Durban - KZN’s MEC for Finance, Belinda Scott, is adamant she won’t honour the “unlawful” instruction she received from Public Protector Thuli Madonsela this week.
Scott was referring to a report from Madonsela’s office on Tuesday, which called for her to reinstate and compensate former Treasury deputy-director Fikile Hlatswayo-Rouget, who was fired in 2013.
Madonsela demanded Scott implement remedial action within 30 days in her report titled “Rocking the Boat”.
Read: KZN Treasury takes Thuli to task
Hlatswayo-Rouget blew the whistle on what she believed to be corruption, conflict of interest, maladministration and irregular procurement practices within the treasury.
In her report Madonsela said Hlatswayo-Rouget was fired on “trumped-up” allegations because she had lifted the lid on corrupt practices in KZN’s treasury.
The Public Protector noted that Hlatswayo-Rouget was employed in August 2013 and was on probation when she was suspended and then dismissed, four months later.
Her dismissal happened without warning and without the opportunity to defend herself at a disciplinary hearing.
Scott who came into office in May 2014 held a different view.
Scott said her predecessor, Ina Cronje, took the decision to sack Hlatswayo-Rouget in December 2013, after a disciplinary hearing was conducted.
Hlatswayo-Rouget appealed the decision and also approached the bargaining council for assistance, but was unsuccessful.
“Cronje took an administrative decision to fire Hlatswayo-Rouget. I cannot amend that decision, even if I agreed with the public protector. Only a court can change the decision,” Scott said.
She said the decision taken by Cronje was in keeping with South African labour law, which Madonsela failed to acknowledge.
Scott questioned why Madonsela did not subpoena Cronje and other relevant witnesses, before releasing her report.
Instead, Scott was summoned to Madonsela’s Pretoria office earlier this year, and was “lectured for six hours on good governance”.
“I co-operated with her investigation and went to Pretoria armed with documented evidence, but she ignored the information I provided,” said Scott.
She was referring to their discussion on the irregularities surrounding the Durban North Sea Jazz Festival, which recorded expenditure of R25 million but never took place, as well as the “infrastructure crack teams”, headed by Dr Clive Coetzee, which were set up to clear service delivery blocks in the treasury.
In her “protected disclosure” Hlatswayo-Rouget claimed that Coetzee was involved in corrupt practices with service providers and she also disclosed how the planned festival flopped.
But Scott argued that Cronje had already started investigating what had gone wrong with the festival in April 2013, before Hlatswayo-Rouget was employed.
“It is not true that Hlatswayo-Rouget blew the whistle on Coetzee’s alleged corrupt activities. A totally separate official raised these allegations.
“When I came to office in 2014, I was made aware of the claims against Coetzee. After investigations, Coetzee was subjected to a disciplinary hearing and then suspended,” Scott said.
Scott claimed by ignoring the information she provided, and siding with Hlatswayo-Rouget, the public protector was setting a precedent where every disgruntled worker could approach her office with false claims.
“I’m not at war the public protector, but I cannot carry out her recommendation because it is unlawful.
“She (Madonsela) is sullying the good name of the provincial treasury. Our treasury was named as the top government department in the country.
“We’ve received clean audits for the last seven years.
“Simiso Magagula was named the public servant of the year in 2015.”
Scott said she had no alternative but to take Madonsela’s findings and the recommended remedial action to court under review.
“Our legal team is already preparing for court,” she said.
Madonsela also instructed KZN premier Willies Mchunu to ensure Scott adhered to the action prescribed and that her office be consulted before any legal action was taken.
Spokesman for Mchunu, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, said the premier has not seen the report and he had not been briefed formally.
“He (Mchunu) will comment on the cause of action once he has been briefed by all role-players, including Scott.”
Hlatshwayo-Rouget was approached for comment. She stated in an e-mail that she was out of the country, but would respond once she returned.
Sunday Tribune