Vodacom SA MD Maseko quits

SIPHO Maseko resigned from Vodacom yesterday just nine months after the former CEO of BP Southern Africa accepted the post of MD.

Vodacom said Mr Maseko had resigned from all directorships within the Vodacom group to “pursue other interests”.

Mr Maseko’s departure raises questions as he leaves barely two months after Vodacom introduced a new management structure promoting him to group chief operating officer while still retaining his position as MD of Vodacom SA.

Mr Maseko was effectively running Vodacom’s key asset, the South African operations, which contribute the bulk of Vodacom’s profits and subscribers.

Vodacom’s other operations are in Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Maya Makanjee, chief officer for corporate affairs, dismissed speculation that Mr Maseko’s dual roles of group chief operating officer and Vodacom SA MD led to conflict, saying the roles were clear and there had been no clashes or disagreements.

“In fact Sipho was fully involved in the restructuring and the overall strategy of the company. We tried to convince him to stay but he made a personal decision to pursue other endeavours,” she said.

Mr Maseko would not comment about his departure and referred questions to Ms Makanjee. However, he said there were things that he needed to do outside Vodacom and that required him to “make a quick call”, hence the decision to leave Vodacom.

But he refused to divulge information about his next move or the sector that he will be involved in. Mr Maseko said he was not fired or pushed out, and if given a chance later he would rejoin Vodacom.