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The courts have been drawn in to decide whether a disciplinary committee (DC) into the suspended secretary to Parliament should go ahead.
Gengezi Mgidlana launched an urgent interdict two Thursdays ago to stop disciplinary proceedings against him from going ahead last week.
He wants a review of an internal audit committee report, in which it is recommended that he face a disciplinary process.
The hearing was scheduled to start on Monday, April 9, and to continue until April 20.
Mgidlana has been away from work since June last year, firstly on a five-month special leave he asked for, and then he was put on precautionary suspension pending disciplinary proceedings.
He approached the Western Cape High Court on April 5 on an urgent basis.
Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo told City Press that Mgidlana’s application to the high court is twofold: He is seeking to interdict the disciplinary hearing pending a review of the audit committee report and, in the second part of his application, he seeks a review of the report.
Mothapo said the matter is expected to be heard next week.
Neither Mgidlana’s nor Parliament’s lawyers were available for comment.
Mothapo said the hearings started on February 12, but that formal hearing of evidence had not commenced.
This was because the chairperson of the process, Lance Witten of ZS Incorporated attorneys, had to first deal with preliminary matters, including points Mgidlana had raised.
Mgidlana is facing charges relating to the alleged breach of the Financial Management of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, parliamentary policies and the National Road Traffic Act, said Mothapo.
Mgidlana was put on special leave during the audit committee’s investigation. Parliament’s political heads, National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete and chairperson of the national council of provinces Thandi Modise, then put him on precautionary suspension in November and subsequently instituted the disciplinary proceedings.
The audit committee investigated Mgidlana’s alleged receipt of an ex gratia payment of R71 000 three months after he joined Parliament, improper allocation of a study bursary, improper travel management and irregular procurement of services.
