MOBILE Network Operator (MNO) Telecel employees on Monday staged and sit-in and refused to vacate the company’s boardroom, compelling the chief executive Angeline Vere to flee, Zim Morning Post has learnt.
The employees are lamenting over meagre wages and incapacitation, and their calls for an upward review of salaries have fallen on deaf ears.
Management addressed employees at the company headquarters in Harare, but the meeting reached a deadlock, with employees vowing to sit-in until Wednesday.
“The management, particularly the chief executive (Angeline Vera), said the company’s coffers are dry and that she will get back to us on Wednesday.
“She had to leave in a huff around 3pm as she could not contain the pressure.
“So we will not leave the boardroom as we await for her on Wednesday.
“We can’t afford to pay for transport, and the salary erosion needs cushioning.
“Management is enjoying big perks while we suffer,” said an employee who concealed his identity for fear of reprisal.
“Board chair James Makamba and Vere are making decisions for self enrichment purposes rather than Telecel’s interests.
“Minister Muswere must intervene,” added the source.
Recently, Vere was accused of buying a top-of-the-range vehicle without board approval and employees were bitter.
Deafening calls for Vere’s ouster have been echoing for a prolonged period now, forcing board members to clash.
Some members drew swords against Vere on allegations of turning the mobile telecommunications company into a loss-making entity since taking over the reins in 2015.
Government assumed a controlling stake in Telecel after buying 60 percent of the company’s shares in 2016.
Vere’s rivals backed their ouster calls on the basis that she failed to uphold her fiduciary duties, including producing audited financial statements during the period up to 2018.
The Telecel ‘iron lady’, however, scoffed at the allegations and said her mandate was to report to the board and subsequently the regulatory authority (Potraz), claiming she had never diverted from such.
“Well, first and foremost, I do not report to staffers and have no obligation to be their buddies.
“I report to the board and they approved the purchase of that vehicle.
“Where did your source get that US$2 million figure. I was entitled to that car and I was supposed to buy a car worth US$150 000, but I bought a cheaper one for US$95 000 last year, around October.
“Staffers do not know the terms of my contract, and if they push for salary increase, there are proper channels and not the Press,” Vere told Zim Morning Post.
Impeccable sources told Zim Morning Post that Vere was perceived as Makamba’s ‘blue eyed girl’, hence her unpopularity with staffers, stakeholders and some board members.
The fissures are said to have widened when early this year, after his return from self-imposed exile, Makamba moved to suspend board member and ex-CEO Francis Mawindi for allegedly leaking confidential company information.
It is believed that Mawindi has persistently been raising the flag over Vere’s alleged failure to adhere to prudential management practices and unilaterally making questionable decisions, which had negative connotations on the company’s finances, without seeking board approval.
However, in an email to board members dated September 3, 2018, Vere said the company had failed to implement its turnaround strategies after failing to secure a US$5 million loan for the exercise.
Sources said Telecel was being run by ‘three musketeers’, namely Vere, finance director Ezra Chinake and Obert Mandimika.
“In my interaction with Telecel as a stakeholder for years, I have noted that this company is run by three people; Chinake, Vere and Mandimika.
“For an organisation as big as that, it’s unhealthy to concentrate power and decisions only on a handful of people,” said one of our sources
