Appeal stalls USAASA CEO search

By Martin Czernowalow for USAASA

Johannesburg, 15 Apr 2009

The Universal Services and Access Agency of SA (USAASA) has still not embarked on a process of finding a new CEO, pending the outcome of an appeal by James Theledi, who was recently fired from the top spot.

Following his dismissal in March, after being found guilty of sexually harassing a female colleague during an incident in September last year, Theledi appealed to the minister of communications to overturn the decision.

However, the death of minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, last week, could further delay this process.

“At the moment there is nothing new to report. The appeal is with the Ministry of Communications, but we don't know whether it will be handled by the deputy minister, the acting minister or other officials within the department,” says USAASA chairperson Cassandra Gabriel.

Department of Communications spokesman Joe Makhafola this morning confirmed it is the acting minister, minister of the presidency Manto Tshabala-Msimang, who would ultimately deal with the appeal.

However, at this stage, Makhafola could not say how far the process is, or when it would be finalised, but said he would look into it.

Sources close to the matter have questioned the legality of the appeal. They say the minister is a stakeholder in USAASA and should not be able to overturn a decision made by the organisation's board, or even be in a position to determine whether a disciplinary process was procedurally fair.

USAASA has, in the past, expressed frustration with the prolonged disciplinary process, but may now have to wait even longer for the matter to reach closure.

The agency's head of legal and regulatory affairs, Phineas Moleele, has been acting in the position since Theledi's suspension in September.

The USAASA manager, who was harassed by Theledi, left the agency earlier this year amid the scandal and said she would no longer be active in the ICT industry.