LAWYER PROBES SIPA LEAK

MBABANE – Heads are rolling at the Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA) as the search for the person(s), who leaked a document to the media, intensifies.

The organisation has since engaged services of a lawyer to conduct an investigation and already, more than 35 employees have been interviewed by him.
The organisation has about 56 employees, including those based at the Mavuso Trade Centre in Manzini.

All the employees based at the headquarters in Mbabane have been interviewed and the only ones remaining are the cleaners at Mavuso, who refused to travel and avail themselves for the investigation last week.
The employees are interviewed by the lawyer individually and he is expected to compile a report at the conclusion of the exercise.

The leaked document is actually a list of 36 grievances by the organisation’s employees against the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Phumelele Dlamini.
In an interview yesterday, the CEO set the record straight and clarified that she was not the one conducting the investigation as suggested by press reports last week.

She said in the interest of corporate governance and transparency, she could not be a judge in her own course and that is why it was resolved that an independent person should be engaged to conduct the investigation.
“There was just no way I could head the investigation. At first, we thought of appointing a panel to undertake the exercise but it was then decided that a professional lawyer be found to do it. The process is almost complete - probably ending sometime this week,” she said.

Dlamini further explained that this investigation was not a witch-hunt, as alleged by certain employees, but a process meant to find the person who breached the authority’s code of conduct and policy.
The CEO also said she was surprised to learn that there were employees who complained about being intimidated by the investigation.
“I honestly fail to understand why anyone would feel intimidated by this exercise because we all know that leaking documents is an offence against the company’s code of conduct and confidentiality. This is even contained in their employment contracts, especially those of the managers,” Dlamini said.
She said according to her view, staff morale had not been affected by the current investigation as claimed by some employees.

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