Three Public Servants Association (PSA) officials fancy themselves to be the union’s rightful General Manager (GM).
Among them is Lufuno Mulaudzi, who still considers himself the union’s president and therefore the rightful heir to the post.
Then there is axed GM Marcus Ramakgale, who has taken the PSA to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) to get his job back.
Lastly, the PSA has identified a suitable candidate for the post following an interview process late last month.
The PSA intended to conclude the appointment by August 23, according to insiders.
The interview process turned comical when Mulaudzi got invited and disinvited to the interview.
The PSA scheduled the interviews for July 19, yet five days later, the association and Ramakgale had an arbitration hearing at the CCMA.
The CCMA referred the matter to a final arbitration hearing scheduled for July 31, which was subsequently postponed to August 22.
Even so, the interviews for Ramakgale’s replacement went ahead at an unspecified location in Pretoria.
Upon inviting Mulaudzi, the PSA said that after a careful review of the applications received, his submission stood out.
“Your qualifications and experience make you a potential fit for this role,” read HR board committee chairperson Refitile Baloyi’s invitation letter.
But a day before the scheduled interview, the PSA said it was unhappy with his correspondence and conduct.
“We do not believe you will be able to meet the criteria for the GM position”.
Mulaudzi told the Sunday World that for the 103 years the PSA existed, the GM was mostly the president and appointed directly.
He said that in February, a proposal that he become GM per tradition was shot down, and the process was referred to the HR committee.
He was lobbied on the grounds that he had experience and qualifications, but also because he fought corruption, he said.
He said that he championed the implementation of the Fundudzi Forensic Services report that found contracts allegedly given to relatives, girlfriends, and friends.
He said the HR committee was only formed in 2020 to assess performance and has no legal status.
“Maybe it’s because I’m black; the coloured and white presidents before me have always been appointed according to tradition.”
He said that his position as president was disputed after he quit government because of a rule that office bearers should hold government posts.
But I’m still in the Public Investment Corporation, Mulaudzi protested, saying that was one of the reasons he wanted to be back in office.
He said it was for this reason that he launched litigation against the PSA.
And when he received the invitation to attend the interview, he refused to sign an external applicant form because he was not an outsider.
Questions sent to the PSA were not answered.
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