SOUTH African transport and logistics company, Transnet, has fired its embattled CEO Siyabonga Gama and will pay him out for six months, said BusinessLive. Gama had earlier approached the Labour Court in an effort to stop the termination of his contract.
In the notice of termination of employment letter, served on Gama on Sunday, Transnet chairman, Popo Molefe, said the CEO had failed to make representations on why he should not be fired by the deadline of October 15. :As a result of your failure to make representations, the board has therefore resolved to terminate your appointment as group CE on six months’ notice,” Molefe says in the letter seen by BusinessLive.
“You are not required to work out your notice period and will be paid six months’ remuneration in lieu of notice,” he wrote. Gama was paid R8.108m in the 2018 financial year, said BusinessLive citing the latest Transnet annual report.
The Labour Court stayed Gama’s application and ordered that the dispute between him and Transnet be referred to arbitration, said BusinessLive. A stay of the application means the court has put a hold on any legal proceedings, effectively postponing any ruling on Gama’s application pending the outcome of the arbitration, the publication said.
Gama has been in the line of fire after investigations found that he, former CEO Brian Molefe and Gupta associates may have acted unlawfully in relation to the purchase of 1,064 locomotives for R54bn. Leaked Gupta e-mails contain claims that the Gupta family received multibillion-rand kickbacks as part of the purchase.
