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TimesLIVE Premium reports that if Department of Social Development (DSD) Minister Sisisi Tolashe and her director-general Peter Netshipale fail to withdraw the summary termination of the suspended chief of staff Zanele Simmons, they could find themselves hauled before the Labour Court (LC) and be personally on the hook for legal costs.
Simmons was fired on Friday afternoon after being suspended for allegedly falsifying the CV of a 22-year-old political appointee. She has given the Minister and DG until Monday morning to retract both her termination and suspension, failing which she will seek urgent relief from the LC. Simmons’s firing follows her suspension for allegedly falsifying the CV of Lesedi Mabiletja, the 22-year-old niece of Tolashe’s special adviser Ngwako Kgatla. Mabiletja, who holds a diploma and has almost no work experience, was appointed to the senior chief of staff post in the minister’s private office — a job that comes with a salary of about R1.4m a year. Her CV had been sent by her uncle to Simmons, who forwarded it to HR. Simmons, who does not have a personal relationship with Mabiletja beyond office dealings, merely passed the CV on to HR. Internal documents show that Mabiletja’s appointment did not comply with public service regulations.
Simmons was seconded to the National Development Agency — a DSD entity — on 25 August. Last Monday, she and Mabiletja were served with notices of precautionary suspension. The letter accused Simmons of using the minister’s electronic signature without permission and of falsifying a CV. But even before the department’s investigation had begun, Simmons’s suspension turned into an outright dismissal. The termination was seemingly issued without a disciplinary hearing, without notice, and without compliance with the SMS handbook.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Gill Gifford at TimesLIVE Premium (subscriber access only)
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