Pretoria - The General Public Service Sector Bargaining Council (GPSSBC) has upheld the decision to fire the former Director-General of the Public Service Commission (PSC), Dr Dovhani Mamphiswana, who allegedly flouted regulations to hire a woman he had a baby with.
Mamphiswana hit the headlines in July last when the Sunday Independent broke the story that he chaired a panel that recommended a woman he has a baby with to be appointed as its head of ethics.
In one of the reports which were compiled after the scandal broke, Advocate Smanga Sethene found that one of the baby showers was held at the PSC's offices in Pretoria.
Sethene recommended that President Cyril Ramaphosa should suspend the DG and that only happened in August last year after an outcry that the President was dragging his feet in the matter.
Dr Mamphiswana was later fired after he was charged with nepotism, dishonesty and bringing the PSC into disrepute, among other charges.
The baby mama can't be named as that would identify the minor.
However, Dr Mamphiswana never took the matter lying down as he appealed to the GPSSBC, which heard his appeal and ruled on it earlier this week.
Dolly Mahasha, a GPSSBC panellist, in her ruling, said as the head of the PSC, Dr Mamphiswana should have known better when it comes to the rules and regulations of the organisation.
"It is common cause that there are various Public Service Prescripts dealing with conflict of interest and ethical conduct of employees in the Public service.
“The mandate of the Public Service Commission is to investigate amongst others ‘the ethical conduct for public servants’.”
“As an Accounting Officer of the organisation, applicant (Mamphiswana) is supposed to be in a better position to understand or would have been reasonably expected to be aware of such rules given that it forms part of the core mandate of the organization he was leading.”
Mahasha added that it is trite in our law that a contract of employment regarded is founded on the principles of utmost good faith, and a premium is placed on honesty because conduct involving immorality by employees damages the trust relationship on which this contract is founded on.
“According to John Grogan, conflict of interest arises when employees place themselves in a position where their personal interests are, or maybe, at odds with the interest of the employer.
“Good faith requires that the employees inform their employers as and when such situation arises. In Nedcor Bank Ltd v Frank, the Labour Appeal Court held that dishonesty entails lack of integrity or straightforwardness, and, in particular, a willingness to steal, cheat, lie or act fraudulently.”
In the end, Mahasha upheld the dismissal of Mamphiswana, which was communicated to him earlier this year.
“For a person in a position of Director-General of the Public Service Commission who is supposed to lead by example, he is a risk to the organisation and the public service at large.
“He has failed the litmus test, and he is the author of his own misfortune.
“Having considered all the facts, I am satisfied that dismissal was an appropriate sanction. The dismissal of the Applicant Mr D Mamphiswana was substantively fair."
Mamphiswana could not be reached to get his comment. The last comment he gave to IOL was via the spokesperson of the PSC, which has since fired him.
sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za
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