The Public Protector's findings on alleged recruitment irregularities at the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) have drawn a firm rebuttal from former chief operations officer, Sobantu Tilayi, who rejects the conclusions.
He has also indicated that he intends to take the matter on review.
Speaking to Freight News, Tilayi responded to the report quietly issued by Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka on December 31, but which only came to light in the news on Monday.
The probe, sparked by a 2021 complaint from shortlisted candidate Phenyo Lekoma over the 2020 appointment of Vusumzi Gladwell September as executive of Corporate Affairs, found alleged maladministration and improper conduct in the hiring process.
The report criticised failures to ensure the process was fair, transparent, accountable, responsible and consistent, according to Samsa’s recruitment policy.
It blamed Tilayi – acting chief executive and COO at the time – for allegedly breaching obligations as accounting officer, including not basing decisions on candidates' suitability (training, skills, experience and knowledge) and poor recording of selection reasons.
This allegedly amounted to improper conduct and maladministration under Samsa’s Constitution. Remedial action required the Samsa board chairperson to initiate disciplinary steps against Tilayi within 60 days of receipt. However, he resigned in December after 17 years of service, following suspensions in 2020 and more recently.
Tilayi has disputed the findings saying he has not yet properly considered the report in detail.
However he said there were several reasons why he did not agree with the Public Protector’s conclusion.
“The complainant brought the complaint to the Public Protector and the initial finding by the public protector was that the complaint by Mr Lekoma could not be substantiated,” Tilayi said.
“He contested the outcome and caused the investigation to look into the technicalities mainly to do with the technical support to the process, rather than the process itself (recording of the proceedings, retention of information, etc).”
“While some of those issues may be found lacking, it does not taint the process itself,” Tilayi said.
He said Lekoma scored less than September in an interview as these scores were recorded and he lagged September in the psychometric assessments.
“While the internal interview was conducted by internal people (chaired by a board member) and there could be concerns of scores being manipulated, the psychometric assessments were done by an independent company outside Samsa,” Tilayi said.
“It also interesting that the job was advertised in 2024 because Mr September was subsequently appointed as the Alternate Permanent Representative at IMO (London). Mr Lekoma once more applied and did not even get shortlisted this time around. I had nothing to do with him failing to get even a spot in the shortlist,” he said.
Tilayi said he was considering taking the report on review, aligning with his history of contesting adverse findings, including prior forensic probes where he was cleared or reinstated.
