Departing secretary nails Icasa chair for “sleeping at his desk”
June 1st, 2006
Paris Mashile, chair of Icasa, the powerful broadcasting and telecoms regulator, is often asleep in his office during the day, with his shoes off, according to his former executive secretary. In her exit interview, Shameen Naidoo describes Mashile as a person who, in the few hours he was both at Icasa and awake, did his own private work and ignored his official correspondence for weeks at a time.
The exit interview was leaked to this blog yesterday, shortly after Ms Naidoo left office at Icasa.
Naidoo held various senior secretarial positions at Icasa in the last nine years. Her description of working for Mashile, since he took over the chair of the organization, is a devastating account of sloth and incompetence. If true, it should throw wide open questions of how the regulator is run.
Naidoo leaves as a disgruntled employee. She makes it clear that Mashile, who suspended her on his first day in office, has tried since then to get rid of her and made her life pretty miserable. But she has put her description of Mashile and his work habits on the record, and what she says is serious enough that, at the very least, it will need to be investigated. In her exit interview, she explicitly states that her allegations are not confidential.
Mashile is already under pressure because of reports of a large exodus of senior managers. The Mail & Guardian recently listed a string of general managers and other key staff who have left the regulator since Mashile took over in mid-2005.
“(Mashile) did very little Icasa work, if any,� Naidoo wrote. “He would come to work whenever he felt like it, take off his shoes and on many occasions fell off to sleep in his office during office hours.
“Many staff members and councillors have witnessed this. When he was not sleeping, he would be doing his own work. It seldom was Icasa-related. In fact, the only typing I did for Paris Mashile (and I stress that I did only piece of typing for him) was not even Icasa-related but related to some assignment he was busy with.�
She goes on: “Paris Mashile seldom opened any of his emails. In fact, it got so bad that I had to request IT to give me access to his computer so that I could update him on what was on his email and calendar. I would go through his mail and make copies and put it on his desk.
“I was privy to confidential information between councillors, which made me very uncomfortable.�
He neglected all his official mail. “Correspondence from the chairperson’s office and the rest of Icasa would lie in his in-tray for weeks. I specifically had to bring matters to his attention, (and) only then he would pay attention to it.�
She implies that he was unable to access his own calendar on his computer. “I had to make sure he had knowledge of his appointments by printing out his calendar as well as physically putting it on his cell phone. When his cell phone broke, the only means to make him aware of his appointments was to give him a printout of his weekly calendar.�
He kept eccentric hours. “Paris Mashile would often walk out of the office without telling me where he was going. He would be out of the office for hours and only come back just before or after I would leave after a normal working day. He would be in the office till late in the evening.�
“The fact of the matter is that he did little work, causing me to be creative and make myself busy. In essence, my job function was reduced to taking messages, printing emails and filing.�
Naidoo also alleges abuse of travel expenses. “Icasa seems a place of opportunities for wrongdoing because the policies are never strictly followed. The policy that is most violated is the Travel Policy and Council is the most guilty of this.
“Accommodation and car hire is the most abused. I have during the past months seen quotations for accommodation and care hire that far exceed the amounts allocated in the policy. Categories of car hire are upgraded to suit the needs of a particular councillor.
“In fact, the chairperson uses an automatic car when in Cape Town, which is a Group C car, when in fact the policy states clearly that local care hire would be Group B. His excuse is that he does not want to change gears in Cape Town traffic.
“Icasa is a means for (certain councillors) to travel and see the world and fill their passports. Certain councillors just don’t pitch up for meetings. They postpone meetings to suit their needs without due regard to how it affects certain departments and stakeholders and operators,� she writes.
She says that staff morale at Icasa is at an all-time low. “The reason for this is the poor leadership at Icasa. A further reason is the treatment of staff by council.�
Naidoo makes it clear that Mashile wanted her and his special advisor, Sean Rankin, out from the moment he arrived, resentful that he had inherited staff in his office. “He made sure that Sean Rankin and myself were not part of his team. He would not communicate with me and Sean unless we initiated a conversation.�
Before taking office, Mashile has asked for the two of them to be redeployed. The day before he took office, the two were suspended using Icasa letterheads and fax machines to nominate a councillor. Naidoo said this had been done previously and R45 000 was wasted prosecuting her and Rankin. She implies that the case was dismissed with contempt. “The outcome of the disciplinary hearing speaks for itself. The presiding officer at the hearing was disgusted that both myself and Sean Rankin were singled out and punished for something that was done before … and was an everyday occurrence. Why wasn’t everyone, including Paris Mashile, who admitted that he was guilty of this offence, not suspended, charged and brought before a disciplinary hearing?�
Naidoo was later moved to the office of one of the general managers, Jayshree Naidoo.
Naidoo believes the treatment she and Rankin received were the result of racism. She cites two occasions: one when Mashile said they would be more comfortable working for him if “he was a little more pink or blue�; another when he requested their redeployment, saying “that we were pining for the nostalgic and glorious days of the past.�
*For a full copy of Naidoo’s exit interview, click here. [PDF, 50kb]
* Icasa councillors, staff or others who wish to comment on this can enter their comment below. If you wish to keep it anonymous, email me at anton@harber.co.za
Entry Filed under: Anton Harber, Media regulation
18 Comments Add your own
1. Farrel Lifson | June 1st, 2006 at 11:08 pm
Wow nice work! ICASA has been a complete let down in SA, doing little to alleviate the telecommunications problems we face. I wouldn’t even want to estimate how much they have cost the country.
2. Craig J. King | June 2nd, 2006 at 7:06 am
There will be the inevitable denials and attempts to discredit the story and the individual, but at the end of the day this is pretty much what we as consumers have been aware of for quite some time.
The fact that ICASA have done virtually nil to regulate the industry to ensure fair competition, affordable prices and services is now virtually fully explained by the complete lack of interest by the very people we are entrusting this job too.
The ineptitude of these people (along with inteference from Government and stall tactics by the incumbents) have cost this country millions if not more and it looks like that is going to be the case for a very long time indeed. It certainly does not instill any confidence in the changing of the status quo or that we as consumers will see any form of relief in the near future.
A very sad state of affairs indeed.
3. morebroadband | June 2nd, 2006 at 7:27 am
If this does not cause a hornets nest within the ANC, and force changes, then nothing else will. It is very sad that ICASA, with all its supposed power, has in its hands the ability to change and uplift so many disadvantaged people by giving them cheaper broadband, telephone calls and access to info, but sadly more gravy train appointments. This is pathetic and I hope this causes a lot of pain for Mbeki, otherwise nothing will be done.
Nice post and keep up the good work!
4. Z Baker | June 2nd, 2006 at 12:03 pm
I expect the response from ICASA and/or Paris Mashile to be an attack on Naidoo or Rankin and not on her claims. Typical of government institutions.
5. Sibangilizwe Dlamini | June 2nd, 2006 at 4:00 pm
To ignore the qualitative work that ICASA has done and continues to do in the interest of telecommunications in this country is grossly unfair.
Icasa has deregulated internet provision by allowing local authorities to roll out their own broadband networks and in that way reduce municipal expenses associated with telephony and internet access. Jhb and Knynsna are classic examples of what the ICASA policy position on telecomms has done to unleash unlimited possibilities. Ordinary residents in Knysna are now able to make free telephone calls to another much to the disdain of previous monopolies.
ICASA has facilitated public participation on discussions around key regulatory issues such as the Convergence Bill, community broadcasting, etc (the list is endless). I think a proper audit of the work of ICASA would show a different picture from the one Shameen Naidoo and her followers are peddling. One is not saying ICASA could not have done more, but merely stating that the current ‘media sensation’ is perhaps structured by some ‘individual interests’ and has little to do with South Africa’s efforts to create enabling telecommunications environment for the good of the broad masses of this country.
6. David Bourne | June 2nd, 2006 at 5:20 pm
How to we respond to this? Whats the best way to get rid of that idiot who is crippling his country?
7. Niel | June 3rd, 2006 at 10:46 am
The old adage of ‘no work – no pay’ could be a great motivator and the easiest way to remove dead weight from the country’s already burdened shoulders. Imagine if ICASA was only paying salaries when progress was made…
8. Expected | June 4th, 2006 at 8:55 am
I am no expert on the matter, but there must be some way to intintiate/force tough an independant performance appraisal of the “output” of the individuals concerned and the associated “costs” of those “outputs”.
In other words: Did Paris actually do any work?
9. wake up | June 5th, 2006 at 9:30 am
Please wake up. This should not even be in the news. It is happening in thousands of Affirmative Action-appointment offices around the country on a daily basis. It is the price we pay for the goverment we choose, but is keeping South Africans in poverty and preventing them from leading decent lives.
10. bet | June 5th, 2006 at 10:48 am
I’m betting even money on each of the following standard responses from Icasa:
1. It is a plot…
2. Is you don’t like it, leave the country…
11. Nthambeleni | June 5th, 2006 at 11:50 am
I am shocked to still read a one-sided story in a new South Africa. I know that there are those who are at the wrong place at the wrong time - I am talking about people who are incompetent - but it is very much important for the writer to get both sides of the story in order to produce a fair and balanced article. I am very interested in reading well-balanced articles. If the guys at ICASA refused to comment, the writer must let us know. It is a nice piece, but it is one sided.
Thanks,
Gabs in Limpopo
12. Phuti Lekganyane | June 5th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
The car-hiring policy will making ICASA the laughing stock of Corporate South Africa. Who knows there must be other issues that the lady couldn’t raise for fear of reprisal, eg there might be other members at the regulatory body who have particular interests in the telecommunications sector and for reasons known to them they couldn’t play this regulatory role with expected aplomb. That’s the South Africa we have come to LOVE.
13. Paul | June 5th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
Wow. In my opinion Shammem Naidoo should be offered the position of Chair of ICASA.
