Fired official’s case taken on review

DEPARTMENT of health senior manager Nonkqubela Kula has not been reinstated despite having an award in her favour from the public health and social development sectorial bargaining council.

Provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said yesterday: “The department has taken the matter on review to the Labour Court.”

Kula was fired from her post of chief director for priority health programmes in May 2016. She challenged her dismissal and a ruling came out in her favour.

The department had argued that:

● Kula had claimed to have a 1991 Unisa qualification but could not provide proof; and

● She had claimed to have worked as a deputy director in the Northern Cape.

Kula challenged her dismissal saying she was given short notice to respond to the allegations levelled against her. She also said the chairperson of the internal department of health disciplinary hearing was her junior.

Kula admitted she had stated in her CV that she had 17 years’ experience, when she only had 16.

She admitted the error saying she worked in the Northern Cape a number of years ago and she miscalculated by a year.

In its finding, the council stated: “[The department] is required in terms of its own recruitment policy and provisions’ Senior Management Service Handbook to conduct verification of information contained in the CV before short-listing and appointment.

“The fact is that the human resource department failed to do verification on information in its custody.”

The council said Kula’s dismissal was “substantively and procedurally unfair”.

It ruled: “The department of health in the Eastern Cape is hereby ordered to reinstate [Kula] on or before January 9 2017. [The department] is also ordered to pay [Kula] backpay of R1 666 666 on or before January 31, 2017.”

Contacted for comment yesterday, Kula said she was turned away from returning to work at the beginning of January.

Bhisho legislature’s health portfolio committee chair Mxolisi Dimaza said they were aware of the case and waiting for an update from the department on how they implemented the findings of a forensic report into the matter. —