Govt trapped in Multichoice internal wars
Why was an instruction for a waiver to grant a work permit for Multi Choice Botswana Managing Director issued from the Office of the President instead of the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs?
These are some of the questions that some Multi Choice employees are asking themselves as they have registered complaints that Managing Director, Stephanie Pillay is abusing her office. She allegedly harasses and dismisses local employees in managerial positions in favour of expatriates.
Investigations by this publication turned up information that the position of MD at Multi Choice was delocalised under questionable circumstances in favour of Pillay.
Insiders say immediately after her temporary permit was issued, she fired more local employees and replaced them with new faces.
Unable to bear this for long, a disgruntled employee from the Sales Department registered a complaint at Industrial Court (case No. IC 353/23), where the judge ruled against Multi Choice Botswana.
Justice Anna Mphetlhe dismissed Pillay’s decision to fire employees. She said that she was not recognised as Managing Director when she dismissed some employees because her work permit was not yet valid.
Court records show that under cross examination Pillay was adamant that she had valid permit and waivers at the time she issued instructions and that by virtue of her position as Director she had the authority to issue instructions.
But Pillay failed to provide evidence when requested to corroborate her submissions.
“The waivers filed by Ms Pillay were temporary, neither did they cover the periods which form the crux of this case.
“No documentary evidence was produced to substantiate her assertion neither did the respondent produce a resolution empowering Ms Pillay to discharge their functions of the managing director at the time when she issued instructions to dismiss” part of the judgement in favour of one of the dismissed employees, reads. This publication has it in good authority that Major General (Rtd) Pius
Mokgware’s Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, has dispatched a team of government officials to investigate the alleged maladministration, abuse of office, sexual harassment and poor labour practices among others, levelled against Multi Choice Botswana.
“She has dismissed local employees from executive positions especially Chief Finance Officer and Head of Sales and Head of Marketing and replaced them with two Zambian employees,” a source said. There is a senior executive member (name withheld) who is currently on suspension following allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace.
The Minister, Major General (Rtd) Pius Mokgware could not be reached for comment at press time regarding findings gathered at Multi Choice Botswana.
This publication can reveal that Multi Choice Botswana has mutual relations with the government of Botswana through Department of Broadcasting Services which is under Ministry of State President-Office of the President.
For her part Multichoice Botswana Managing Director Stephanie Pillay said that attrition is common in any organisation.
She said as a business, MultiChoice encourages and supports the career growth of its employees, which may sometimes lead them to explore opportunities beyond the company— “an aspect we view as a natural part of a healthy and dynamic workforce”.
Further, she insisted that MultiChoice also upholds the highest standards of performance management.
“This is evidenced by our structured internal processes conducted annually to assess performance, recommend remedial action where necessary, and reward high performers,” Pillay said when responding to this publication’s enquiries. According to the MD as an organisation, they take all employee matters seriously. Through a well-established Human Capital function, MultiChoice has implemented policies and mechanisms to manage employee concerns, grievances, and internal matters with the utmost care and fairness, she told Botswana Guardian.
This also includes secure channels for employees to raise matters anonymously, ensuring a safe environment for all staff. She argued that they are committed to investigating all such matters to resolution.
“We must emphasise that employment matters—particularly those related to internal disciplinary processes, allegations, and investigations—are confidential in nature.
“In line with our policies and in respect of the rights of all individuals involved, we are not at liberty to disclose the details of any internal employee matters, including ongoing investigations or reports compiled during the course of business,” she said.