Controversial philanthropist and businessman Collen Mashawana has secured a legal victory after the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) dismissed a case brought against his foundation, as the majority of applicants failed to turn up for their arbitration hearing.
The CCMA has ruled in favour of the Collen Mashawana Foundation (CMF) in a labour dispute over allegations that the organisation owed outstanding stipends to Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers in the Free State.
The Sunday Times has seen a copy of the ruling, which dismisses the matter and clears the foundation of claims that it had failed to remunerate workers, allegations that surfaced in 2025 and prompted scrutiny of its administrative processes.
The dispute arose after a group of EPWP participants, who had been deployed on community-based projects linked to the foundation in parts of the Free State, alleged that they had not been paid. The workers accused the foundation of failing to honour its obligations under the programme.
Frustrated by what they described as delays and a lack of clarity over payment processes, 207 workers, led by Lehlohonolo Matlakala, referred the matter to the CCMA.
The allegations gained traction publicly last year, placing the foundation under scrutiny and prompting questions about its role in administering EPWP-related projects in partnership with the Independent Development Trust (IDT).
However, the CCMA process ultimately focused on procedural issues and attendance at arbitration.
According to the dismissal ruling, the arbitration was scheduled for February 19 at CCMA House in Welkom before Commissioner Sethetso Raletooane.
In his ruling, the commissioner recorded that there was no appearance by the applicants who had referred the matter for arbitration at the scheduled time of 9am, with proceedings set to commence at 9.30am. The foundation was represented by Austin Mashawana.
The ruling states that though the applicants initially numbered 207 when the matter was referred, only 10 attended a separate proceeding and settled their dispute with the respondent. Those who attended did not have proper information or mandate from the remaining 197 applicants and were unable to account for their whereabouts.
We are relieved by the judgment and pleased the matter has been clarified.
— Penny Lebyane, Collen Mashawana Foundation head of communications
According to the CCMA case file, the referring party had been notified of the hearing by email and SMS on December 4 2025.
Among the factors considered were proof that the notice of set down had been served within the required time frames and that it had been sent to the correct contact details provided by the applicants and correctly captured by the case management officer.
“Prior to issuing this dismissal ruling, I probed the attending applicants if they had full mandate to settle on behalf of the absent 197. I also checked if they were prepared to testify in arbitration on behalf of the absent 197 applicants, but the response was negative,” the commissioner stated.
He concluded that he was satisfied the referring party had received adequate notice of the date, time and place of the hearing. In the absence of a reasonable explanation for their non-attendance, he dismissed the matter.
The CMF has withdrawn from participation in the IDT EPWP programme and has redirected its focus to independently driven initiatives in housing, water security, food security, education, job creation and disaster response.
Penny Lebyane, head of communications at the foundation, welcomed the ruling.
“We are relieved by the judgment and pleased the matter has been clarified,” she said.
Lebyane added that the foundation has launched an internal review across provinces involved in the EPWP programme and appointed external auditors to strengthen oversight and compliance mechanisms.
With the matter now settled at the CCMA, the foundation says it is focused on rebuilding trust, reinforcing governance frameworks and advancing its social development programmes nationwide and across the continent.
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