R21m for dismissals

PROCEDURAL: UNFAIR FIRING OF TWO COSTS MPUMALANGA DEPT DEARLY

- Masoka Dube

The Mpumalanga department of agriculture, rural development, land and environmental affairs has come under fire for spending more than R20 million paying two former employees for unfair dismissal.

This information is contained in the department's portfolio committee's recently released report.

According to the report, the Labour Court ordered the department to pay R21 million to the two senior officials as their dismissal was found to be both procedurally and substantively unfair.

"The court ordered the department to pay retrospective compensation from the date of dismissal (2009 to 2024) and reinstate the employees," the report says.

The department told the committee that the payments would not affect service delivery because they were drawn from the compensation of employees' allocation.

According to the document, the department incurred more than R30 million in legal fees associated with the two employees.