Many of us can be forgiven for looking past events at Mahlalekhukhwini House, because MTN Eswatini has enjoyed a fine reputation for getting or being on top of things.
It is normal to expect the people who make decisions at MTN to make the right calls, to be justified in whatever they choose to do because after all, they have been at the top of corporate culture since the giddy days of their monopoly.
MTN Eswatini has a fantastic history of good governance, people culture, brand and marketing as well as brand recognition. They could get away with murder and many of their customers would be persuaded to forgive them.
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They have ridden many storms too. They have survived the odd crisis; the arrival of the competition; the regulatory decisions that haven’t gone their way and the loss of many sharp executives and members of staff.
And, they are still making profits. Their network is still strong and well, their performance too. So, you could say that all things being considered, MTN Eswatini is still in good hands.
However, what has happened this past week has left a very bad taste, they have fumbled this time – and in such a big way, it is unavoidable to bring this issue on this column. It would be criminal of me not to opine on the manner in which the telecoms giant has handled, if not altogether treated a good man – even if there appears that this was a mutual agreement.
Sensitive Matters
I know full well that this is a very sensitive subject, however, my gut feeling was that this is one of the biggest incidents to have happened at MTN. To let it pass by just like that, if not this being a statement of how corporates are changing – especially down there at the headquarters.
It is not out of disrespect to Mtshali that one has to comment on this, but purely out of a sense of duty as a journalist, that such an incident could not be left at a badly crafted statement and an altogether controversial decision that in my view raises eyebrows in how MTN has treated an officer they are prepared to tell the public has served them well.
You and I don’t know what happened in the boardroom, how they have arrived at the conclusion that Mtshali should see out his contract in the next two months as well as arriving at not taking care of him as a former leader who has served them well.
A Questionable Decision
The MTN Board announced on Wednesday that Mtshali was leaving the organisation, amicably it seems. It stated that the CEO would leave at the end of his contract and that a new interim CEO would arrive from MTN Group in South Africa until a new CEO was recruited.
It is worth pointing out of course that this whole controversy began with an online article announcing Mtshali’s departure and making all sorts of allegations. In response, the Board is alleged to have convened a meeting of staff to inform employees there was no truth in the allegations. Two days later, there was a statement telling a different story.
It is not rocket science, therefore, to conclude that something is amiss here both in the decision and the public posture. For MTN, this is scandalous and totally out of character.
Reputation at Stake
You would expect MTN to use every arsenal in its possession to protect its brand, if not altogether its people or craft its own narrative.
You would expect MTN to come out guns blazing, if at all it considers anything published to be harmful to its reputation. Many of us have not forgotten how MTN flew into this country the entire Vice President of MTN Group at the height of certain allegations during the early years of Eswatini Mobile.
The VP being brought in was a statement in itself. That the VP went on to meet with the prime minister a sign of their power and pull, the company stood by its executive for all to see.
Forgive me, then, for seeing this current incident differently. That the Board found it fitting to even announce the changes is baffling, if not misjudgement of the incident.
A PR Misstep?
Any public relations student and reputational consultant will tell you it would have been better to say nothing about the leadership change until later in the year – probably when the new interim CEO jets in at Sikhuphe.
Any PR worth their salt will also tell you MTN was better off giving assurances that their CEO had done incredibly well and they were happy with him, then proceed to have coffee and biscuits in their boardroom looking for a strategy of how to get out of this situation.
Which is then to say that the Board of MTN has inadvertently told its customers that the rumours circulating are in fact true; that Eswatini Mobile is giving them a run for their money; they took a decision to dismiss their CEO long before his contract ran out.
For a brand this big and bright, MTN has just admitted that it was purely just being the messenger and they did not have enough in their gut to say, not now.
Which is a shame, because for so long, MTN has perfected its communications weaponry, its long-standing culture of exemplary corporate governance and its long and beautiful history of looking after its people.
Suddenly, they look like other organisations where you can’t be guaranteed freedom after speech.
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