Two high ranking fraud-accused officials in the KwaZulu-Natal’s premier’s office will have to face the music after the Labour Court, sitting in Durban, turned down their application not to face disciplinary action.
Ziphathe Cibane, the chief financial officer in the premier’s office, as well as the head of supply chain management, Nonhlanhla Hlongwa, and seven others face charges in relation to a R24 million tender.
Cibane and Hlongwa turned to the Labour Court to have the charges of misconduct against them quashed due to an “unreasonable delay” in the matter.
Cibane and Hlongwane are alleged to have received bribes from some of the accused companies in return for tendering contracts, juniors under Cibane were allegedly instructed to process paperwork for such in return for bribes.
In the application before the Labour Court, they submit that there was a delay of over three years in proffering the charges against them. This, they said, is an unreasonable delay.
They further contend that in 2017 the then premier and director-general led them to believe they were not going to be charged, and by conduct waived the right to pursue disciplinary proceedings against them.
At a meeting in July 2017, they were informed by the then premier of a forensic report which implicated them in acts of alleged misconduct. It was recommended that disciplinary proceedings be brought against them.
It appeared, however, that the premier had some concerns with the report. It was only in July 2020 that the applicants were served with multiple charges of misconduct emanating from the report.
Counsel for applicants submitted that the premier and his department knew in July/August 2017 of the allegations of misconduct and the recommendations set out in the report. They knew that the applicants and the general public were aware of the existence of the report and its recommendations.
It was argued that they knew that they had the right to charge the applicants with misconduct. They also knew that fairness required a prompt hearing so the applicants would then be in a much better position to locate evidence, identify witnesses and generally be in a position to defend themselves against the allegations, and that delay would prejudice them in doing so, the court was told.
It was argued on behalf of the premier that the applicants were criminally charged in July/August 2017 and the matter was also referred to the Cluster Audit and Risk Committee in late August 2017.
Thus, the office of the premier said, they knew since then that they had to face the music.
As to whether the delay is unreasonable to the extent of bringing about the final termination of the disciplinary proceedings, the charges against the applicants have extreme importance to the public interest as they involve mismanagement of public funds and thus cannot be ignored, counsel for the premier said.
Judge Benita Whitcher said she accepted that there is no adequate explanation for the delay.
“However, I have come to the conclusion that, despite the long delay of three years and the inadequate explanation for same, this case does not qualify for a permanent stay of the disciplinary proceedings,” the judge said.
She commented that the applicants face charges of serious misconduct, basically multiple breaches of the Public Finance Management Act and the office of the premier’s Supply Chain Management policies.
“Given the nature of the charges and the seniority of the applicants, there is a societal interest in the charges being aired in a disciplinary process,” she said.
Pretoria News
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