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Greg Orsmond, the managing director of the Witness Group and Fever Newspaper Group, has been fired following a charge of \u201cgross negligence\u201d, parent company Media24 has said. <\/p>\n
A report on the Fever\u2019s Facebook page said Orsmond had been dismissed on April 30. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have no comment on this matter,\u201d was all Orsmond would say when contacted by The Mercury yesterday. <\/p>\n
Investigative magazine Noseweek claimed he was fired after storming out of a Media24 disciplinary hearing, declaring it was \u201ca set-up\u201d. <\/p>\n
Noseweek said since Media24 had \u201cswallowed up\u201d the Witness Group, it had been \u201cspitting out staff with a frenzy hardly imaginable in the sleepy hollow of Pietermaritzburg\u201d with the \u201cbiggest casualty of the purge\u201d being Orsmond. <\/p>\n
While Media24 spokeswoman Lutfia Vayej did not respond to queries, she was quoted in the Fever saying that Orsmond\u2019s dismissal was \u201crelated to dishonesty in the performance of his duties\u201d. <\/p>\n
An internal staff memo circulated at the Witness said Orsmond\u2019s dismissal was the result of a complaint of \u201calleged dishonesty brought to the attention of Media24 via the company\u2019s anonymous whistle-blower hotline\u201d. <\/p>\n
However, Orsmond told the paper that he was not dismissed, but had resigned. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe disciplinary hearings proceeded without me. I now have 30 days to take the matter further,\u201d said Orsmond. <\/p>\n
Vayej said the disciplinary inquiry found \u201cevidence of dishonesty as well as gross violation of Media24\u2019s policies and procedures\u201d. <\/p>\n
She said any violation of company policies and procedures was viewed in a serious light. <\/p>\n
Last May the Competition Commission gave the go-ahead for Media24 to wholly acquire the Witness Group and its subsidiaries, which included the Fever Newspaper Group. <\/p>\n
The South Coast Fever was started by the Moss family in 1997 and Orsmond has been involved with the business for years. – The Mercury <\/p>\n
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