Johannesburg - It has been an eventful week for top officials in South Africa.
This comes after former Department of Public Enterprises director-general Kgathatso Tlhakudi’s suspicion was upheld, Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) board chairperson Leonard Ramatlakane was relieved of his duties, and the drama between Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane and the department’s deputy director-general Nelly Letsholonyane.
Tlhakudi lost his application for leave for direct appeal; he sought to appeal a Labour Court decision that upheld his suspension as lawful.
In media reports over the weekend, Tlhakudi said that a new board, which was appointed a couple of days after the firing of the old board, was going to “rubber stamp” the Takatso transaction for the sale of SAA because the previous board was less “compliant”.
This was apparently because the previous board raised doubts about the deal, particularly because Takatso has no money and yet they have been hand-picked by Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan to take over an airline.
Tlhakudi said the airline was being deliberately undervalued by a whopping R7 billion so that it could be sold for as little as possible to Takatso, which is preferred by Gordhan.
According to the department, the Constitutional Court’s decision was further vindication of its stance that Tlhakudi has long sought to avoid accountability for his misconduct that arose from a complaint that was filed with the Public Service Commission for alleged unethical behaviour over a recruitment process in the department.
“Moreover, Tlhakudi’s deceitful utterances and conduct in recent weeks, in which he has continued to peddle lies about the Department and its political executive head, Minister Pravin Gordhan, have served to bring into sharp focus his utter disregard for due process, opting instead to portray himself as a victim through falsehoods,” said the department.
Meanwhile, Ramatlakane has been relieved of his duties.
This, according to the department, was because of an investigation by the entity into the misuse of one of its properties in Cape Town by the chairperson without due and proper processes being followed.
Transport Minister Lydia Sindisiwe Chikunga has expressed her appreciation to the chairperson for his leadership and sterling work that led to the recovery of 13 rail lines by the entity as part of its Rail Recovery Programme.
“This exceeded the target of 10 rail lines that were initially earmarked by Prasa for recovery.
“It is under his watch that Prasa was able to restore a sizeable number of Prasa rail services in various metros in the country, which has ensured that Prasa Rail reclaims its status as a mass mover of commuters in the republic,” said Chikunga.
Ramatlakane has been in the news for having a close relationship with former transport minister Fikile Mbalula, connections to the CR17 campaign, and spying at the entity.
Letsholonyane could be seen as the only survivor of a turbulent week at the top of government.
Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane dismissed Letsholonyane after she was stuck in a lift for an hour and a half.
The minister then placed the blame on her and fired her.
The Johannesburg Labour Court has ordered Kubayi to immediately reinstate Letsholonyane.
In a statement, the minister says Letsholonyane has been undergoing various disciplinary processes, including those that preceded the arrival of Kubayi at the Department of Human Settlements.
“The minister firmly believes that Letsholonyane was presented with several allegations of misconduct and afforded an opportunity to make a written representation as to why she should not be dismissed.
“The minister considered the representation and found the explanation to be insufficient.”
The matter is still ongoing in court, and once it has been finalised, the minister will issue a media statement.
The Star