The CEO of South African telecommunications giant Telkom quit on Thursday after only 18 months in the job, the company said without giving a reason for his departure.
Papi Molotsane, who has been criticised by analysts for his leadership style and lack of vision, will be replaced by the company’s chief operating officer.
Ruben September will take over as acting CEO and Telkom will immediately start searching for a permanent replacement, the partially state-owned telecommunications group said in a brief stock exchange statement.
Last week Molotsane came under fire from the government for signing a supplier deal which was seen as outside the government’s policy framework.
The $300-million East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) contract has been marked by conflicting points of view.
The government wants open and non-discriminatory access and companies want the project to be run along commercial lines.
According to financial website ITWeb, Molotsane — who spearheaded the signing of the deal with EASSy — was among the latter, placing him at odds with the government’s policy.
He was also seen to be siding with Kenya, which withdrew from the project, disagreeing with the framework of non-discriminatory access.
Department of Communications director general Lyndall Shope-Mafole said on Monday she wanted Molotsane to toe the line, and said the government would use its board influence to stop Telkom from going ahead with the contract.
”I don’t want Papi [Molotsane] fired. We will engage with Telkom to resolve the situation,” ITWeb reported her as saying.
The website said this was the third high-profile resignation Telkom has had in the past six weeks. Early last month former chief technical officer Thami Msimango and chief sales and marketing officer Wally Beelders resigned.
Governments which have signed the protocol were determined that the project should not be dominated by one consortium.
Telkom is regularly attacked by analysts and subscribers for its high charges and near monopoly status.
A study by the Business Leadership group on 15 countries said ADSL [Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line] costs in South Africa were 139% higher than the average rate in the nations surveyed.
It said local calls at peak hours were 199% more expensive.
Clients also object to what they see as poor services.
Telkom spokespersons were not available for further comment when contacted by the Mail & Guardian Online on Friday morning. – Sapa-AFP