Some people just can't get it right. This week's sad story is that of the State IT Agency's (SITA's) COO, who (allegedly) resigned in a huff over not being appointed to the "big kahuna" position at the agency.
Not only did Noedine Isaacs-Mpulo fail to get the nod to become the organisation's first female CEO, her resignation was procedurally flawed. When it rains, it pours.
Word on the street has, for some time now, been that Isaacs-Mpulo was preparing herself to step into the shoes of Mavuso Msimang, who left in May. Since then, SITA has been doddering over who should fill the position and it must have become abundantly clear that it would not be Isaacs-Mpulo. It is also abundantly clear that SITA is actually clueless as to whom it will be.
Asked whether Isaacs-Mpulo had resigned, SITA acting CEO Peter Pedlar responded: "I have seen a resignation from a senior person, but it was done procedurally incorrect and I refused [to] deal w[ith] it."
He confirmed that a female member of the executive committee had tendered a resignation, but to SITA chairperson Thenjiwe Chikane. Pedlar says resignations normally come to him. He says Chikane will now deal with the matter. "It is a very difficult situation. This resignation was done in a very strange manner."
SITA is no stranger to strange things. The organisation, which has been headless for a good few months, is losing senior executives left, right and centre. Another recent high-level resignation was that of Jonas Bogoshi, chief of strategic services. Bogoshi is now living it up as GijimaAst's CEO.
Again, rats and sinking ships come to mind. What the future holds for Isaacs-Mpulo is unknown, as she would not comment on her resignation. Wherever she goes, we wish her the best of luck and hope that she streamlines her resignation technique.
Where am I, and who are all these people?
Pietermaritzburg businessman Ismail Noorgat is not a happy camper, having discovered that too much sport and cartoons can kill you.
Martin Czernowalow, news editor, ITWeb
Another bit of sad news this week was that National Treasury seems to be suffering from some kind of senility.
Unfortunately, National Treasury's little moment of confusion cost some poor rural sods the chance of getting access to telecoms services.
ITWeb reported that, despite the establishment of a multimillion-rand universal services and access fund (USAF), under-serviced communities continue to lack access to communication services.
This has been attributed to the agency being unable to effectively access the hundreds of millions of rands raised through annual contributions by telecommunications operators. In the previous financial year, the USAF collected R151 million. Only R31 million of this was dished out.
Universal Service and Access Agency of SA (USAASA) chairman Cassandra Gabriel explained that treasury was a little confused. But, to its credit, Gabriel points out that the USAASA did not engage properly with National Treasury so that it would understand what the agency does. As a result, treasury confused USAASA's budget with the USAF budget.
Oops. Anyway, Gabriel is confident the issue has now been sorted. I also hope that treasury takes its pills and keeps the senility at bay. Sentech has been waiting for funding for a wireless network for over a year. I wonder whether treasury is clear on what exactly Sentech does...
The self-destructing Nokia
Pietermaritzburg businessman Ismail Noorgat is not a happy camper, having discovered that too much sport and cartoons can kill you. The unfortunate Noorgat, his wife and baby were almost blown up by an exploding Nokia battery.
Nokia did announce a major recall of the type of battery that exploded in Noorgat's bedroom. Sadly, Noorgat did not know about this, thanks to his particular choice of reading matter.
"I also don't read too much of the news, mostly the sports page and the cartoons, so I had no idea," he said. Bet you're sorry now!
So, ignorance is not always bliss.
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