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Prasa blocks corruption-buster from returning to work pending review of award that cleared her of wrongdoing

Details

prasaGroundUp reports that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) has asked the Labour Court for a date to review the arbitration award which cleared whistleblower Martha Ngoye of all charges against her, thereby prolonging her suspension.

Ngoye was fired in 2021 from her position as head of legal services by the agency’s board, along with Nathi Khena and Tiro Holele, on the basis that their supposed five-year contracts had expired. Ngoye challenged the decision in the Labour Court, which ruled in her favour and dismissed Prasa’s request for leave to appeal. But Prasa then petitioned the Labour Appeal Court and leave to appeal was granted. Ngoye was allowed to return to work on 6 April 2021 while the appeal was pending, but was then suspended on disciplinary charges related to Prasa contracts with Swifambo and SA Fence & Gate. She was cleared earlier this year of all the charges against her by an arbitration inquiry. But the board, chaired by Leonard Ramatlakane, who has since been axed, in February filed for a review of the arbitration with the Labour Court. In the latest development in Prasa’s efforts over more than two years to prevent Ngoye from getting back to work, the agency has now requested that the case be set down for hearing.   According to her attorney Geoffrey Allsop, Prasa was legally required to comply with the award as she had been cleared of misconduct and “there exists no lawful reason to continue to keep her on suspension”. In his experience, the review sought by Prasa would likely only be set down by the Labour Court for 2024 at best, with a date in 2025 being more likely.

  • Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Steve Kretzmann at GroundUp


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