Nearly three years after the non-renewal of former Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP) chief executive officer Vumile Dlamini’s contract triggered prolonged leadership instability and a succession of acting chief executives at the institution, the matter has resurfaced before Liqoqo, with ICT Minister Savannah Maziya recently summoned over the issue.
Multiple sources close to the matter told this publication that the King’s Advisory Council summoned several key figures linked to the dispute last month after one of the parties formally communicated dissatisfaction with the manner in which the issue had initially been handled.
Sources said the renewed process has drawn back into focus not only Dlamini’s contentious exit from the institution in 2023, but also wider concerns over governance, finances and leadership instability at the State-owned technology hub.
This newspaper understands that those summoned include Minister of Information, Communication and Technology Savannah Maziya, the ministry’s Principal Secretary Andreas Dlamini, former RSTP CEO Vumile Dlamini himself as well as former RSTP board member Walter Bennett.
“Yes, they were back before Liqoqo, because that matter has still not been put to rest and what the public is ignorant to is the fact that it seems like one side has evidence of what it claims and the other does not,” disclosed a source within the advisory council.
Liqoqo Chairman Paul Dlamini confirmed that individuals linked to the matter had indeed appeared before the traditional structure. He, however, declined to discuss the substance of the proceedings, citing the confidentiality governing the advisory council’s work.
“I can only confirm that some people were summoned. However, issues of Liqoqo are confidential,” he said briefly.
Insiders further revealed that Liqoqo had also heard testimony from several individuals linked to decisions and developments during Dlamini’s tenure at the institution.
Among those reportedly called to appear were former Ministry of Finance Principal Secretary Sizakele Dlamini, now Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Financial Inclusion, and Accountant General Nomsa Simelane.
The two were allegedly required to clarify issues surrounding a confidential capital expenditure report compiled by former RSTP management.
Seen by this publication, the report alleges that government owed the institution approximately E198 million by the end of the previous financial year, despite the funds having allegedly been approved by Parliament and receiving royal assent.
The report further claims that delayed and partial transfers over several years severely disrupted capital projects at the Park, leaving behind incomplete infrastructure, idle laboratories and stalled biotechnology programmes.
Sources said these allegations have now become central to the reopened discussions before Liqoqo, particularly amid claims that the funding delays undermined His Majesty King Mswati III’s vision of positioning RSTP as a regional science and innovation hub.
The revival of the matter comes at a time when RSTP continues to battle prolonged leadership instability.
Since Dlamini’s departure in July 2023, the institution has cycled through a series of acting chief executives without appointing a substantive replacement.
Dr Andile Metfula initially assumed the acting position following Dlamini’s exit, but later left after the statutory six-month limit governing acting appointments in public enterprises elapsed.
Responsibility then shifted to Chief Financial Officer Nomvula Shongwe-Gulwako, who held both the CFO and acting CEO positions simultaneously before her acting instrument also expired.
The institution has since undergone yet another acting leadership transition with the appointment of Madoda Mdziniso, a Principal Science Officer and Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Coordinator in the ministry’s Department of Research, Science, Technology and Innovation.
