EPWP worker loses R17.7 million claim against municipality after failing to secure permanent job

High Court rejects R17.7 million claim from EPWP worker over after failing to secure a permanent job due to criminal record.

The Eastern Cape High Court has dismissed an application where a former Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) worker sought more than R17.7 million in damages from the Garden Route District Municipality after he was not appointed to a permanent position because of his criminal record.

The ruling was made after Judge Phillipa Susan van Zyl found that the application was fundamentally defective, failed to establish a legal basis for the relief sought and was better suited to action proceedings than motion proceedings.

According to the judgment, Thabang Motjamela claimed damages arising from the municipality's failure to appoint him permanently following recruitment for a senior worker position in 2021.

His damages calculation was based on projected earnings, bonuses, provident fund contributions and other employment benefits extending to his anticipated retirement in 2054. Although the total projected salary exceeded R32 million, deductions for income tax reduced his claim to over R17.7 million.

Motjamela argued that the municipality had acted unlawfully during the recruitment process.

He alleged officials had shortlisted him for permanent employment and required him to undergo a medical examination despite already knowing he had a criminal record. According to his papers, he had disclosed the criminal record before the medical examination and believed the municipality had created the impression that he would be appointed.

He sought declarations that the municipality had acted wrongfully, negligently and unlawfully, together with compensation for past and future loss of earnings, emotional distress, psychological harm, loss of dignity and alleged violations of his constitutional rights.

Judge Van Zyl held that the case could not succeed because claims for delictual damages require proof of several legal elements, including wrongful conduct, fault, causation and loss.

The court found those issues could not properly be determined on affidavit alone and noted that Motjamela's founding papers contained sparse information and no supporting documentation.

Despite considering oral argument and additional documents sent to the judge's registrar, the court concluded that the application remained "bare and vague" and failed to establish a case for any of the relief sought.

The judgment also highlighted Motjamela's lengthy history of litigation arising from his attempts to secure permanent employment following his EPWP contracts.

Judge Van Zyl noted that similar disputes had already been pursued before the South African Local Government Bargaining Council, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), the Labour Court, the Labour Appeal Court and the Constitutional Court.

The court referred to a recent Constitutional Court judgment describing Motjamela's repeated litigation over the same employment disputes as presenting "a pattern of wanton and reckless litigation" involving numerous applications against municipalities and related parties.