Axed parliamentary finance chief Harry Charlton is taking his fight to the Labour Court after an attempt to reach settlement at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration failed.
He had been seeking either reinstatement or financial compensation, after the controversial disciplinary process that led to his sacking in January.
He was not permitted legal representation at his disciplinary hearing, and much of the evidence he presented was not considered.
Charlton believes that the charges of overstepping his authority in spending on various IT and consulting projects were trumped up to prevent him from further involvement in the investigation of fraudulent “travelgate” expense claims by MPs and their travel agents. He had played a leading role in exposing the scam.
As the Mail & Guardian reported recently, Charlton clashed repeatedly with the secretary to Parliament, Zingile Dingani, over the legislature’s apparent reluctance to pursue evidence that the fraud was bigger than initially estimated.
He had also had sharp disagreements with other parliamentary managers over the implementation of new accounting software designed for financial management at the legislature.
In a statement this week Charlton’s lawyer, John MacRobert, said work was being done to assess a possible defamation claim after Dingani warned at a press conference of a possible criminal investigation into “serious allegations” against Charlton.
No such investigation has so far materialised.
Charlton’s post has been filled on an acting basis by Lionel Klassen, his predecessor as head of the finance management office, but parliamentary sources say it has now been internally advertised.