DURBAN: THE recently fired eThekwini municipality head of Parks, Recreation and Culture unit (PRC), Thembinkosi Ngcobo, is taking the municipality to court over its decision to terminate his employment.
Ngcobo said he had engaged with his lawyers, and they would challenge the decision in court.
“They have informed me that there are grounds to challenge this, but they will issue a statement this week.”
It emerged on Monday that Ngcobo had been fired following a hearing at the SA Local Government Bargaining Council, where he had been charged with failing to execute his duties.
The matter had come before the council after the municipality held an internal hearing and found against Ngcobo.
Ngcobo said he was not surprised he had been fired, alleging that his work environment was unhealthy and he had come to expect that anything might happen.
He was fired because he allegedly failed to report that two staff members in his unit had colluded to pay a service provider R140 000 when that service provider had not done any work.
The two staff members, whose identities are known to The Mercury, directed the service provider to transfer R130 000 out of the account and keep R10 000 for himself.
The service provider laid a complaint with the municipality and claimed that he had been duped by these employees, and that his business had been misused.
Ngcobo reiterated on Wednesday that he had “never been implicated in acts of corruption, or taken even R10 from the municipality”.
“I do not hire anyone there and I do not sit on any tender committee.
“I sat on them for a short period and I realised that it was not suited for me and I left (the committee) of my own volition.”
Ngcobo said the environment in the municipality was difficult.
“I worked from home because there were threats on my life, I asked the municipality for protection and they did not move in that direction.”
He said there had also been a lot of skirmishes with other staff members, but he had remained principled.
“I knew the kind of environment I was in, it's like being in a car, you know what they say, that anything can happen in a car,” he said.
Ngcobo said there were several things that his lawyers would challenge in court, including the allegation that the service provider at the centre of the matter had informed him of the alleged corruption, something that he disputes.
“One of the things that I had asked about is what happened to the other people who are implicated in this wrongdoing and had admitted to that wrongdoing, why they had not been charged.
“I did not get any answer from the municipality,” he said.
His dismissal drew no sympathy from councillors in the municipality.
IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi had previously anticipated that the matter would land in court, and had said that while the charge against Ngcobo was a lesson to all managers that they should be on top of financial matters in their departments, the IFP would let the court process run its course.
Councillor Mmabatho Tembe, the DA community services whip, said in a statement that Ngcobo’s dismissal was long overdue.
She said that Ngcobo was allowed to destroy the PRC unit to the point that service delivery in the metro had all but collapsed.
“This includes no weed spraying contracts to service, no cherry pickers to prune trees, and pools have been closed for more than a year.”
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said Ngcobo had the right to take the matter forward if he was not satisfied with the outcome at the bargaining council.
He declined to speak further, citing the pending legal action by Ngcobo.
THE MERCURY