TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Load shedding returns, and may last until Thursday

      16 August 2022

      Jo’burg to issue RFP for 500MW of electricity ‘within weeks’

      16 August 2022

      MTN hires outgoing Icasa CEO Willington Ngwepe into top role

      16 August 2022

      Rain in embarrassing climbdown over Telkom statement

      16 August 2022

      Coal miner Seriti plans R12-billion Mpumalanga wind farm

      16 August 2022
    • World

      Semiconductor boom turns to bust

      16 August 2022

      Tencent plans to offload R400-billion Meituan stake: sources

      16 August 2022

      Ether leaps higher on verge of Merge

      16 August 2022

      Institutions eye crypto but retail investors remain nervous

      15 August 2022

      Tencent woes mount, even after $560-billion selloff

      12 August 2022
    • In-depth

      African unicorn Flutterwave battles fires on multiple fronts

      11 August 2022

      The length of Earth’s days has been increasing – and no one knows why

      7 August 2022

      As Facebook fades, the Mad Men of advertising stage a comeback

      2 August 2022

      Crypto breaks the rules. That’s the point

      27 July 2022

      E-mail scams are getting chillingly personal

      17 July 2022
    • Podcasts

      Qush on infosec: why prevention is always better than cure

      11 August 2022

      e4’s Adri Führi on encouraging more women into tech careers

      10 August 2022

      How South Africa can woo more women into tech

      4 August 2022

      Book and check-in via WhatsApp? FlySafair is on it

      28 July 2022

      Interview: Why Dell’s next-gen PowerEdge servers change the game

      28 July 2022
    • Opinion

      No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

      11 July 2022

      Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

      8 July 2022

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Africa Data Centres
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Sections»IT services»EOH slams ‘smear campaign’ against CEO Van Coller

    EOH slams ‘smear campaign’ against CEO Van Coller

    IT services By Staff Reporter25 November 2021
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Stephen van Coller

    A group claiming to be former employees and shareholders going under the name “Save EOH”, all of whom have chosen to remain anonymous, has made a submission to the Zondo commission of inquiry into allegations of state capture claiming current EOH CEO Stephen van Coller gave false testimony to the commission.

    They claim he orchestrated a crisis that resulted in the group’s market value shrinking by more than half to R6.8-billion from R16.4-billion when he joined three years ago.

    The group submitted the submission to the Zondo commission last Wednesday (November 17). On Monday (22 November) the Zondo Commission replied to Save EOH’s attorney Heinrich Valentine saying: “The commission is not in the habit of receiving anonymous submissions.”

    The commission is not in the habit of receiving anonymous submissions

    The commission advised Valentine that should his clients (Save EOH) “want the commission to consider their submission but keep their identities secret” then “they should motivate for such an application to the commission”.

    Save EOH argues that the once “great powerhouse” employed 11 500 people but has since whittled that down to 5 500. “This has affected the livelihood of thousands of people, destroyed careers, and caused immeasurable pain and suffering,” says a media release from Save EOH issued last week.

    It calls for Van Coller to step down, claiming he perjured himself at the Zondo commission, and due to his “poor performance” since becoming CEO.

    ‘Smear campaign’

    In response, EOH hit back and said the “smear campaign” levels malicious and frivolous allegations against Van Coller. The company noted that earlier this year, it had filed civil claims against several former EOH executives to recover damages of more than R6.4-billion, and says this latest campaign by Save EOH is merely an attempt to retaliate against these civil actions.

    When contacted for more details regarding who exactly is part of Save EOH, a spokesman who asked not to be named said none of the former employees affiliated to Save EOH are being pursued by the company for civil damages, so they are motivated neither by revenge nor financial benefit.

    Asked why the members chose to remain anonymous and, in doing so, devalue their claims, the spokesman said they will remain anonymous for now “due to the fear of targeted harassment and other security issues”.

    The grouping bewails the continued slide in the share price of EOH from around R40 when Van Coller arrived, to around R7 today

    Valentine, the group’s attorney, also provided no further insight into the identity of the members of the grouping. “All I can say is that I am representing the group,” he said.

