Durban - The former KwaZulu-Natal Health Department boss’s legal battle to get back her job, which comes with an annual salary of about R1.5 million, has been dealt a severe blow.
Sibongile Zungu, who had a contract with the department which officially expired on March 31, approached the Durban Labour Court for relief.
Last week, Judge Benita Whitcher dismissed, with costs, an application brought by Zungu, which had asked the court to direct the department to appoint her as Health Department head and not to make another appointment to the position until the case was dealt with.
In weekend newspapers, the department has advertised the post, calling for a candidate who would provide “overall strategic leadership and management”.
Zungu’s five-year contract expired last year, but was extended until March this year.
It was not renewed after the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) made allegations about her conduct and running of the department.
The Mercury also revealed last week that there had been a strained relationship between Zungu and Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo over the appointment of the department’s chief financial officer.
A letter from this month, which was attached to the court papers, from Premier Senzo Mchunu to Zungu, stated that her contract was not going to be renewed owing to concerns raised in an investigation report.
The investigation was conducted because of the allegations levelled by Nehawu.
The letter said Zungu was the accounting officer and responsible for managerial shortcomings, including the department’s failure to have a clear strategy to deal with the risk of civil claims of R4 billion and failure to manage irregular expenditure.
In her court papers, Zungu said the allegations made by Nehawu were “baseless and nefarious” and not new.
She also said the investigation report was “contradictory” and it did not have “resonance with the basic tenets of fairness and justice”.
Zungu said when her initial contract expired last year, she reapplied for her the post and was recommended for the position.
She said that she had a legitimate expectation that she would be reappointed for another five years. She claimed that when Nehawu members became aware of her pending reappointment, they brought up the allegations.
In an affidavit, John Wills, a special adviser to Mchunu, said while Zungu’s overall performance had been “satisfactory”, it had not been “without controversy and complaint”.
He said Nehawu had made numerous complaints about her and there had been “serious problems” in key areas, including the failure to manage the “explosion of medico-legal claims” against the department.
Wills said Zungu knew that the decision to renew her contract had to be made by Mchunu.
“While it is correct that the selection panel recommended the applicant (Zungu) as the preferred appointee, that does not mean that her appointment is a fait accompli.
“The premier has discretion to exercise and the duty of the selection panel is simply to make a recommendation on the suitability of a candidate,” said Wills.
The Mercury