day-to-day operational functionalities of the organisation through having meetings with Sita clients to discuss operational matters. “This simply results in contravening good corporate governance, pragmatism and the need for good order, insofar as management of Sita is concerned.
It is undesirable that board directors (board members) should on a whim strip the delegated powers from the managing director and senior executives, as this obscures lines of responsibility, as this may lead to a situation where no one can be held accountable for the actions they take.
This creates confusion including compromising customer-centric in the organisation.
“In my capacity as the managing director, I have received several queries from Sita clients requesting clarity and directions as far as the stakeholder management and daily operational of Sita is concerned,” he said.
Mabaso said this was bringing instability at senior management level, a practice which has a significant impact on the Sita’s ability to fully execute its mandate with the operational autonomy and should be noted by the chairperson of the board.
“It has been discovered and noted that some members of the board are directly engaging with the employees of Sita to assess the daily operational; and strategical programmes, which is the responsibilities vested to senior executives and managers of Sita, which I viewed as interference and micromanagement of executive and management functions which is causing tension and uneasiness on the staff.”
When contacted for comment, Mabaso referred all questions to Tlali.
But Keyise has denied ever interfering in day-to-day company duties.
“These are very serious allegations which must not be ignored. They must be brought to my attention through proper channels within the organisation so that I am afforded an opportunity … to fully respond.
“As a member of the board of directors at Sita who is committed to proper, sound, and ethical governance within the institution, I expect these allegations to receive attention and be investigated to ensure that good governance is always maintained across all levels at Sita, including the board members.
“This is the first time I find out about these allegations through a media enquiry. “If the allegations have in fact been made, I hope those behind them will bring them to the attention of the board so that an internal Sita process based on applicable policies and procedures may be initiated.”
He said his role as a non-executive director entailed performing oversight functions at Sita.
“The executive team continues to run with all operational matters at Sita,” he said.
He said there were matters that got escalated to the shareholder minister’s office for attention and in turn such matters were referred to the board for a response, attention or resolution.
“These escalations are allocated to non-executive directors to resolve them within 90 days.
“I am the chairperson of a committee of the board and this committee is responsible for overseeing the core business of Sita and reports to the board.
“The allocation of these escalations to various board members forms part of the record of the business of the board for transparency (to avoid undue interference with management functions) and reporting purposes. There are board resolutions for all these allocations and/or decisions,” said Keyise.
Zamani Dladla, Public Servants Association’s chief negotiatior at Sita, confirmed the allegations.
“Among all board members at Sita, Luvuyo is always at Sita. We normally understand that board members play an oversight role and attend meetings as and when it is required.
But he is always there, instructing employees to do this and that. And even during the recent labour strike, he was up and down, in and out of the Sita sites, especially in Centurion and Erasmus Kloof.
“There was even a confrontation with employees on strike, asking him what Keyise was doing there, as they knew him as a board member,” said Dladla.
He said the union was planning to complain to the minister of communications and digital technologies.
