Chief Executive of OBP to face charges again over irregularities - Solidarity
String of charges brought against CEO
With more than just one blot on his name, the current CEO of the parastatal Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) is facing dismissal once again, the trade union Solidarity said today. Approximately a dozen complaints were brought against Dr Andile Dyasi at OBP, giving rise to an investigation against him. This comes just a year after Dyasi was appointed at OBP and after he was suspended from his position as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal of Medunsa in 2005.
According to Solidarity, the current investigation into the complaints against Dyasi is crucial and in the interest of the employees of OBP. "The charges against him range from alleged fraud, misconduct, self-enrichment and discrimination against trade unions, to dishonesty," Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans explained.
It is alleged, among other things, that Dyasi personally changed the findings in a report on the market relatedness of employees' salaries. The report compares OBP employees' salaries with those of other similar employees in the industry. Dyasi allegedly tampered with the findings in the report to the benefit of his and his management's salaries and to the detriment of the salaries of the employees in the bargaining council, even though the trade unions and OBP had signed a collective agreement regarding the process. Dyasi's actions led to a complete breakdown in the relationship of trust between the trade unions and OBP and several unprotected strikes by the trade unions.
The OBP Board suspended Dyasi early in April, pending an investigation into this and other charges against him. According to reports, he insisted that his suspension be lifted earlier this month, seeing that a letter from the Minister of Agriculture, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, indicates that the Board is not in a position to suspend him. The letter states among other things that the minister had not made a decision to suspend Dyasi, that only the minister has the right to make this decision and that Dyasi should return to work immediately.