Organised business in the information and communication technologies has entered the controversial resignation saga of State Information Technology Agency (Sita) managing director, Dr Andy Mabaso, saying government should not let him go.
They have also called for Communications Minister Mondli Gungubele to investigate the Sita board. Mabaso is serving a notice until the end of December.
His resignation comes after he had complained to Sita board chair about non-executive directors who had been interfering in executive functions.
The Sita board told Sunday World at the weekend that though it had addressed Mabaso’s concerns, he had not used the right channels to complain about implicated board members.
The ICT SMME Chamber said it is calling for Mabaso’s reinstatement.
“The chamber calls for the reinstatement of Dr Mabaso as managing director of Sita to restore stability and ensure the continued implementation of his vision for the organisation.
“The chamber calls for a thorough investigation by the minister of communications and digital technologies into the actions of the Sita board member and the board into their role in Dr Mabaso’s forced departure,” said the chamber.
Mistreatment of black professionals
It said Mabaso’s departure was part of a larger pattern of mistreatment and marginalisation of competent black professionals within government institutions, particularly in leadership positions.
The organisation said often, the people who are used as tools to mistreat and marginalise the black professional talent were themselves black and appointed by the very same government departments.
The chamber said implicated people do not possess the talent and the experience of the people they are mistreating and eventually replace qualified black professionals in the operational and/or leadership roles, as well as inevitably cause the collapse of state institutions.
“This sets back a number of key promises of freedom for black people including but not limited to eradication of all racism in society, transformation of the economic system of the country, normalisation of the social system of the country and elimination of the reliance of the white and mostly racist professional class in the economic engine of the country.”
The chamber said when state institutions collapse as a result of the mistreatment and hounding out of ethical competent black professionals and replacement by the pliable functionaries, often the white organised business sector couches an argument based on an underlying racist view that black people are incompetent.
“Thereafter, they conveniently agitate for employment of white people as saviours, notwithstanding that they themselves are less qualified for the jobs, harbour racist views about all black people and never deliver on their promises.
“This pattern has persisted since the dawn of the democratic era, has accelerated in intensity and regularity in the last four years, and completely undermines all of the government’s statements and pronouncements regarding its desire and support for black ethical professional talent in the public service,” reads the statement.
We witnessed the harassment
The chamber said it witnessed specific actions of harassment and public humiliation exerted by a certain Sita board member on Mabaso and indications are that these actions in relation to a large number of operational issues by the said board member have ultimately led to his resignation.
“The blatant disregard for governance and in particular, the deliberate creation of chaos to justify even more and potentially ultra vires intervention by government raises concerns about the motives behind his forced removal,” said the chamber.