    In its media statement, Save EOH said some 60 businesses had been disposed of, including the so-called crown jewels of the company, for a fraction of their value – causing some of the R6-billion loss of market cap.

    Included in this was Construction Computer Software (CCS), a South African-owned company that reportedly ranks among the top in the world in its field, with customers in 50 countries. It was sold to a German company for 25% of its market value, said Save EOH, which added it has presented this evidence to the Zondo Commission.

    The grouping bewails the continued slide in the share price of EOH from around R40 when Van Coller arrived, to around R7 today. It also questions why EOH spent R245-million with legal firm ENSafrica, the result of which appears to have been aimed at “simply defaming EOH, purging management and board members, while boosting (Van Coller’s) image as a great leader, great CEO and a ‘corruption fighter’,” said Save EOH.

    “Van Coller artificially created a major crisis in EOH when there was none and then promoted himself as the white knight who saves it,” declared the Save EOH statement.

    Earlier this year, EOH brought civil claims against former CEO Asher Bohbot, former (and late) chief financial officer John King and two other executives for a combined R6.4 billion for governance lapses when they led the company.

    The charges against King and Bohbot include delinquency, breach of fiduciary duties and breach of contract.

    Other former directors also face charges following a 2019 ENSafrica investigation that uncovered evidence of widespread wrongdoing at EOH. This came after Microsoft terminated its relationship with the IT group over an apparent corrupt department of defence contract.

    Evidence presented to the Zondo Commission, and outlined by ENSafrica’s forensics unit, paints a damning picture of a company involved in corrupt public sector tendering, with suspicious transactions worth about R1.2-billion being discovered in EOH’s public sector subsidiary, EOH Mthombo.

    Swing to profit

    Van Coller was brought in to clean up EOH. The group’s latest results for the financial year to July 2021 show a swing from R1.3-billion operating loss to R147-million operating profit.

    In various presentations, Van Coller has spoken at length of the culture of corruption he discovered at the organisation, and of its various governance lapses.

    Save EOH questioned the need to restate the previous four years’ financial statements, resulting in billions of rands of write-offs, and making it impossible to do a proper analysis of the company’s performance. Van Coller is also accused by the grouping of using unfair labour practices “to purge management, board members and any other individual” who stood up to him.

    EOH issued the following statement in response to the Save EOH claims:

    In June 2021, EOH filed civil claims against a number of former EOH executives seeking total damages of circa R6.4-billion. The EOH board decided to do this after an extensive legal investigation. The charges filed include delinquency, breach of fiduciary duties and breach of contract. Further civil suits against other individuals may follow as the process unfolds.

    The EOH board believes that the recently launched anonymous ‘Save EOH’ smear campaign, which levels malicious and frivolous allegations against EOH CEO Stephen van Coller, is an attempt to retaliate against these civil actions and Stephen van Coller and his team’s efforts to turnaround the organisation.

    The EOH board led by its chair Andrew Mthembu fully supports the EOH executive team including Van Coller and acknowledge their significant achievements over the past three years. The EOH board regards this personal attack as deplorable.

    EOH’s board said it “has no further comment on the matter”.

    • This article was originally published by Moneyweb and is republished by TechCentral with permission
    Asher Bohbot ENSafrica EOH John King Stephen van Coller
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleDiscover 3D tools for next-gen creativity with Adobe Substance 3D Collection
    Next Article Orange to replace CEO Stephane Richard

    Related Posts

    Load shedding returns, and may last until Thursday

    16 August 2022

    Jo’burg to issue RFP for 500MW of electricity ‘within weeks’

    16 August 2022

    MTN hires outgoing Icasa CEO Willington Ngwepe into top role

    16 August 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    HPE SimpliVity: addressing SMBs’ data conundrums

    16 August 2022

    Digital transformation – don’t get caught unprepared

    16 August 2022

    Seven reasons your business needs IP surveillance cameras

    15 August 2022
    Opinion

    No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

    11 July 2022

    Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

    8 July 2022

    South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

    4 July 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.