Fingers pointed at Armscor CEO

Cape Town - Armscor's management team, led by chief executive Sipho Thomo, "deliberately" tried to dupe the company's board of directors by pretending that everything at the state institution was on course.

But since November 2007 there has been broad unhappiness among senior managers about Thomo's "autocratic", "intimidating" and "dictatorial" management style.

According to confidential documents in Beeld's possession, collected by representatives of three-quarters of Armscor's senior managers, a consultation process about the deterioration of managerial relationships began two years ago.

But the process stalled for 12 months until recently when the management team declared in a letter to the board that all differences had been settled.

"This is a serious breach of confidence and a clear indication of a lack of bona fides on the part of the management team," senior executives wrote to the Armscor executive last week.

The letter claims Thomo is the cause of problems at the institution.

He has apparently centralised management, disregarded colleagues' opinions, intimidated his management team and improperly interfered in disciplinary procedures. The managers also complain about:

Poor management of Armscor's relations with key players, such as Parliament.

The erosion of senior managers' decision-making powers, which are now concentrated in Thomo's hands.

On Wednesday Armscor chairperson Popo Molefe told MPs that the process to remove Thomo had begun when his service contract was recently reviewed. As a consequence restriction had been placed on his ability to do deals.

Between 2008 and this year Thomo's salary increased by 89% from R1.7m to R3.27m.

In addition, Nathi Barotho, Armscor's manager of corporate affairs, had lodged complaints of sexual harassment against him. Although Thomo was acquitted, he had to undergo gender-sensitivity counselling.

"We also sent him on a leadership course. But he refused to co-operate and we don't know why," said Molefe.

- Beeld