No bid for R91 million Telkom contract
Bloomberg has reported that Telkom awarded a R91.1 million advisory contract to Bain & Co without following an open bidding process.
According to Bloomberg, documents showed that “there was no record of a published or archived competitive process that led to the selection of Bain, the Boston-based management consulting firm”.
Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko hired Bain to advise the company on its broadband and mobile strategy.
The report states that Bain was picked within days of the CEO’s arrival at Telkom on April 1, 2013.
According to a previous report by Bloomberg, Bain described Telkom as “severely under-performing” and was in need of a review of its broadband plan, mobile strategy and capital expenditure.
The consultancy firm estimated at the time that the transformation of Telkom’s business would take 18 months (up to October 2014).
Maseko in focus
The report follows just a day after the Telkom Group’s integrated annual report revealed that the company’s top executives – including Maseko – took home millions in salaries, bonuses and shares amid retrenchments.
The retrenchment process would see almost a third of Telkom’s staff facing the chop in order to save R1 billion per year over the next five years.
Telkom’s executives and prescribed officers took home a combined salary of nearly R60 million for the financial year ended March 2014, with Maseko bagging over R11.7 million of that figure.
The Telkom chief was also granted shares in the company to the value of R5.2 million.
Maseko is also at the centre of a City of Johannesburg metro police (JMPD) investigation into a car licence cloning scandal.
The Star reported on 25 July that Maseko was driving around using his previous vehicle’s number plates, which were legally being used by businessman Mabena Motshoane, who had purchased Maseko’s old Range Rover.
It reported that Maseko incurred traffic fines totalling R30,000, but that these were sent to Motshoane to pay.
Telkom said in response that it is a matter “that is personal to Mr Maseko and is in no way related to Telkom”. “As such, Maseko will deal with it in his personal capacity”.
More on Telkom
Telkom executives take home millions
Retrenchments going ahead: Telkom
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