14. Sibangilizwe Dlamini | June 5th, 2006 at 6:26 pm
Did Paris Mashile actually do any work? This is a great and legitimate question that can easily be answered by an audit of what was achieved under Paris’ leadership visa viz what was expected. As the citizenry, we can demand that audit, perhaps through some petition of some sort. But to go on a blind attack on ICASA or Paris based on some allegation by some frustrated former staff member without an indepedent assessment is rather ‘dim-witted’.
15. Joy Kanter (Ireland) | June 5th, 2006 at 9:50 pm
If the allegations are true that Paris Mashile, chair of Icasa, is free-loading at taxpayers’expense, then it is encumbent on his superiors to show him the door - or in this case his comfortable bed. No work no pay, has to be South Africa’s mantra - it cannot afford cronyism.
What is David Bourne on about when he says Mashile is “crippling the country”? What mindless rhetoric. HIV/Aids, crime and unemployment are playing havoc in the state. Mashile might be likened to a bedbug - albeit a super sized one. Bed linen should be washed and aired from time to time. Maybe Icasa needs spring cleaning?
16. Mthokozisi | June 8th, 2006 at 11:25 am
It is very disturbing to read about such conduct by the highest officer in Icasa. As a regulator, Icasa’s very existence is regulating in the public interest, how will it ensure that it carries out its mandate if the management is snoozing and acting like a stubborn king, rather than working like a slave in order to earn Icasa the recognition and respect that it deserves. This is a serious matter that needs to be adressed. Mashile should be suspended with immediate effect. It is very brave of Naidoo to expose Mashile. I hope that those who are in power to deal with this matter may do so urgently. Such conduct is 100% unacceptable, therefore the culprits should be severly dealt with.
Mthokozisi
3rd year Drama and Media Scholar, Wits University
17. Debbie2 | June 10th, 2006 at 5:18 pm
Joy Kanter, I don’t think you fully understand the implications of a lazy, uninterested ICASA chair
Come to South Africa and try use the internet, or try make a few calls back to Ireland. Just try, I dare you! Be sure to bring wads of cash, and do any important downloads before you leave Ireland!
Come and speak to the millions and millions of people who don’t have access to decent telephone services, or speak to an average prepaid cellphone user (who, according to Vodacom ARPU figures, can only afford to make one 35 second phone call a day). They can partially thank ICASA for this.
Joy, come and speak to the people in White River, who have to conduct all of their business and personal internet and phonescalls using cellphones, because Telkom refuses to install fixed-lines in their area (and ICASA refuses to hold Telkom to their mandate).
Joy come and speak to me, who had to fight for almost a year before ICASA took my compliant over alleged unconstitutionality of Telkom’s std terms and Conditions contract seriously. This was after ICASA had ‘lost’ or ‘misplaced’ my complaint SEVERAL times.
Report after report after report comes out detailing how the costs of telecoms in SA are crippling economic growth. Read these reports, please, that detail how Telkom’s prices alone contribute an entire percentage towards inflation in SA. Read Telkom’s submission on the originally proposed productivity factor value in the prevailing Price Cap regime, and see how ICASA allowed themselves to be bullied by this behemoth. Look at ICASA’s weak-handling of Telkom-tactics employed during the ADSL hearings.
Joy, you should speak to one of the 32 multinational corporations that the dti has said have pulled their investment out of SA due to Telkom’s prices. Then you should speak to the countless businesses who have not been able to expand their businesses internationally, due to the costs of communicating in SA. Then I suggest you speak to one of the 50 000 people who would have a call-centre job, were it not for Telkom’s pricing.
Telkom has been getting away with daylight robbery, and in the process they are seriously holding back economic growth in SA. It is ICASA’s job, their mandate, to reign Telkom in. They have not done this, and now it comes out that their ‘limited resources’ are being spent on needless ‘trips’ and car-hire upgrades, while SA suffers with a debilitating Telkom infection.
18. Michiel Erasmus | April 3rd, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Dit is absoluut walglik hoe snel ons land Suid-Afrika in ‘n puinhoop veranderd is. Ek woon al >9 jaar in Nederland en dit is ‘n klein land, maar hoogs opgeleid, capabale mensen en bestuurders wat effektief en gestruktureerd werk. Rassisme en onbenholpenheid word is hier totaal uit den bose. Een onbekwame persoon maak nie uit sy kleur of afkomst sal NOOIT werk.
Eindelik word Suid-Afrika net nog ‘n 3e-wereldland wat in die vergetelheid raak. Nog ‘n Congo / Mali / Bangladesh. Tel niet mee. Vergeten, verloren. Ons vir jou Suid-afrika??
I challenge mr. whatever of Icasa to come look how long he will survive here in Nederland, or any European Union-country.
I am 100% certain that even the Social Welfare of any EU-country will puke him and alikes out for the worthless scum they are. They are ruining and sabotaging our beautiful country!
Racism has no place and incompetence is equally offensive!!
groeten uit Nederland :).
Michiel.
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