Sihlahla Nozigqwaba, a former contracts officer in the Alfred Nzo District Municipality (ANDM), is pleading for his job back after being dismissed for blowing the whistle on corruption and maladministration within the municipality.
In a detailed complaint submitted to the Office of the Public Protector, Nozigqwaba has outlined the personal and professional toll of his dismissal while calling for justice and reinstatement.
Nozigqwaba, who served in the municipality’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) section, alleges that his dismissal was a direct result of exposing irregularities that led to the issuance of Special Investigating Unit (SIU) Proclamation Orders No. 19 and No. 36 of 2017.
These investigations confirmed widespread corruption and maladministration in the municipality, yet Nozigqwaba remains unemployed and struggling to support his family.
In his complaint, Nozigqwaba makes an emotional appeal for his reinstatement, stating, “I want my life back, all that was taken from me, and I need redress. I am a laughing stock as a result of whistleblowing and fighting maladministration. Does this suffering promote a noble action of whistleblowing?”
Dismissal heavy price to pay
He further elaborates on the devastating impact of his dismissal [on his life], saying, “This maladministration and political abuse of power directly affected me, as it cost me my job, which was my only source of income. It left my home without a breadwinner and my dependents exposed to all physical and social ills consequent to poverty. The R350 grant that I have been receiving since its inception bears testimony to my plight.”
Nozigqwaba, a university graduate, has been unable to find employment since his dismissal, despite his qualifications and experience. “Finding myself being counted in the statistics of unemployed university graduates, in particular after 25 years since graduating, as a result of speaking truth to power, has strained my stamina on the quest for social justice and rendered me currently depressed,” he wrote.
According to Nozigqwaba, his whistleblowing efforts exposed significant corruption within the municipality, including irregular procurement processes, payments for undelivered services, and abuse of power by senior officials. Despite the SIU investigations confirming many of his allegations, Nozigqwaba alleges that the municipality retaliated against him by sidelining him from his duties and ultimately dismissing him.
‘Prevented from doing my job’
“I was prevented from doing my job, which was, by then, to issue appointment letters to service providers, monitor performance for goods and services, maintain the contracts register, and safekeep contract files for inspection by the Auditor-General,” he stated.
Nozigqwaba’s dismissal came after he and other employees participated in an unprotected strike to protest the municipality’s failure to address grievances, including the unfair termination of 422 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) employees. “At all material times, our actions were meant to draw the serious attention of the employer to our legitimate grievances,” he explained.
Nozigqwaba also highlights the unequal treatment of employees implicated in the strike. While he and three others were dismissed following disciplinary hearings, other employees were reinstated without facing similar consequences.
“… all the remaining employees were not subject to a proper disciplinary hearing, and we view that as an improper application of a quasi-judicial process,” he wrote.
He cited the case of one employee who was reinstated after pleading directly with the former Executive Mayor, Councillor Sixolile Mehlomakhulu. “He was granted his bread by his lord, in the sense that he was reinstated without any valid and fair application of the quasi-judicial process,” Nozigqwaba alleged.
Nozigqwaba is now calling on the Public Protector to intervene and ensure his reinstatement. “I appeal to the Public Protector to reinstate me in the workplace with retrospective effect and payment of all damages endured by the application of this unfair administrative action,” he wrote.
