Entrepreneurship is not for the faint hearted. I work in a small firm that does research and digital campaigns and stock market.
On Friday 7th November 2014, disgruntled ex-employees were complaining about payment for Tembea Kenya. It got to be an interesting topic as other people I have never met or interacted with engaged on it as if they know me very well.
Tembea Kenya was a GOK job and they took a while to pay. This is standard with any GOK work. I have done jobs where 3 years down the road, payments are a mirage. On this particular job we engaged bloggers and influencers and made sure that we pushed Kenya as a destination to be at.
Normally I let people talk whatever they need to and move on. However this time round, I believe it’s critical to set the record straight. Every person who participated in Tembea Kenya was paid. Not to mention that what was agreed initially between us and GOK as payment was not honored. We paid everyone.
However, during the campaign period, I also promised my employees that if they engaged and delivered, they would have a bonus on the same. Unfortunately the payments issues delayed for over 3 months, before the money was released and paid out. My internal team was assured that they would be paid later so as to keep the promise. The bonus was my way of motivating them. However, four have since left our employment to other places on circumstances that remain confidential. Its not my place to discuss employee performance publicly. As an entrepreneur, I look for opportunities to empower others. Those who hate, have reasons to hate and I respect their opinions.
As long as I don’t hold a gun to your face or lie to you, then, it’s business. Those saying didn’t get Tembea Kenya are liars. This was a promise that I made that was based on performance and they didn’t meet it. But despite this, I asked them to be patient and as we work and grow, they would have a bonus. For them to go online, and bitch about payments, is their right but unfortunately not true. When we got short changed on payment by GOK and we could only pay the external team, I asked the internal team to be patient and we would honor our promise through other means.
Unfortunately some left us and we asked them for patience. Unfortunately they thought the internet is the place to air their issues. During the campaign, they earned a salary. As management, we decided to scrap the payment of the bonus because we could not afford it.
No one wants to be taken for a ride, but truth is key. Its easy to hate on something we don’t understand or like. Being an entrepreneur in Kenya is tough. It’s akin walking through hell, Especially with clients who never honor payments on time. This, I can attest is the biggest problem that SMEs in ICT face. We are owed millions going back a year and its cat and mouse with clients.
The internal team had contracts that stated their performance. Those who have left, left because of certain issues regarding performance. Coming online to complain isn’t fair and is one sided.
The Tembea Kenya project was handled very well by our manager. All payments were done and anything else is just drama. A company can promise bonuses and cancel depending on performance as long as its employees are paid their salaries.
So it’s only fair that this Tembea Kenya matter is put to rest. As a lawyer, contracts guide my engagements. I won’t pay if one doesn’t deliver. It is that simple. Tarnishing hardworking people with lies just because one is broke isn’t fair at all. Working with GOK isn’t for the faint of heart and I wish the best to my former employees so that they can have their own businesses and feel how it is to manage one.