/ 31 January 2006

Travelgate man fights back

Parliament’s axed chief financial officer, Harry Charlton, is to approach the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) for his reinstatement.

The man who helped expose Parliament’s Travelgate scam is also planning to sue for defamation.

”Mr Harry Charlton will this week be referring to the CCMA for conciliation a dispute in regard to his dismissal from the position of chief financial officer of Parliament.

”He contends that his dismissal was substantively and procedurally unfair in numerous respects, and he intends to ask for relief in the form of reinstatement into his former position and/or compensation,” Charlton’s attorney, John MacRobert, said on Tuesday.

Conciliation is a step the Labour Relations Act obliges a dismissed employee to take before arbitration by the CCMA, or adjudication by the Labour Court.

The conciliation should take place within 30 days of referral, and is a process private to the parties and a CCMA-appointed conciliator.

MacRobert said in addition to an unfair dismissal claim, his client believed he had been defamed, and ”that his good name, standing and reputation have been called into question”.

He had therefore instructed his legal team to ”pursue legal action to seek redress by publication of suitable retractions and apologies, and the recovery of appropriate damages”.

MacRobert said Charlton remained willing to assist the authorities, including Parliament, the liquidators of the travel agencies concerned and the Scorpions, in the Travelgate investigation.

”[This is] in whatever way he can, in pursuing and finalising any investigations, and effecting recovery of moneys due to Parliament either by employees of Parliament, Members of Parliament, or travel agencies,” MacRobert said.

Charlton was sacked earlier this month following a disciplinary inquiry at Parliament.

At the time, secretary to Parliament Zingile Dingani said an inquiry had found Charlton had shown ”an indisputable colossal contempt” for Parliament’s prescribed policies and procedures.

Most of the disciplinary charges related to unauthorised agreements Charlton allegedly entered into with suppliers to Parliament.

One charge was that he allowed a computerised financial management project to fall behind schedule ”thus creating inconvenience to the institution and resulting in Parliament entering into variation orders”.

Others were that he engaged temporary staff without following proper procedure, tried to remove confidential documents from his office after his suspension, and that he at the same time made ”racist and derogatory comments”.

”When he went to fetch his belongings, went to fetch his car, he referred to ‘these monkeys are defending each other. This country will soon be like Nigeria’ etcetera,” Dingani told journalists at the time.

Charlton has denied making the comments.

Travelgate case transferred to Cape High Court

Meanwhile, the trial of 17 current members of Parliament and a further eight former members will take place in the Cape High Court on July 31.

The 25 face charges of fraud for allegedly misusing travel vouchers.

At the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, four names were added to the list of those being prosecuted. They include a former prominent member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts Bruce Kannemeyer, who is now the municipal manager of Stellenbosch local municipality near Cape Town, Lewele

Modisenyane, a current African National Congress MP; Maxwell Izekiel Moss, who is a sitting MP; and former MP Angie Molebatsi.

Kannemeyer’s name will be added at a court appearance on February 17.

Altogether 22 are from the ruling ANC and three from the opposition. One of

the three is former New National Party MP Craig Morkel, who now leads the Progressive Independent Movement and is the party’s sole MP. The other two are

former Democratic Alliance MPs.

Magistrate Hennie le Roux on Tuesday granted a request from the prosecution

to transfer the case to the Cape High Court so that the MPs are tried together

with travel agents. The request was made by prosecutor Jannie van Vuuren.

Eight MPs have already entered plea bargains in the Travelgate saga. They

were all from the ANC.

Parliament is alleged to have been defrauded to the tune of between R17-million and R24-million. – Sapa, I-Net Bridge