The board of state-owned telco Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC) has been dismissed by the country’s government.
SPTC operates postal and telecommunications networks in Swaziland. It also has certain regulatory duties, which…
The board of state-owned telco Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC) has been dismissed by the country’s government.
SPTC operates postal and telecommunications networks in Swaziland. It also has certain regulatory duties, which include licensing and spectrum management.
An SPTC spokesman confirmed to TelecomFinance that the board had been dismissed. He said that the board had asked to be reinstated and that they saw the decision as unjust.
He also refuted an allegation that the company was being run by a criminal cartel. This allegation was reportedly made by Swaziland’s prime minister last week.
“We are not aware of any criminal cartel running SPTC,” the spokesman said.
The Times of Swaziland reported today that the minister of information communication and technology, Nelisiwe Shongwe, had dismissed the company’s board on Wednesday night.
Yet according to the Times report, MPs in the country’s parliament reacted yesterday by telling Shongwe that her action had been against one of their resolutions. The MPs also reportedly said that she had to retract her statement on the dismissal while a select committee looked into the dispute between her and the SPTC board.
The SPTC spokesman confirmed that parliament met yesterday and had agreed to ask the minister to withdraw the announcement of sacking the SPTC board by 10pm last night.
The spokesman said that Shongwe has not yet made this withdrawal.
The government could not be reached before the press deadline.
