Ex-Vodacom CEO speaks on nepotism claims

According to Business Day, Knott-Craig said that he had supported a KPMG investigation into the allegations but that he 'was not provided with an official copy of the report and thus cannot comment on its findings'. However, Knott-Craig added: 'According to correspondence in my possession I, and other employees against whom allegations were made, were exonerated by Vodacom shareholders and the board.' But Knott-Craig's claim to have been 'exonerated' by the Vodacom board was contradicted by a former director of the company, who is quoted in the report as saying: 'We didn't find wrongdoing, but we didn't exonerate him.' Full Business Day report

Among the charges levelled against Knott-Craig snr are that his son, Alan Knott-Craig jnr, was given office space and millions of rands to build and promote his businesses; that a company owned by his niece and nephew, and which was on the verge of bankruptcy, was awarded an exclusive multimillion three-year marketing and advertising contract without a proper tender process; and that he arranged for Vodacom to pay tens of thousands of rands for a call centre employee to be trained as a magician, reports the Sunday Times. The whistle-blowers accused Knott-Craig of exploiting company resources for the benefit of family members were both senior executives in the company at the time. Full Sunday Times report

Vodacom shareholders decided to take no action against Knott-Craig, the company said, a report on the Fin24.com site notes. An 'independent report' was commissioned by Vodacom shareholders - Telkom and Vodafone - in 2008 to investigate accusations made by 'several former employees', company spokesperson Richard Boorman said. According to Boorman: 'All 18 allegations were examined closely and two were deemed worthy of more detailed review. Through this independent process, both of these cases were reviewed to the satisfaction of Vodacom's shareholders and in neither case was it deemed necessary to take any action against any individuals.' Full report on the Fin24.com site

The company is under increased pressure to publicise the findings of the KPMG forensic report, with the Communications Workers Union expected to hold a meeting to discuss ways of forcing the cellphone company's hand on this matter. According to Business Report, Vodacom has refused to produce the report despite a Labour Court subpoena issued on 8 January ordering it to do so. Aubrey Tshabalala, the deputy chair of CWU in Gauteng, said the union believed that, in addition to Knott-Craig, there were several senior managers implicated in the KPMG report who were still working for Vodacom. Full report in Business Report