Johannesburg - Axed Pikitup boss Amanda Nair's troubles could get worse after the entity threatened to take legal action against her to recover excessive acting allowances paid to employees without due authorisation.
On Friday, Pikitup said it had taken a decision to "end the relationship of employment" with Nair because of a breakdown in trust.
Nair was accused of appointing her friends to powerful positions. In addition, they did not have the required qualifications. She apparently hired friends to acting positions and paid them huge amounts of money without the approval of the Pikitup board.
According to insiders, one of her friends earned more than R1 million a year - she had only a matric and had not even applied for the position. It is alleged that Nair gave her an acting allowance without the approval of the board.
According to the statement released by the board, the waste management entity had taken action against Nair for the violation of her duties as an accounting officer, in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
"We have accordingly issued a letter of demand to Ms Nair to recover acting allowances and remuneration in excess of upper limits paid to employees without due authorisation.
"We have also reserved the right to recover any further amounts which may be uncovered, including any amounts that may arise from the recommendations by the Public Protector. Legal action in the civil courts will be instituted against Ms Nair in terms of section 176(2) of the Municipal Finance Management Act to recover the losses suffered by Pikitup if need be," it said.
A Pikitup employee, who wanted to remain anonymous, said Nair's conduct had cost Pikitup millions of rand.
"She hired her friends and gave them fat salaries; now it's time for her to face the music. We are so relieved that she is gone. On Friday, many people were celebrating."
On Monday, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) also welcomed her removal and congratulated the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) for putting pressure on the Pikitup board to ensure it.
NUM said it supported Samwu in its call for a criminal investigation against Nair.
Nair was placed on special leave in June pending an investigation into a litany of allegations against her by Samwu.
Pikitup employees embarked on an illegal strike action earlier this year, demanding she be removed for corruption.
The probe into her began after The Star broke a story in June 2013 about how Nair had awarded a R263m tender to Aqua Transport, a firm that was implicated in a forensic investigation for fraud and corruption.
This was after Pikitup had forked out close to R6m for Ernst & Young to conduct an investigation into several companies providing services to it.
The investigation recommended that Aqua be charged criminally for fraud because of alleged irregular activities, including suspected tender collusion, and also that it be made to pay back the money it had overcharged Pikitup.
Despite the damning report, a R263m tender was awarded to Aqua in March 2013.
A year later, Nair was suspended pending the investigation into the allegations. However, she was reinstated in February last year after being cleared of the allegation of awarding a tender irregularly.
The Star