Angry, scared and fearful current and former South African staffers of Econet's imploding Kwesé TV who feel that they have remained silent for long enough, are speaking out about the management disaster, non-payments and non-communication that's been unfolding behind-the-scenes of the Bryanston-based pay-TV operation.
Current and former South African workers who are enduring living hell but who were once "promised heaven" if they join Kwesé, alleges that they have not been paid, are not getting paid, and are demanding answers about their future and what's going on.
Econet didn't respond to media enquiries this week, as the fortunes of the TV empire of the Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa's Econet Group continues to crumble and implode.
On Thursday this week Econet Media finally admitted to the public and its customers that its struggling video streaming service Kwesé Play is done and that the Roku Kwesé Play devices are now worthless with service that won't be restored.
Econet said Kwesé Play is being liquidated. Econet also told staffers that a process of voluntary retrenchments is taking place across the business.
While Kwesé Play customers in Zimbabwe can get a refund, there is no word on where it leaves South African Kwesé Play subscribers stuck with a service and the customised media players that no longer work.
Econet's Kwesé was placed under administration at the beginning of July 2019 with the African pay-TV operator's Kwesé Play streaming service that abruptly shut down and stopped working although Econet at the time lied and said that it's only temporary.
Econet said that its beleaguered pay-TV business struggled to compete with China's StarTimes and MultiChoice's DStv.
On Sunday Econet's Kwesé Free Sports channel abruptly cut out and has been off-air without explanation as to why ever since. Econet Media CEO Joseph Hundah simply cited unexplained "unforeseen technical difficulties".
eMedia Investments' e.tv on Friday announced its decision to dump and remove the Kwesé Free Sports channel from its Openview free-to-air satellite TV service on Friday after 5 days of the black-on-air disaster.
The sports channel that Econet can no longer keep on the air was also supposed to be an alternative to MultiChoice's SuperSport pay-TV operation, and the cornerstone of Econet's "Kwesé Free TV" - the new free-to-air commercial TV station that recently got licensed to start broadcasting in South Africa.
It's not clear and Econet is staying silent, about how its growing financial troubles will affect South its Kwesé Free TV licence that it got from the broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) with Econet Media that holds a 20% stake in the venture.
Rank-and-file current and former South African Kwesé staffers are scared and angry.
After Econet started voluntary retrenchments, all Kwesé staffers were informed that August was the notice month, insiders told TVwithThinus.
"With Kwesé Play being liquidated, and the Kwesé Free Sports channel abruptly off the air, the South African Bryanston office is basically shut down," said one staffer. "This is the pay-TV company that South Africa's broadcasting regulator, Icasa, awarded a free-to-air commercial TV licence to."
"They have now even failed to pay employees retrenchment packages after in April promising a brighter future after so-called realignment," says a staffer.
Kwesé staffers say Econet "did not even tell staff about the Kwesé Play liquidation until we saw the press statement".
"Salaries are late and they have been for the past year."
Kwesé staffers are demanding answers, want to know what's going on, who is running Econet's business in South Africa, what's happening with severance packages - and the future. "How will they broadcast when they have no staff or broadcasting facilities?"
Fearful South African staffers who say Econet isn't communicating with them about the future of Kwesé as a TV and pay-TV operation, nor their future as workers, are alleging that the company "wants to file for liquidation so that they do not have to pay workers voluntary retrenchment packages".
Another staffer, someone who was already let go, says: "Kwesé is keeping things secret. As employees who were retrenched in June we still haven't received our retrenchment package and nothing is being communicated to us as to when these payments will be made".
"When Econet Media announced the retrenchment of workers, they told us that we shouldn't worry about late payments happening because they have the numbers of how many people will be retrenched and they already have the money set aside," explains one former staffers who was let go.
A retrenched staffers says "Econet and Kwesé have blocked out emails, they don't take phone calls and their HR phones don't go through. They promised us heaven when they employed us. Econet chairman Strive Masiyiwa needs to pay us for our loyalty and hard work we had put in".
ALSO READ: Embattled Econet announces it will be shutting down its struggling Kwesé TV entirely on Monday 5 August 2019 after owing R1.9 billion to third-party content providers.
While Kwesé Play customers in Zimbabwe can get a refund, there is no word on where it leaves South African Kwesé Play subscribers stuck with a service and the customised media players that no longer work.
Econet's Kwesé was placed under administration at the beginning of July 2019 with the African pay-TV operator's Kwesé Play streaming service that abruptly shut down and stopped working although Econet at the time lied and said that it's only temporary.
Econet said that its beleaguered pay-TV business struggled to compete with China's StarTimes and MultiChoice's DStv.
On Sunday Econet's Kwesé Free Sports channel abruptly cut out and has been off-air without explanation as to why ever since. Econet Media CEO Joseph Hundah simply cited unexplained "unforeseen technical difficulties".
eMedia Investments' e.tv on Friday announced its decision to dump and remove the Kwesé Free Sports channel from its Openview free-to-air satellite TV service on Friday after 5 days of the black-on-air disaster.
The sports channel that Econet can no longer keep on the air was also supposed to be an alternative to MultiChoice's SuperSport pay-TV operation, and the cornerstone of Econet's "Kwesé Free TV" - the new free-to-air commercial TV station that recently got licensed to start broadcasting in South Africa.
It's not clear and Econet is staying silent, about how its growing financial troubles will affect South its Kwesé Free TV licence that it got from the broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) with Econet Media that holds a 20% stake in the venture.
Rank-and-file current and former South African Kwesé staffers are scared and angry.
After Econet started voluntary retrenchments, all Kwesé staffers were informed that August was the notice month, insiders told TVwithThinus.
"With Kwesé Play being liquidated, and the Kwesé Free Sports channel abruptly off the air, the South African Bryanston office is basically shut down," said one staffer. "This is the pay-TV company that South Africa's broadcasting regulator, Icasa, awarded a free-to-air commercial TV licence to."
"They have now even failed to pay employees retrenchment packages after in April promising a brighter future after so-called realignment," says a staffer.
Kwesé staffers say Econet "did not even tell staff about the Kwesé Play liquidation until we saw the press statement".
"Salaries are late and they have been for the past year."
Kwesé staffers are demanding answers, want to know what's going on, who is running Econet's business in South Africa, what's happening with severance packages - and the future. "How will they broadcast when they have no staff or broadcasting facilities?"
Fearful South African staffers who say Econet isn't communicating with them about the future of Kwesé as a TV and pay-TV operation, nor their future as workers, are alleging that the company "wants to file for liquidation so that they do not have to pay workers voluntary retrenchment packages".
Another staffer, someone who was already let go, says: "Kwesé is keeping things secret. As employees who were retrenched in June we still haven't received our retrenchment package and nothing is being communicated to us as to when these payments will be made".
"When Econet Media announced the retrenchment of workers, they told us that we shouldn't worry about late payments happening because they have the numbers of how many people will be retrenched and they already have the money set aside," explains one former staffers who was let go.
A retrenched staffers says "Econet and Kwesé have blocked out emails, they don't take phone calls and their HR phones don't go through. They promised us heaven when they employed us. Econet chairman Strive Masiyiwa needs to pay us for our loyalty and hard work we had put in".
ALSO READ: Embattled Econet announces it will be shutting down its struggling Kwesé TV entirely on Monday 5 August 2019 after owing R1.9 billion to third-party content providers.
