Acsa trio face the axe after inquiry
• Employees found guilty of serious misconduct for diverting empowerment funds and the only appropriate sanction is dismissal, says advocate’s report
Three employees at Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) face the axe after a disciplinary inquiry found them guilty of flouting supply chain rules and failing to obtain authorisation to participate in an Acsa empowerment scheme.
Three employees at Airports Company SA (Acsa) face the axe after a disciplinary inquiry found them guilty of flouting supply chain rules and failing to obtain authorisation to participate in an Acsa empowerment scheme.
The case has drawn in Acsa CEO Bongani Maseko, whom the board wanted to suspend in 2017 but who was allegedly shielded by then transport minister Dipuo Peters.
In a report of his findings, advocate Thami Ncongwane SC found Jabulani Khambule, GM of regional airports; legal counsel Bongani Machobane; and supply chain head Percy Sithole guilty of most of the charges levelled against them after the airport management company them in 2016.
“It is without doubt that the three employees have been found guilty of serious misconduct,” said Ncongwane. “All three employees colluded with each other to achieve their nefarious motives. The only appropriate sanction in this regard is dismissal.”
A senior Acsa manager, who suspended did not want to be named, said the board had received the report. “I’m assuming that [the board] has seen the report because the report was out on Tuesday or Wednesday,” he said. “The board is expected to accept the recommendation and to then have them dismissed as per the recommendation.”
The three were still on suspension, the manager said.
The common charge faced by the three was that they founded an entity named Shuma Zwavhudi, without authorisation, which they used to divert more than R3m in funds meant to empower a co-operative of cleaning companies at OR Tambo International Airport. The beneficiaries of the scheme received R200,000, according to the charge sheet.
Khambule, Machobane and Sithole elected not to testify, which meant documentary evidence by audit firm Deloitte and another consulting company regarding Shuma’s dealings with Acsa went unchallenged.
Machobane was also found guilty of unnecessarily involving the airports operator in litigation with Exclusive Books, incurring “astronomical legal costs” for Acsa. He also kept pertinent information regarding the litigation from the board.
Sithole was found guilty of putting pressure on a staff member to pay a company for work it did not do and which the staff member refused to pay. The staff member was later disciplined and demoted.
Acsa eventually reached a settlement — signed off by Maseko — with this particular service provider.
The Acsa board attempted to suspend and discipline Maseko in 2017 but was prevented from doing so when Peters “irregularly” reconstituted it, according to the Acsa manager. “The board is expected to have already made charges against [Maseko] because the board resolution was on February 3 2017.”