KENNETH MAZIYA RESIGNS FROM ESTVA

MBABANE – Kenneth Maziya, the ESTVA Chief Financial Officer (CFO) who has contested for the position of CEO at the national broadcaster, has resigned.

Maziya when contacted by Eswatini News confirmed the latest development but refused to state reasons behind his decision. His resignation is taking place hardly three weeks after unknown people reportedly broke into the Eswatini Television Authority (ESTVA)’s office and stole only a laptop belonging to him. The thugs entered Maziya’s office through a window and only took his laptop, charger and external hard drive. To date, no arrests have been made. ESTVA Board Chairman Prince Sicunusa confirmed receipt of the CFO’s resignation.

"The CFO just came to deliver the resignation to me last week without saying a word,” the Board chairman said when called on Thursday. Maziya had been with ESTVA for the past four years after he was recruited from the sugar belt during the time of the late Bongani Gcokosiyancinca Dlamini as the station’s CEO. He was later appointed acting CEO for the parastatal, a position he held for the past 18 months.  

Appointed

Just recently, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Phesheya Dube, on behalf of the Minister, Princess Sikhanyiso, appointed Andreas Dlamini as the acting CEO. The CFO had been embattled in a court case where he was going head on with Princess Sikhanyiso in an effort to have her withdraw the appointment of the acting CEO. Maziya had argued that the minister should have endorsed the recommendation of the ESTVA’s Board, which advised her to appoint him. He had been acting as the CEO for 18 months, until Dube announced Andreas’ appointment, a few weeks ago. Maziya is no longer pursuing the matter of the appointment of Andreas. Also, in the past few weeks, Maziya filed a notice of withdrawal at the Industrial Court. His Attorney, Thabiso Mavuso of Motsa Mavuso Attorneys, advised the court that the parties were pursuing other means of settling the matter. The court accordingly withdrew Maziya’s application. ESTVA has been without a substantive CEO since the demise of Gcokosiyancinca last year.

Contested

The post of ESTVA CEO has been attracting controversies since the days of the late Dan Dlamini in the early 1990s. Celani Ndzimandze took over, but his contract was terminated on February 25, 2005, after a lot of infighting at ESTVA. At some point, the late Sabelo Masuku acted as the CEO, and his term was short-lived, as he faced numerous challenges there. Vukani Maziya’s tenure was not a rosy one as his confirmation was not approved by the late Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini’s administration, despite the fact that he had passed the interview with flying colours.It was the administration of former Prime Minister Absalom Themba Dlamini, which eventually endorsed the consultancy’s recommendation for the appointment of Maziya.
His first assignment was a tough one as he had to deal with the then Director of Outside Broadcasting Unit (OB), Qhawe Mamba, who was employed by ESTVA, yet was also operating a private television station, Channel Swazi, now known as YemaSwati Channel. He created enemies for removing Mamba from ESTVA. He died in July 2010, while still holding the position of ESTVA CEO.

‘Gcokosiyancinca’s tenure of officer as the CEO met resistance as he had to offload staff that earned high salaries. He created enemies for declaring certain positions as redundant. For what he did, there were former employees who shunned the jurisdiction and competence of the Industrial Court and the Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CMAC) in preference of the Ludzidzini Royal Council, which had been hearing their grievances.

Suspension

Vusigama Khumalo came in, to act as the CEO during the suspension of ‘Gcokosiyancinca’. It was not long before he faced challenges. Gcokosiyancinca bounced back, and Khumalo had to vacate the office. Since the retirement and unfortunate death of the former CEO, the public enterprise has been without a substantive CEO. It must be said that Kenneth Maziya has been acting as the CEO of ESTVA for 18 months. During the recent interviews for the post of CEO, Maziya became No.1. Consultants recommended for his appointment as the CEO of ESTVA. Princess Sikhanyiso, the Minister of ICT, did not endorse the recommendation.

The ESTVA Human Resource Policy, which is aligned to the Government General Orders, provides that an officer should not act for six months. For over six months, the policy states that the officer must be confirmed to the position. In the case of Maziya, investigations by our sister publication Times SUNDAY revealed that his contract was terminated before the lapsing of the six-month period.

Appointment

He would take a two-day break before he received another letter of appointment. This happened for a period of 18 months. In a second recruitment exercise conducted by SAMKHO, Mncedisi Mayisela and Kenneth Maziya scored high, as they both attained 83.3 per cent. SAMKHO stated that if Maziya was not appointed, Mayisela should be considered for the job or alternatively Phesheya Dube, before the latter was appointed PS.

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