Moumakwa Appeals Industrial Court Ruling

Former CEO of the Public Enterprises Evaluation and Privatisation Agency (PEEPA), Ezekiel Obakeng Moumakwa, has filed a notice of appeal against the Industrial Court ruling for the government to compensate him with the equivalent of six months’ salary. In September this year, the Judge President of the Industrial Court, Goemekgabo Tebogo-Maruping, ruled that the dismissal of Moumakwa from his position as CEO of PEEPA in October 2019 was not only substantively unfair and unlawful but was also procedurally unfair and wrongful. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type="show" ihc_mb_who="1,2,3,4" ihc_mb_template="1" ] He subsequently ordered the government to pay him P153,015 in compensation. Moumakwa’s five-year contract was terminated prematurely by then Minister of Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Nonofo Molefhi, on 22 October 2019. Following his dismissal, Moumakwa approached the Industrial Court wishing to either be reinstated to his position with back pays, or alternatively compensation equivalent to the balance of his five-year contract which was left with 39 months. However, the Industrial Court did not accede to these requests but granted him compensation equivalent to three months’ salary. In the aftermath, Moumakwa has filed a notice of appeal with the Court of Appeal (CoA) on grounds that the Industrial Court erred and misdirected itself on a number of issues. Moumakwa, through his attorneys, states that having properly found that the termination of his employment was both substantively and procedurally unfair and unlawful, the Industrial Court then proceeded to misdirect itself and err in fact and in law. In his view, this is how: “Firstly, not ordering a reinstatement when none of the evidence led the militated against and/or warranted the non-imposition of the appellant reinstatement.” Moumakwa notes that accordingly the Industrial Court exercised its discretion improperly in this regard. Further, he says the court also erred in concluding that his relationship with PEEPA was no longer tenable, owing to presumably irretrievable damage to trust when there was no evidence on the basis of which the court could reasonably reach such a conclusion. According to Moumakwa, the lower court erred and misdirected itself in its consideration of the relevant and irrelevant factors attendant in a determination of the question of whether to order reinstatement or not. “In its consideration of the alternate remedy of compensation to the appellant, the court a quo misdirected itself and erred in fact in, firstly, computing the compensation on the basis of an inaccurate monthly salary amount.” He stated that the lower court further erred and misdirected itself by awarding – in the circumstance of the case – a patently unreasonable amount. Moumakwa holds that the Industrial Court blundered in considering itself limited, in the absence of a demonstration of exceptional circumstances, to an award of compensation falling within the equivalent of one to six months basic salary range. “The court a quo misdirected itself and erred in both fact and law by failing to exercise its discretion properly and reasonably in its determination of the measure of the compensation to award the appellant.” Moumakwa also believes that the Industrial Court floundered, and so improperly exercised its discretion, in not drawing a nexus between its consideration of the factors it deemed pertinent to a determination of the appropriate compensation award, on one hand, and the actual compensation award it ended up making. Moumakwa wants the CoA to set aside Justice Tebogo-Maruping’s 29 September ruling and replace it with an order. He seeks to either be reinstated to his former position or compensated with an amount not less than six months of his basic salary previously earned under the employ of PEEPA. [/ihc-hide-content]

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Moumakwa Appeals Industrial Court Ruling

Wants reinstatement or compensation with six months’ basic salary

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Wants reinstatement or compensation with six months’ basic salary

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