The ANC has reportedly settled with Pule Mabe’s former personal assistant before the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), according to the City Press.
According to the publication, Kgoerano Kekana (26), who accused Mabe of sexually harassing her, will get R50 000 in back pay.
The City Press reported that it had seen a CCMA certificate of the outcome of the dispute dated last Wednesday.
In it, the commissioner declared that the dispute between Kekana and the ANC over the alleged sexual harassment as resolved on February 27 2019.
News24 reported that in February, the ANC’s grievance panel of sexual harassment cleared Mabe.
Kekana rejected the findings and decided to approach the CCMA. Mabe was asked to step aside while this process was underway, according to News24.
She accused the panel of ignoring seven of her eight witnesses to corroborate her version of events and of not even including a report from the only witness the panel heard from in a report on the matter.
Last year, Kekana handed over a 14-page letter, detailing alleged sexual harassment and the first assignment she worked on with Mabe.
She claimed Mabe forced himself into her bed on two occasions earlier this year.
After she rejected his advances, it resulted in her being ill-treated by the ANC’s national spokesperson as his assistant, she said at the time.
Recommendations
The grievance panel, which was chaired by national executive committee (NEC) member, Sdumo Dlamini, Thoko Didiza and two representatives from Luthuli House found there was no evidence of sexual harassment but did recommended:
– The ANC should within three months adopt a sexual harassment policy, and train all its management and staff in offices throughout the country on this policy.
– Address the human resource issues raised during the grievance procedure and ensure the complainant’s reintegration as an employee of the ANC
– The privacy of staff and manager’s bedrooms at meetings be respected, and where meetings are to be held or work to be done, arrangements be made for such to take place in meeting rooms or public spaces.
According to City Press, Kekana is now working at the ANC’s Johannesburg region at Masa house and Mabe has returned to work.
Source: News24/ City Press
