Cape Town - “I feel like I am living in a nightmare I can’t wake up from.”
So described the victim of alleged sexual harassment at the hands of Western Cape acting traffic chief Farrel Payne, in a letter to Premier Alan Winde and the provincial Department of Mobility, as she continues to be denied the findings of an internal probe into Payne’s alleged conduct – nearly four years on.
In the letter, addressed to Winde and head of the Mobility Department, Jackie Gooch, the woman, whose name is being withheld, accused Gooch of withholding the outcome of the internal investigation so that they “do not have to act”.
This, as Payne was expected to appear in court in February on related criminal charges, and the woman has an ongoing CCMA case against the Department of Mobility.
“Numerous requests via email have been made to Ms Gooch to have the findings released, but it has fallen on deaf ears.
“I believe Ms Gooch’s actions are an abuse of power in favour of protecting acting traffic chief Farrel Payne in the workplace.
“Despite my emails sent to (MEC) on May 24 2021 and a follow up email on May 31, 2021, to bring my plight to your attention regarding what my family and I are going through after I reported sexual harassment in the workplace against acting chief of traffic, it has fallen on deaf ears.
“Him being allowed to carry on at work like nothing has happened shows his power and influence.
“This does not encourage or make it easier for any other person who may have experienced or gone through what I did to come forward, given the free rein this man has,” the woman said.
The Department of Mobility referred the “Cape Argus” to a response by Winde’s spokesperson Regan Thaw, in which Thaw yesterday said “the matter is currently before the CCMA and it would not be appropriate for the premier to comment”.
Thaw said an application by the woman for a copy of the report was refused.
“They submitted a request for a copy in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, which was declined on the basis that the act does not apply if a record is requested for purposes of civil or criminal proceedings, after the commencement of such proceedings, and provided for in any other law. It is hence a matter that should be dealt with as part of CCMA process.”
The woman said the incident exposed the provincial government.
“The DA-governed City of Cape Town has one set of rules for women and another for men, in a patriarchal biased system that still exists when it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace and gender-based violence. The the fact that Mr Payne has not been suspended pending investigation shows bias and a lack of leadership from the department.”
francesca.villette@inl.co.za