Manyane Manyane
THE dismissal of a Public Enterprises’ whistleblower has raised eyebrows as he is expected to testify against Minister Pravin Gordhan on the South African Airways deal with Takatso Consortium.
The internal inquiry, headed by Justice and Correctional Services, fired the Department of Public Enterprises’ director-general and whistleblower Kgathatso Tlhakudi on May 26.
Thlakudi was suspended last year after allegations that he unlawfully interfered with the recruitment process for the position of director of security and facilities.
Tlhakudi’s suspension allegedly came after Gordhan realised that he was aware of his alleged motive behind the sale of SAA to Takatso Consortium.
In his affidavit at the labour court last year, Tlhakudi claimed that the sale intended to benefit a few privileged individuals who had been favoured and hand picked by Gordhan in an irregular and unlawful manner.
He accused Gordhan of “unlawfully” removing him from his position because he was an obstacle to his program of “disposing of state-owned enterprises (SOE) and their assets in a fraudulent and corrupt manner”.
Tlhakudi is expected to appear before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprise on June 7, 2023, to elaborate on the allegations of irregularities, submitted to the speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula in the sale of SAA, against Gordhan.
This was after he raised protected disclosure which was issued to President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mapisa-Nqakula last year. He is also scheduled to appear before the General Public Service Sector Bargaining Council (GPSSBC) on June 8.
However, the internal inquiry, chaired by Advocate Rathaga Ramawele SC, recommended that Tlhakudi should be dismissed from his duties after he was found guilty of gross misconduct by exceeding his legal authority and unlawful recruitment that prejudiced qualified candidates.
The inquiry also found that Tlhakudi abused his power by directing officials of the department to include the name of his preferred candidate in the shortlist of candidates to be interviewed for the post in circumstances where he knew, or ought to have known that she (the candidate) had not applied for the post.
However, Tlhakudi said this was a rushed process that aimed to silence him before he appeared in Parliament.
His legal representative MacGregor Kufa said the dismissal of Tlhakudi was illogical and unlawful as he was scheduled to have his whistleblowing on the Takatso and SAA deal before Parliament and GPSSBC.
“The use of rogue (entities) by Minister Gordhan to execute his mandate persists and the theme is clear at the SA Revenue Service (Sars) and also as mentioned by Mr Andre de Ruyter.
“The dismissal is illogical and unlawful as Mr Tlhakudi is scheduled to have his whistleblowing on the Takatso and SAA deal aired at the GPSSBC. The Minister is also angry that we approached Parliament to intervene," Kufa said.
He further said: “We were not surprised by the ruling of dismissal apart from the charges which Mr Tlhakudi was found guilty of being a duplication of charges. Adv Ramawele SC is incensed by the fact that Mr Tlhakudi is aware that he (among other allegations) also represented Mr Butana Nofomela, a well-known hitman who killed the relatives of Mr Tlhakudi.”
Kufa said the ruling would be challenged because they had raised protected disclosure to Ramaphosa and Mapisa-Nqakula.
Asked to comment on allegations levelled against him, Ramawele said: “Except to say that you should make sure that you accurately quote him and do your own by basic research as a journalist and not rely on the say-so of a source, I have no comment on the merits of the case but my rights are fully reserved.”
Gordhan’s spokesperson Ellis Mnyandu, and Justice and Correctional Minister Ronald Lamola’s spokesperson Chrispin Phiri, did not respond.
However, last week Gordhan’s department issued a statement saying Tlhakudi had embarked on an “ill-conceived” campaign to misinform and deceive the public that Gordhan had interfered and handpicked the Takatso Consortium to purchase a 51% stake in SAA.
The department further said that, Tlhakudi was aware of the internal process which was looking into his misconduct and rather than allow for due process he had instead opted to impugn the reputation of the department, staff and Gordhan.
The department said Gordhan refuted the “baseless claims and allegations” that he interfered and handpicked the Takatso Consortium, as the preferred bidder to purchase a stake in SAA.
“The department has noted that in the latest round of television interviews this week, Mr Tlhakudi has continued to rehash old allegations but still fails to provide any convincing factual evidence.
“The veracity of his allegations remain untested and unproven. Mr Tlhakudi’s present conduct has all the hallmarks of a disgruntled employee, who refuses to account for his alleged abuse of office.
“Until now, out of respect for the rule of law and due to legal process, the DPE has refrained from responding publicly to Mr Tlhakudi, but his conduct has become untenable.”