Nomonde Zondi|Printed
The Labour Court docket in Johannesburg has dismissed the applying of former eThekwini municipality deputy head of Provide Chain Administration (SCM) to have the municipality and Metropolis supervisor Musa Mbhele overview their choice to fireplace him.
The previous senior official of the municipality Sandile Ngcobo is a co-accused of the previous mayor of this municipality Zandile Gumede. Gumede, Ngcobo, and 20 others are on trial for fraud, corruption, racketeering, and contravention of the Municipal Finance Administration Act and the Municipal Techniques Act in regards to the Durban Strong Waste (DSW) tender of R300 million.
Launching his utility, Ngcobo mentioned the Metropolis had no lawful grounds to terminate his employment.
Decide Zolashe Lallie mentioned after Ngcobo was arrested for the DSW corruption matter he was granted bail on Might 2, 2019. She mentioned that Ngcobo’s bail situations precluded him from coming into the premises of the municipality or having any contact or communication with any particular person or subordinate there besides by means of his authorized representatives.
“The applicant’s bail situations rendered it not possible for him to carry out his contractual duties,” she added.
She mentioned Mkhize was employed to behave in Ngcobo’s place. In an try and reclaim his place, Ngcobo utilized for and was granted a variation of his bail situations by a legal courtroom on June 26, 2019. His union then lodged a grievance which was resolved by settlement with the Metropolis supervisor in September 2019.
Ngcobo submitted the settlement reached in September that he would return to work with an adjustment to his duties as deputy head of SCM. He returned to work in November 2020; nonetheless, he couldn’t talk together with his subordinates or signal new DSW-related contracts, as that may be a battle of curiosity.
As he couldn’t carry out all his duties due to the bail situations, Ngcobo could be given further capabilities associated to the Radical Financial Transformation Programme (RET).
“From November 2020 the applicant (Ngcobo) has been away from work for a considerable interval as he needed to seem at his Excessive Court docket legal trial,” she mentioned.
In December 2024, Ngcobo acquired a letter from Mbhele, requesting him to state causes as to why he shouldn’t be faraway from any SCM perform and why if that was not completed he ought to have his contract of employment terminated on grounds of supervening impossibility.
In January 2025, Ngcobo disputed that he could not proceed rendering his providers as required. On February 3, 2025, he was positioned on particular go away whereas the municipality’s Metropolis Integrity and Investigation Unit (CIIU) investigated this.
On March 18, he was fired. Ngcobo didn’t settle for that as a substitute, he launched an pressing utility, searching for reduction from the precise efficiency of his contract of employment.
In its defence, the Metropolis mentioned holding Ngcobo in his place had the impact of breaching his bail situations.
“The applicant conceded that when his contract of employment was terminated he was speaking together with his subordinates and performing duties based mostly on the RET programme. He conceded that he was performing in breach of his bail situations,” Decide Lallie defined.
Ngcobo’s justification was that within the settlement he reached with the Metropolis in settlement of his dispute, he was permitted to breach the bail situations.
“It should be famous that when the Metropolis acquired extra info on the legal circumstances the applicant is going through in numerous courts together with the listing of witnesses realized the intense penalties to the settlement,” she mentioned.
Decide Lallie mentioned Ngcobo refused grade 7 positions that the Metropolis supplied him. She mentioned he was going to retain his wage and advantages. Ngcobo mentioned accepting the positions would represent demotion.
“Providing an worker a lesser place as a substitute for terminating his or her contract of employment constitutes an inexpensive lodging. The applicant’s refusal to simply accept one of many positions with the retention of his wage and profit and insisting that the primary respondent ought to retain him in his place in contravention of his bail situations is unreasonable,” she mentioned.
nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za
