Fired legal officer wins job back but municipality plans to appeal

THE legal services official who was fired for her advice on payments for CCTV cameras on Nelson Mandela Bay’s bus routes has won her case against the municipality and intends reporting for duty in less than two weeks’ time.

Nobuntu Mgogoshe, who was fired about six months ago, must also be paid R342 725 in backpay, the SA Local Government Bargaining Council has ruled.

However, the fight is far from over as the municipality’s legal team on Tuesday told Mgogoshe they planned to appeal against the decision in the Labour Court.

Mgogoshe was suspended in November 2016 for her legal advice to then chief financial officer Trevor Harper that security firm Afrisec Security Solutions was entitled to payment if it had rendered the services that had been agreed.

She said failure to pay the firm could lead to litigation.

The amount owed to Afrisec for services rendered was about R35-million.

The metro later said the payments were irregular and unlawful as there was no legal contract in place with Afrisec.

The case between the municipality and Afrisec over R92-million paid to the company is before the courts.

Bargaining council commissioner Advocate L Charoux ruled on Monday that it was not Mgogoshe’s choice to pay Afrisec.

“[Mgogoshe] merely pointed out the legal consequences if the services had been rendered and payment was not made.” Charoux ordered that Mgogoshe report for duty on June 26.

Mgogoshe said she was preparing to return to work on that day despite the metro’s intention to have the decision reviewed in the Labour Court.

The municipality wants the Bargaining Council’s award to be suspended pending the outcome of the case.

Mgogoshe said yesterday that she did not understand why city boss Johann Mettler was allowing outside legal firms to, as she put it, suck the municipality’s coffers dry.

“It’s been cruel, to say the least. I don’t understand why they’re doing this.

“They went ahead and advertised my position knowing that the matter was before the Bargaining Council.

“The ratepayers’ money is being misused here and I’m going to fight it,” Mgogoshe said yesterday.

“My award is enforceable. I’m going back to work and they can appeal while I’m at work and earning a salary for my family.”

She said she had applied for other jobs but could not secure any employment with a dismissal hanging over her head.

Mettler said the council would apply to the Port Elizabeth Labour Court before the end of the week to set aside the award.

He said this was on the grounds that “the arbitrator committed a gross irregularity in the conduct of the arbitration proceedings, committed material errors of law and fact, and consequently arrived at an outcome that was both incorrect and unreasonable”.

Mettler said that it was not uncommon for arbitrators or lower courts to arrive at incorrect decisions which were later set aside in the Labour Appeal Court.