Netone has officially put an end to all hopes of a return to the state owned company by the beleaguered former Chief Executive Officer, Reward Kangai after publicly initiating the recruitment process for a new boss.
Reward Kangai was suspended last year before his official dismissal on allegations of corruption which were unearthed through a state sanctioned audit. The outcomes of the audit were ammunition enough for the NetOne board to finally put an end to Kangai’s 20 year reign at the parastatal.
Speaking to one of the NetOne board chairperson Peter Chingoka, he confirmed that advertisements for a new CEO had already been flighted.
“We have since then published a vacancy notice for the post of Managing Director. The incumbent will report to the Board of Directors and is expected in conjunction with the board, to lead the development of the company’s strategy to maximize shareholder value and increase the commercial visibility of NetOne”
Since the NetOne board’s decision to send Reward Kangai into exile, Brian Mutandiro who joined Zimbabwe’s second largest mobile network operator as Chief Operating Officer assumed Acting CEO’s position.
It is under Mutandiro’s leadership that NetOne introduced a coterie of products to claim a significant market share through its One Fusion package and expectations are abound that he could be officially appointed as the new managing director.
Brian Mutandiro – the current NetOne MD launching OneFusion last year
In late 2016, the Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, Supa Mandiwanzira promised to restructure the NetOne management in a bid to resuscitate the ailing mobile network operator. It is under this restructuring process that saw the appointment of new executives with the company set to relaunch its One Wallet service to stir up competition with Ecocash in the mobile money business.
NetOne has been on a reawakening mission since 2016 with statistics from the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe showing that the operator’s active subscriber base grown by 14% to reach 4,7million when its rivals’ active subscriptions have been decreasing.
Just like its sister company TelOne, NetOne is now a force to reckon considering how the operator has managed to turn around its fortunes in such a short period of time. Gone are the days when Econet used to be the uncontested first choice of network for anyone looking for mobile services in Zimbabwe.
