The National Union of Energy and Allied Workers has described the move by ZESCO Managing Director Victor Mundende to fire five of the seven Directors amounts to corporate sabotage.
Last week in an internal Memo to staff dated Friday, December 02 2016, Mr Mudenda fired the Director Human Resources, Director Legal Services and Company Secretary, Director of Finance, Director of Strategy and Corporate Services and Director in charge of Distribution and Customer.
NESAWU General Secretary Manson Mutambo said the sacking of the is a bad move especially that it comes shortly after the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) dissolved the ZESCO.
Mr Mutambo said the firing of the five directors without stating the reasons also contravenes the new Employment Act which stipulates that workers should be given reasons for the termination of employment.
He has since called on the IDC to urgently put in place a new Board at ZESCO.Mr Mutambo said the firing of the Directors at ZESCO is part of the mismanagement which is taking place at the state power utility.
Poor journalism and poor decision making by Mundende. Mundende should have no power to fire any director because he needs them for his day to day operational tasks by the company. If anything, the board of directors should have fired all the Directors of Zesco after a thorough financial audit of the firm on how its Eurobond allocation was used. Selling ZESCO must not be even considered because what is wrong with the company has nothing to do with ownership, BUT with its poor management in terms of decision making, operational ineptitude, and sheer wasting of funds! All these problems can be extended to ZAMTEL!
Corporate governance issues at best…from the story I understand that the ZESCO board was non existent when the CEO fired his directors…that is too much power by one employee at that level of management…The common successful practise is that the board confirms the appointment and dismissals of CEOs and directors…If this is not the case at ZESCO, then I can understand why this corporation has failed to function over the years! Besides, ZESCO has been a govt. cash cow for decades…its my 2 cents that govt. ordered the CEO to fire the directors…and off topic, why are we still investing in hydro electricity when solar farm technology is powering entire cities in Rwanda, South Africa and the rest of the world??
The Managers were used to steal the Eurobond, Like used condoms they are being discarded. Next in line is Mudende himself.
The real problem at Zesco is political interference in the procurement and tender procedures.
I believe Zesco as a state firm needs to make available its books of accounts available for public scrutiny.
Any good manager is likely to fail at Zesco as it is now with PF in government.
Not firing them is economic sabotage
@ Chola you said it. However this is Zambia, so such things don’t exist. People can just wake up and decided things……
This is nothing compared to what Robinson Mwansa did when he fired all directors older than him and over 80 middle management staff under the pretext of early retirement for having served 20 years of service in 1996. I was only 47 and was highly trained in hydropower development. I am convinced that the technical problems ZESCO is having today can be traced to it. These people experienced the effects of El Nino in 1991 when the Itezhitezhi Dam almost dried up and would not have allowed the wanton misuse of water in an El Nino year again in 2015
Boza
Gringo. Don’t argue you were not there.
The era of parastatal syndrome is long gone, just sell the damn thing and allow people to generate their own energy power using duty free gen sets and gas appliances.
It reminds me of what Mr Kaunda used to do especially when he wanted to fire the Premier or the SG. He will send you to the Far East e.g. China and while you’re there KK holds a news conference and fires you. Here to, at a time when the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) dissolved the ZESCO, this Mundende lumpen sees it as an opportunity to fire other directors and the govt is just watching. Maybe he arranged this with Chagwa, you never know.
This is coming from the IDC and whoever controls it. The firing of the directors would have been resisted had the Board been in place. So, get rid of the Board and tell Mundende to fire the Directors. Next it will be Mundende himself.
Everything is politics…Zambia is doomed under ECL
It’s expected of political appointments. Welcome to solo enterprises life.
You people commenting above are so naïve. Do you think Mundende would just wake up and fire five directors without following directives from somewhere?
What if they were fire fired for the incompetence surrounding the frequent load-shedding?
Mutambo don’t you know that you can be sued for disclosing reasons a person was fired? This is between the company (Zesco) and the effected employee. The mines and PTC lost a lot of money through litigations for disrecommending former employees.
