The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has shot down former minister of communications and digital technologies Mondli Gungubele’s attempt to challenge a court order to reinstate fired State Information Technology Agency (Sita) board members.
The appeal court on Wednesday upheld the Pretoria High Court’s injunction for the
ministry to reinstate the board members.
Gungubele, who President Cyril Ramaphosa has since appointed deputy minister of communications, fired the board members following a fallout over its new CEO’s compensation.
This was after the board appointed Dr Bongani Mabaso on a R4.5-million package, outside the company’s salary range.
Mabaso left the company in December. Following their expulsion in July 2023, directors of the board, Makano Mosidi, Olwethu Ketsekile and Rendani Ramabulana successfully challenged Gungubele’s decision to dismiss them in the Pretoria High Court.
The board’s bid for reinstatement was, however, blocked when Gungubele
successfully appealed the ruling to reinstate Mosidi, the board chairperson, and the
other two directors.
Tsholofelo Bodlani, a DA member of parliament’s portfolio committee on communications and digital technologies, said the judgment created an opportunity for new minister Solly Malatsi to step in and stabilise Sita.
“The organisation has been under a deluge of criticisms for a variety of reasons. The minister must now act swiftly to deal with the problems facing Sita and stabilise the governance of Sita,” said Bodlani.
On November 18, 2022, the board wrote to the then minister of communications, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, to recommend a suitable candidate.But it later recommended Mabaso’s appointment to the cushy job.
The board told Ntshavheni that Mabaso’s remuneration expectation was R3.5-million, which was within the confines of Sita’s salary range and remuneration policy.
However, after Ramaphosa replaced Ntshavheni with Gungubele,, on March 9 2023, Gungubele informed the board in a correspondence dated May 25, 2022 that although the cabinet had approved Mabaso’s R4.5-million package, it was concerned that it failed to comply with Sita’s memorandum of incorporation.
He told the board it should comply with the provisions of the memorandum. However, the board failed to do so.
“It is against this background that I am of the view that you have wilfully or negligently committed misconduct in terms of clause 12.6 of the agreement read with Section 83 of the PFMA [Public Finance Management Act].
Mosidi hit back, rejecting the conclusion Gungubele reached that she and the board
had breached their fiduciary duties.
On Saturday, Malatsi told Sunday World that they have noted the judgement calling for reinstatement of the State Information Technology Agency board members.
“The legal teams of both parties will now engage on the next steps to navigate the process required for the implementation of the judgement,” said Malatsi.
Mosidi told Sunday World that they met with Malatsi on Friday.
“We met with the minister Malatsi yesterday (Friday) and the implementation of the court order will be concluded on Monday.
“The judgement reinforces SA as a constitutional state for me, wherein the rule of law reigns – one of the colleagues said this to me this week, and I concur,” said a jubilant Mosidi.
She added that “the judgement says we can now get back to work at Sita”.
Asked if she would be returning as Sita board chair, she replied in the affirmative.
