Telkom has lifted the suspension of group executive for network provisioning Marius Mostert, following the outcome of a forensic investigation.
Telkom suspended Mostert in March, after several allegations of tender irregularities hit media headlines. While Telkom, at the time, did not confirm Mostert's suspension was connected to the accusations, it confirmed this morning that the investigation did revolve around the tender troubles.
Telkom SA MD Nombulelo “Pinky” Moholi says Telkom conducted an investigation into Mostert's work and found him innocent of any irregular conduct. “Due internal processes were immediately instituted. This included a thorough independent forensic investigation. However, no evidence could be found to implicate Mostert of any wrongdoing,” she says.
Telkom has long defended both Mostert and its own actions concerning the offending tenders, and maintained his suspension was a matter of governance and not an indication of his guilt.
“With Mostert being a key member of senior management, this process was vital for both Mostert and the Telkom Group in the spirit of fairness and transparency, as well as the company's consistent adherence to Sarbanes-Oxley and the King II codes for sound corporate governance,” explains Moholi.
She says Mostert resumed work at the beginning of this month. “Telkom could no longer justify the continuation of Mostert's suspension and he has resumed his responsibilities.”
The tender accusations have been a thorn in Telkom's side, because they surfaced as the company began its controversial restructuring process. The first claim was laid against it by Maredi Telecom and Broadcasting, which lost the lucrative “microwave” tender to a Telsaf/Ericsson consortium.
The company accused Telkom of breaching procurement policies by changing tender documents and awarding a multimillion-rand deal to the consortium, which failed the initial test phase. The equipment is expected to link Telkom's backhaul services to radio towers, which the company says will improve its wireless services.
Another allegation was levelled against the company a few weeks later, concerning the awarding of equipment meant to serve the South African Post Office.
Meanwhile, Telkom seems to have gone ahead with the implementation of the awarded tenders.
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