The general assembly of Hidasie Telecom, a local telecom products and services distributor, was disrupted in a dispute following a demand by shareholders to remove the board of directors.

The company's sixth general assembly was called for last Sunday, December 23, 2018, to discuss three agenda: to hear last fiscal year's financial report, to consider raising the par value of shares and to decide the size of dividends.

However, the meeting was interrupted by calls demanding the removal of the 12-member board of directors chaired by Yhohannes Abebe over poor performance.

During the opening session of the meeting held at Global Hotel, on Sierra Leone Street, some shareholders called for the election of a new board of directors.

The Chairman, announced that the issue raised was not part of the agenda.

"But if you demand this, we can call for an extraordinary meeting," Yohannes informed the assembly.

He also asked that a vote be held to proceed with the meeting. His call was rejected as the gathering turned into a protest and the back-and-forth berating lasted almost two hours, at which point the board and the management of the company adjourned and postponed the assembly.

"Four months ago we filed a petition requesting the removal of the board of directors, though the meeting was not made part of the agenda," said one of the protesters who asked to remain anonymous.

"No petition was received by the board or the management," Yohannes told Fortune.

Established seven years ago, the company declared a net profit of 138.6 million Br last fiscal year, a 143pc increase from the previous year. Hidasie, founded by former employees of Ethio telecom laid off during a restructuring of the state telecom company, had an initial capitalization of 200,000 Br and 2,508 shareholders and currently employs 4,181 people in temporary and permanent positions. The company has issued one million shares total.