uMngeni-u-Thukela Water executive Sibusiso Madonsela, who was suspended a year after he refused to approve an expensive “sponsorship” for a colleague to run the 2024 New York Marathon, has launched an urgent application to be reinstated.
In his affidavit he claims the charges are ill-founded, trumped up and part of a campaign by the CEO of the water utility Sandile Mkhize to get rid of him. As part of this campaign, most of his duties had been removed from him and he has been sitting idly in his office doing little for months, he claims.
In October last year Madonsela, who is a lawyer and headed the governance and compliance department, declined to authorise the sponsorship application by a colleague, supply chain management staffer Zandile Mhlongo, to fly to the US and run the marathon. Mkhize, however, subsequently approved the trip.
The Sunday Times has reported it cost more than R125,000 for her first-class flights and more than R77,000 for her accommodation at a hotel on Times Square.
Last week Mkhize gave Madonsela less than two days to explain why he should not be suspended for refusing to authorise the trip and allegedly “leaking” information to the media. On Thursday he was frogmarched out of the office.
In papers filed in the Pietermaritzburg high court this week, Madonsela said the decision to suspend him was “clearly unlawful” as it related to a year-old incident. In his affidavit he said such requests routinely required him to indicate if he supported it before it was handed over to Mkhize.
My suspension is a ruse. It has been used to disguise an ulterior purpose to get rid of me.”
— Sibusiso Madonsela, uMngeni-uThukela Water executive
He had indicated he did not support Mhlongo’s application and noted on the internal memo: “I suggest that if we want to support such an initiative, we must issue a call to all employees to choose from a list of employees so as not to be seen to be favouring some over others, and we must have a separate budget.”
Madonsela said this has now formed the basis for his suspension. In the suspension notice it records that he “deliberately refused” the application and made a “final decision”. But Madonsela says he did neither — and the “proof is in the pudding” that Mhlongo was granted the sponsorship by Mkhize.
Beyond this, “the decision to consider suspending me based on a year-old event is irrational, as it is an abuse of power. It was taken a year later without affording me sufficient opportunity to explain the reasons expressed in the recordal.”
On the second reason — that the “leaked” information to the media had the potential to bring the water utility into disrepute — Madonsela said it was clear it had not been alleged that he had leaked the internal memo “but merely that it was leaked”.
However, the internal memo had been widely circulated among staff, and a trail of e-mails showed it had been shared about 10 times. “None of these individuals have been suspended on account of the leak,” he said.
In any event, any leak disclosing state misconduct would be a protected disclosure of a whistle-blower.
“My suspension is a ruse. It has been used to disguise an ulterior purpose to get rid of me.”
Day in and day out, I would sit in my office without being allocated any tasks or duties. I was ostracised. On occasions when I attended meetings, I was ridiculed and humiliated, principally by Mkhize and the chairperson of the board, in full view of the staff and board members
— Madonsela
He said Mkhize, who was appointed CEO in July 2024, had taken an immediate dislike to him and had rendered his portfolio redundant.
“As a result, day in and day out, I would sit in my office without being allocated any tasks or duties. I was ostracised. On occasions when I attended meetings, I was ridiculed and humiliated, principally by Mkhize and the chairperson of the board, in full view of the staff and board members. On numerous occasions I was told to my face that I was no longer required.”
As time went on, he was stripped of basically all his responsibilities. “The indignity that comes with it is self-manifest.”
Madonsela said he believed his suspension was “triggered” after, as chair of the internal bids appeal tribunal, he decided in favour of a losing bidder for the R7bn tender for the Lower uMkhomazi scheme. He was then removed from that position “to victimise me for doing my work”.
Madonsela said his application is urgent and in the public interest because he earns a “sizable salary” paid from the public purse. “It is wasteful and fruitless to allow an employee at my level to sit idle while an unlawful suspension was an expense which could be avoided if I was not unlawfully suspended. Suspending me stops me from being able to do my job.”
The water utility has until October 23 to file opposing affidavits. The matter is expected to be argued on October 27.
TimesLIVE
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