WITH THE CURRENT UNDER PERFORMANCE OF ZESCO, DEFFINETLY THIS MOVE IS LONG OVERDUE. MOREOVER, THESE GUYS EMPLOY ONLY THEIR RELATIVES. DO A RESEARCH, YOU WILL AGREE WITH ME.
WITH THE CURRENT UNDER PERFORMANCE OF ZESCO, THIS MOVE IS LONG OVERDUE. MOREOVER, THESE GUYS EMPLOY ONLY THEIR RELATIVES. DO A RESEARCH, YOU WILL AGREE WITH ME. IN FACT AN INDEPENDENT TEAM SHOULD CARRY OUT STAFF AUDIT IN ZESCO, YOU WILL BE SHOCKED HOW MANY IRRELEVANT PERSONNEL ARE THERE… FEEL FREE TO CONSULT ME.
WITH THE CURRENT UNDER PERFORMANCE OF ZESCO, THIS MOVE IS LONG OVERDUE. MOREOVER, THESE GUYS EMPLOY ONLY THEIR RELATIVES. DO A RESEARCH, YOU WILL AGREE WITH ME. IN FACT AN INDEPENDENT TEAM SHOULD CARRY OUT STAFF AUDIT IN ZESCO, YOU WILL BE SHOCKED HOW MANY IRRELEVANT PERSONNEL ARE THERE…
WITH THE CURRENT UNDER PERFORMANCE OF ZESCO, THIS MOVE IS LONG OVERDUE. MOREOVER, THESE GUYS EMPLOY ONLY THEIR RELATIVES. DO A RESEARCH, YOU WILL AGREE WITH ME. IN FACT AN INDEPENDENT TEAM SHOULD CARRY OUT STAFF AUDIT IN ZESCO, YOU WILL BE SHOCKED HOW MANY IRRELEVANT PERSONNEL ARE THERE WITH QUALIFICATIONS THAT CAN NOT ADD VALUE TO ZESCO, EG. A DENTIST… IT IS CRAZZZYYY…..
So many things have gone wrong in Zambia due to ZESCO. Loading shedding in industrial & commercial areas including Rhodes Park where ZESCO H/O is, starts at 08 00 hrs & restored at 12 00 or 13 00 or 14 00 or 15 00 hrs & at times goes again around 16 00 hours until the following day at 12 00 or 13 00 or 14 00 hours giving whatever reason suites them e.g. fault. The thinking by ZSECO is justified by Zambian standards but not modern standards. You can’t switch off power at 08 00 hours when people are just reporting for work. Why not give people chance until 10 00 hrs or 13 hours & switch off thereafter, after doing something. Even homes you can’t switch off at 08 00 hours before they even have their breakfast. You can’t keep people in control who don’t think & consider productivity first…
I believe it is standard that an employee cannot be fired with immediate effect without having committed a serious offence.
The MD is headed to the courts and ZESCO will pay heavily for this stupid action. I hope he is sued in his capacity as well. I can see the directors being re-instated.
By the time you are appointed to CEO position one must know not only a particular profession but equally important the about laws. Obviously, Mundende chose to ignore a cardinal issue in relation to employment of staff rules.
There is nothing wrong with firing those Directors. Even though it comes with some element of risk. Those guys were resisting change and carried on as if they owned ZESCO. Everyone is talking about this issue personalizing it. ZESCO has a new agenda, the new course it is taking now is bigger those 6 guys. For me , am saying we need a new crop of leadership focused on keeping the light on. I just wish this tsunami went a little further down wards. There is a lot of dead wood that need to be shaken out too. Hopefully they will learn quickly and starting pulling with the rest of team and Not against.
Is there somebody intelligent enough to put faces to the so-called five directors? Directors used to be human beings with proper nouns. Not just the lofty titles!
ZESCO is very careless in its present form……the black out in five provinces is a serious warning….next it will be country wide…..get well experienced engineers to run zesco…..