News24 reports that the Office of the Premier in Limpopo has been ordered to pay the equivalent of 12 months' salary to an employee who was overlooked for a senior position in favour of a candidate who apparently misrepresented his academic qualifications.  

The order by the General Public Service Sector Bargaining Council stipulates that the employee, Moipone Mathole, be paid by 31 January.  The position of senior manager for human resources comes with a salary of R1.4 million per year.  The post was originally advertised in September 2012 and 143 candidates applied.  Seven of them, including Mathole, were shortlisted and interviewed.  After the interviews, Mathole obtained the highest score, but the post was re-advertised with 72 applications received and four candidates shortlisted and interviewed.  Mathole re-applied, but was not shortlisted nor invited for an interview.  Nonetheless, she was sent for a competency test together with Michael Maseko, who was later appointed to the position.  It then emerged that Maseko had misrepresented academic qualifications in his curriculum vitae by stating that the four-month course he undertook was a diploma.  The qualification could also not be verified because the college concerned had since closed down.  The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union welcomed the arbitration award, although it indicated that the decision to reverse Maseko's appointment would be challenged in the Labour Court.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Russel Molefe at News24

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