Liquid Telecom, formerly Kenya Data Networks is on its knees and could soon be in the books of history due to poor management and unethical practices, insiders say.
According to insiders who spoke to Kahawa Tungu on condition of anonymity, the company is experiencing several hurdles in doing business caused by gluttonous heads of departments, who have hired their incompetent relatives and friends, swamping the company into a financial burden.
“The heads of departments are using their positions to hire staff from their communities and mostly relatives. Up to 95% of a department consist of people from one tribe. For instance Network Operation Centre (NOC) and Service Delivery Managers (SDM),” says one of our sources.
Our moles well placed at the management level also reveal that top management of the company are using proxy companies to influence contracts and LPOs issued to contractors. This can be evidenced by the LPOs issued over the last couple of months.
Kahawa Tungu‘s investigative desk managed to get names of a couple of proxy companies being used by the management to swindle the firm.
One of the companies is Camusat, a company that worked with their former employer (Wananchi Group) has been brought in to be used to swindle out money through contracts. From the records the company only works in Mombasa where one Sammy Njoroge is in charge.
Another one, Talek, operates in Western and Rift Valley and only benefits Chief Technical Officer (CTO) and the Regional Service Delivery Manager, only identified as Justin.
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Other two companies, Whitespace and Caliken, were brought in by Samuel and George as their proxy companies. From the records a company by the name Icon was pulled out and replaced by the above which only serves their interests.
The vices have been made a trend, to an extend of hiring services of their main competitors, Soliton and Quavatel, but of course to serve the interests of two individuals (Okello Fredrick and Samuel Wakoro) who receive kickbacks on any business awarded. This means that the company will never better some of its services, since it is outsourcing them.
Also, according to our sources, promotions done over the past two years have not followed the due process and staffs who have served for long are demoted having been deemed not to be in good books with the management (Chief Technical Officer).
New staffs are being recruited based on nepotism and are further given higher remuneration compared to long serving staff members.
The company is also facing the challenge of data re-sellers, who have been hired by its top managers. Despite shedding of some of the re-sellers last year, it is estimated that the company is losing over Ksh7 million through illegal connections done by the re-sellers. Could the re-sellers be a cartel organised by its top employees to fleece the company?
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