The high court in Pretoria has dismissed communications minister Mondli Gungubele’s application for leave to appeal a February ruling ordering that the State IT Agency (Sita) board he fired in July 2023 be reinstated.
The court found in favour of sacked board members Makano Mosidi, Rendani Ramabulana and Olwethu Ketsekile, who were the first, second and third respondents in the case, respectively. The minister has been ordered to pay all costs.
“I am not of the view that on the grounds of appeal raised by the applicant that the appeal would have a reasonable prospect of success,” said Justice Julian Yende in the judgment (PDF), dated 12 June.
“Comprehensive reasons were provided for the order granted and the sound written judgment delivered. The applicant has failed dismally to clearly demonstrate that this court has erred and/or misdirected itself and thus came to a judgment that no reasonable court could have made,” Yende wrote.
The minister fired members of the Sita board, causing others subsequently to resign, over a spat about then-incoming CEO Bongani Mabaso’s salary. According to Gungubele, the board “unilaterally” decided to raise the salary offered to Mabaso – who subsequently resigned and went back to the private sector as group chief technology officer of JSE-listed Altron – by R1-million without consulting him. This consultation, he said, is required under Sita’s memorandum of incorporation.
This is despite the board’s November 2022 recommendation of Mabaso for the CEO position at a salary of R3.5-million/year. Mabaso was actually offered R4.5-million, according to court papers seen by TechCentral.
Feathers ruffled
Yende ruled against the minister in February, ordering that the board Gungubele fired be reinstated. This, however, did not happen. Gungubele chose to appeal the decision and, abiding by a legal opinion given to him by Pretoria-based Ngeno and Mteto Incorporated, he chose not to abide by the court’s ruling while undergoing the appeals process. The fired Sita board did not report for duty.
Gungubele’s decision ruffled feathers in parliament. In February, TechCentral reported that a legal opinion given by a parliamentary legal team opposed Gungubele’s course of action, saying he should abide by Yende’s ruling and reinstate the fired board while pursuing the appeals process. This did not happen.
Read: Sources allege fresh malfeasance at Sita
TechCentral asked Sita what this ruling means for operations at the organisation, including when the old board will be reinstated and what will happen to recent appointments like those of MD Simphiwe Dzengwa. This story will be updated as soon as a response is forthcoming. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media