[ad_1]
Limpopo Prime Minister Stan Mathabatha.
- The Limpopo Premier was ordered to compensate an unsuccessful job seeker with a year’s salary.
- Although the applicant scored the highest in the interview, the job was instead to a man who had misrepresented his grades.
- The payment of about 1.4 million rand is due by January 31.
The Prime Minister’s Office in Limpopo has been ordered to pay a salary equivalent to 12 months to an employee who was passed over for a higher position in favor of a candidate who apparently misrepresented his academic qualifications.
The order, issued by the Bargaining Council of the General Public Services Sector, stipulates that the employee, Moipone Mathole, will receive payment before January 31. The position, senior manager of human resources, comes with a salary of R1.4 million per year.
The evidence before the council was that the position was announced in September 2012 and 143 candidates were nominated. Seven of them, including Mathole, were shortlisted and interviewed.
After the interviews, Mathole scored the highest, but the post was re-advertised with 72 applications received and four candidates shortlisted and interviewed. She applied again, but was not shortlisted or invited for an interview.
The interviews were conducted by the same panel.
However, she was sent for a proficiency test along with Michael Maseko, who was later appointed to the position. It later emerged that Maseko had misrepresented the academic qualifications on her resume by claiming that the four-month course she earned was a diploma. The grades also could not be verified because the university from which she obtained the grades had since closed.
In re-advertising the position, the prime minister’s office then stated that it was necessary because, “… the position is an area of focus of the Auditor General.”
Send
In his ruling, council commissioner PC Mabitsela stated: “The first defendant [Office of the Premier] The reason for the re-publicity of the publication is not justifiable, even before the initial publicity, the publication was an area of interest of the Auditor General, therefore, it could not be reason enough to re-publicize the publication.
“The first respondent did not elaborate on what exactly the Auditor General is focused on in regards to the position in question.”
He found it “mind-blowing” that Mathole was sent for a proficiency test along with Maseko, while she scored the highest in initial interviews.
However, Mabitsela found that for him to order Mathole’s appointment to the position now would be unreasonable and impractical, as the position has already been filled.
Norman Mavhunga, president of the branch of the National Union of Education, Health and Allied Workers, welcomed the arbitration award. He said the revocation of Maseko’s appointment would be challenged in the Labor Court.
Limpopo Prime Minister Stan Mathabatha’s spokesman Willy Mosoma could not immediately provide comment on the case.
This article initially stated that Cassel Mathale was the Prime Minister of Limpopo. Instead, he is the former prime minister of that province. News24 regrets the mistake.
