State-owned broadcast signal distributor Sentech has suspended six senior employees in an apparent effort by the new management team to demonstrate it will not tolerate deviation from proper procedure.
Sentech won’t name the employees, but new chairman Logan Naidoo says those suspended had worked in the projects and procurement departments and were suspended on suspicion of irregular spending.
Naidoo says Sentech is on the path to recovery after years of dysfunction and anyone who wants to work at the company must know that it now has a “zero tolerance policy” when it comes to working within frameworks dictated by law and policy.
“This is the message that must be sent to the marketplace,” he says. “The matter is currently under investigation and until such time that all relevant processes are concluded we cannot divulge any further information.”
Naidoo recently took up the chairmanship of Sentech, replacing Quraysh Patel, who left last year. Patel had kick-started the company’s turnaround efforts.
Sentech appears to have turned the corner financially, though there are still several legacy issues that the management team needs to deal with. One of these involves the alleged unlawful use by Internet service provider Screamer Telecommunications of Sentech’s spectrum. Icasa is investigating the matter.
Naidoo says former Sentech executives inked a deal with Screamer. The state-owned company is considering action against those involved once the company’s stabilisation programme is bedded down. — Candice Jones, TechCentral
- Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
- Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook