Nehawu wants Mathabatha to fire senior govt official for ‘fraud’

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) in Limpopo has taken to the streets, demanding premier Stan Mathabatha fire or demote head of his public works department Timothy Seroka.

The union claimed it had lost confidence in Seroka after he was found guilty of defrauding the department of R11 000 in travel claims. This was after Seroka allegedly claimed he used a Mercedes-Benz ML 350, while he used a smaller car, a Renault Sandero 1.4 litre, for official trips.

According to the department, claiming on a big vehicle like the Mercedes-Benz ML brings in more money than claiming for use of a small vehicle like a Sandero. In this case, Seroka allegedly claimed on kilometres for a big vehicle when in fact he used a small vehicle.

“That is tantamount to committing fraud and Seroka, who is expected to lead by example as the face of the department, must face the music,” said a source, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Seroka was also accused of irregularly claiming hotel stays for official trips in June to Tzaneen, the public works head office in Gauteng and the Limpopo legislature in Lebowakgomo, among other trips.

According to a document seen by The Citizen, Seroka claimed R11 405. 88 for 1 790km from the department head office in Polokwane to various venues. The payout, according to the claim, is just over R6 per kilometre. After months of bickering, Mathabatha bowed to pressure and suspended Seroke following a disciplinary hearing that found him guilty.

His sanction included a three-month suspension without pay. The suspension lapsed on 31 October. But when he reported for duty on 2 November, he was met with angry staff members holding lunchtime pickets outside the department’s premises. Two weeks ago, the provincial leadership of Nehawu accused Mathabatha of being lenient on corruption-tainted individuals.

“We view his punishment as a slap on the wrist. We commit to reject Mr Seroka as head of public works because he is not fit to manage billions of the department’s annual budget while he has been found guilty of stealing,” said the union.

Department spokesperson Joel Seabi responded: “The HOD’s suspension has lapsed and if there are issues raised by the union or any other party, it will have to be substantiated and dealt with through relevant channels.”

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