The Black IT Forum (BITF) has thrown down the gauntlet over Kelly Group's “removal” of deputy CEO and leading IT personality Mthunzi Mdwaba from its board.
This comes as a fake e-mail criticising the company does the rounds.
Kelly stripped Mdwaba - a former BITF president - of his position and his role on the board towards the end of August, releasing a vague statement to the market in which no reasons were supplied.
It never officially referred to the removal as a “suspension”; however, this seems to have been the case, as Kelly subsequently said his “suspension” had been lifted.
Yesterday, the BITF threatened Kelly with war if it did not publicly apologise for the manner in which Mdwaba has been treated, as the forum thinks he is the victim of an internal dispute. BITF treasurer Morena Ntsika says: “They [Kelly] have declared war against us, so we are going to war as well.”
Mdwaba is an empowerment advocate and has played a major role in several non-governmental bodies, seeking fair labour conditions and advancing the cause of empowerment in the ICT sector in SA.
He became Kelly's deputy CEO when the recruitment company bought IT training firm Torque IT two years ago, for R38 million. At the time, the agreement included a succession plan that would see Mdwaba step into Kelly Group CEO Grenville Wilson's shoes in October. It now seems unlikely this will happen as he is on “gardening leave”.
Blow to transformation
Ntsika says Mdwaba's ousting will be escalated to other empowerment institutions, such as the Black Management Forum (BMF) today. It will also seek to involve trade federation Cosatu over Kelly's labour brokering practices, which it sees as unethical, Ntsika notes.
Ntsika says the forum has written to Kelly, expressing its concerns. The letter, a copy of which is in ITWeb's possession, states: “The status quo relating to Mdwaba and The Kelly Group comes as a lost opportunity to have a black person lead a JSE-listed entity. Undeniably, an ideal yet to be realised and a blow to transformation.”
The letter, while recognising that the matter is one between the company and a staff member, asks for clarity on the reasons and rationale behind Mdwaba's removal from the board. “We, as an organisation, would want to have an objective view of the issues.”
Not good enough
Wilson responded to the BITF's letter, saying the matter is an employer and employee issue and he “trusts that you will respect it accordingly”.
In the Kelly CEO's letter to the BITF, a copy of which is in ITWeb's possession, he writes that the matter needs to be treated as an internal issue for the benefit of both parties. Wilson, however, seems to concur that “it is indeed a lost opportunity”.
“You will no doubt appreciate that we cannot comment and enter into a debate and/or furnish you with a so-called explanation regarding the matter and issue of Mdwaba. The matter must take its natural course and trust that you will respect both the privacy and rights of Mdwaba and those of The Kelly Group,” adds Wilson's letter.
However, Ntsika says this is not a sufficient response, and the BITF will escalate the matter, because Mdwaba has been badly treated by the listed recruitment company. “I think this is a personal agenda.”
Mdwaba's suspension has been linked to a personality conflict between him and Wilson, as well as a R12 million 2009 judgement awarded to Tarsus Technologies, against him and two other partners in failed IT infrastructure company Sourcecom.
Wilson was unavailable to comment yesterday. However, Ferdie Pieterse, the company's FD, says the BITF's threats do not warrant a comment from the company. BMF president Jimmy Manyi did not respond to a request for comment.
Hearing scheduled
Both parties are set to take the matter to private arbitration in November. Kelly says, at a hearing held on Tuesday, both parties agreed to submit the matter to a private arbitration process.
Mdwaba is believed to have been charged with a range of offences, including gross dereliction of duty, gross misconduct and gross insubordination. A disciplinary hearing was initially set down for 22 September, but this was delayed to Tuesday and subsequently delayed again.
Mdwaba has no comment other than he is “waiting for the hearing so I can clear my name. I'm still on gardening/cycling leave.”
Damming e-mail
In the midst of the ongoing wrangle, a damming e-mail, purporting to be from the company's human resources director, is doing the rounds.
The e-mail, sent from a Yahoo.com address, linked to HR director Elias Monage, makes several damaging claims about the company, including that Kelly has unfairly dismissed several people, including Mdwaba.
However, the recruitment company has slammed the e-mail as a fake. Monage “denies any knowledge whatsoever of the e-mail, which he supposedly sent to the Kelly Group board of directors”, the company says.
Monage has also opened a case with the Morningside Police station to investigate the matter. However, his claim could not be verified, because he refused to provide ITWeb with a case number, saying he did not wish to “tamper” with the police investigation.
Warrant officer Moses Maphakela says he cannot confirm whether a case was opened, without the relevant number.
Torque IT provides high-level technical training services to the private and public sector on Cisco, Microsoft, VMware, Novell, Sun and other major systems. It also provides customised training services to school-leavers seeking employment in the ICT industry.
In July last year, Mdwaba was appointed a member of the International Labour Organisation's governing body, representing SADC business. He is also vice-president of Business Unity SA and a member of the ICT Charter Steering Committee.
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