Ex R2.8m-boss claims he was unaware of axing
Disgraced former Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) acting chief executive and chief engineer Daniel Mtimkulu is still fighting for his R2.8-million-a-year job.
Mtimkulu, who was fired in absentia from Prasa in 2015 after his engineering doctorate was found to be fake, is contesting the agency’s decision to axe him following a disciplinary hearing.
Over the past two years, Mtimkulu who also self-styled himself as “Dr” during his Prasa days, has advanced a claim that he became aware of his August 2015 dismissal only in February last year.
According to papers filed at the Labour Court, Mtimkulu only became aware of his dismissal in February 2016 when he reported for duty after not receiving his salary for seven months.
The 42-year-old said he returned to work because he believed he was still employed by Prasa even though he had not been paid for several months.
He claimed he was unaware of his August 2015 axing because Prasa e-mailed his dismissal letter to an e-mail address linked to his work e-mail address. The Labour Court found this “improbable”.
He also claimed that bail conditions imposed on him prevented him from contacting Prasa, which laid fraud and uttering charges against him.
Last Friday, Mtimkulu’s bid to set aside a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) ruling that he referred his unfair dismissal dispute 176 days too late was dismissed by the Labour Court. At the CCMA, he claimed Prasa committed gross irregularities during his disciplinary hearing, after it refused to accept his resignation. He had claimed he had a doctorate in engineering management.
After being bust in 2015, Mtimkulu apparently wrote a lengthy SMS to one of the Prasa directors saying he was “really embarrassed, did not even know what to say. I have nothing but a few engineering subjects from VUT [Vaal University of Technology]”.
“I am really ashamed, my experience and skills is the only thing that saw me through the ranks. I was embarrassed to say it. I am sorry for letting you down and all directors.” However, he later denied the SMS showed any wrongdoing.
Prasa also accused him of submitting a fraudulent job offer from German company P-Tec Systems as an engineering specialist consultant. On the basis of this alleged offer, Prasa increased his salary from R1.65-million to R2.8-million.
Mtimkulu did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.