Speaker, the Department of Public Service and Administration should take note the of Labour Court order handed down which reinstated the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA, chief executive officer, Steven Ngubeni. He said on Monday that he felt vindicated after the Labour Court ordered his reinstatement. Hundreds of millions of rands in public money are annually spent on labour-related matters, in disciplinary hearings and in precautionary suspensions of people in the employment of the state and public entities.
In many cases, state departments are found to be flouting the provisions of our labour laws that were enrolled in the statutes of our country to protect vulnerable workers and state employees from exploitation and political prejudice. Contracts of employment are supposed to regulate the affairs between employers and employees. The legal framework was not meant to protect those allegedly guilty of fraud and corruption.
On 8 October the NYDA board decided to fire Ngubeni after it concluded that he was guilty of financial mismanagement and dereliction of duty. Ngubeni reportedly faced seven charges related to signing off loans that were later converted to grants in three projects valued at over R30 million before the approval of the board. However, as a result of internal contracts and inadequate processes, Ngubeni has now been reinstated. What is more, the NYDA was ordered to pay the cost of the proceedings.
The NYDA also announced on Monday that all charges against the chief operating officer Magdalene Moonsamy and the executive manager of corporate services Vincent Mulaudzi had been dropped. The NYDA cannot continue to function under the current conditions. An immediate intervention is needed. [Time expired.]