Kgathatso Thlakudi has publicly accused the president and the ministers of Justice and Public Enterprises of plotting to oust him because he disagreed with a plan to sell South African Airways for R1 to the Takatso Consortium.
THE SUSPENDED director-general in the Department of Public Enterprises, Kgathatso Tlhakudi, has been fired.
This is after an enquiry by the Department of Justice and Correctional Services discovered that Thlakudi violated his employment contract in his conduct to appoint a security manager at the DPE.
The charge was brought by a whistle-blower.
In a statement on Monday, the Department of Correctional Services said Minister Ronald Lamola had been following up on a complaint that the Public Service Commission received.
This was in fact mandated by President Cyril Ramaphosa, to conduct the inquiry into the allegations that Thlakudi had violated his employment contract.
“A due process was undertaken in which all the allegations were put to Thlakudi, who was represented in the inquiry.“
“Having considered all the evidence presented, the chairperson of the disciplinary, advocate Rathaga Ramawele, found that Thlakudi breached his contract and made sanctions of dismissal. Minister Lamola has given effect to the sanction and has thus issued Thlakudi with a dismissal letter dated 2 June 2023 in terms of section 16B of the Public Services Act, 1994,” the statement said.
Thlakudi has publicly accused the president and the ministers of Justice and Public Enterprises of plotting to oust him because he disagreed with a plan to sell South African Airways (SAA) for R1 to the Takatso Consortium.
Thlakudi told Business Report on Monday evening he had not been officially notified of his dismissal but said the result was not surprising as it smacked of efforts to sabotage his appearance before Parliament’s portfolio committee on Wednesday to tell all about Minister Pravin Gordhan’s conduct on the Takatso deal.
‘We were put in an unfair situation, the chairperson of the enquiry was biased, I did not get to testify in my own defence. These are just trumped up charges alleging unethical conduct on my part when I had followed the matter up with human resources. The issue is about the SAA transactions and my stand about it,” Thlakudi said.
He said the speed of the announcement and its coincidence with his pending Parliament appearance was timed to weaken his engagement on the matter as he also had a pending appointment at the Bargaining Council.
– BUSINESS REPORT
