Morotsi Has The Last Laugh
Innocent Selatlhwa | Monday May 27, 2019 13:15
BERA Board members who defied a ruling by an independent enquiry panel paid a hefty fee and have been suspended. BERA chief executive officer, Rose Seretse told the Parliamentary Committee on Statutory Bodies and State Enterprises on Friday that the court had ruled that Morotsi be reinstated.
In June 2018, the BERA Board suspended Morotsi over the alleged improper appointment of a consultant, Edwin Kiddiffu from Tanzania’s Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA), to the authority.
An Independent Enquiry Panel was engaged by BERA to conduct a disciplinary enquiry against Morotsi between January and March this year. Seretse told the committee that the authority had paid around P300,000 to the independent enquiry panel.
In April 18, Bernard Ndove in his capacity as board chairperson uplifted Morotsi’s suspension on the basis of the disciplinary panel’s recommendations.
The panel had stated that Morotsi’s disciplinary hearing be rescinded and he be reinstated, as it had taken long for the Board to act.
In April 26, after Morotsi returned to work, Board member Jonathan Moseki wrote to Morotsi setting aside Ndove’s reinstatement letter.
He stated that Ndove had no authority to reinstate Morotsi hence he set the letter aside.
Moseki stated that Morotsi had the right to state his case and his right to cross-examine any witnesses who presented evidence against him as well as calling witnesses in support of his defence.
Moseki stated that Morotsi elected not to do so and deliberately deterred the panel from considering the charges.
“The Board views this as a deliberate attempt to preserve yourself from having to answer to the charges levelled against you because you had no plausible defence against your actions.
Your conduct, in all fairness, amounted to blatant abuse of process when the Board tried to subject you to a disciplinary enquiry,” reads the letter.
Following the expulsion, Morotsi engaged Segaise Attorneys who then wrote to Moseki stating that the decision to expel Morotsi was null, void and illegal.
Mooketsi Segaise instructed Morotsi to act on the basis of the April 18 letter under the hand of the chairperson and to continue reporting to duty until such a time that the said letter would have been revoked by a court of law.
He was, however, not allowed access into BERA premises as the Board engaged a private security company to keep him out.
On May 17 the court heard his case and he left the courtroom laughing all the way back to his office.