Andile Ngcaba, former Dimension Data (DiData) board chairman, says he has scored some major concessions from the group to help him prepare his discrimination lawsuit against the IT company.
Ngcaba was reacting to media reports that his bid to sue the company had hit a snag, after acting judge Nzame Skibi on Wednesday ruled against him, forcing DiData to provide minutes of some of its remuneration committee meetings.
“The ruling will have no impact on the case going forward. Our objective has been met; we got much of the information that was sought in order to prepare for the main court case,” Ngcaba's spokesperson Yolande Tabo tells ITWeb.
Tabo says Ngcaba's legal team has been asking the defendants for minutes of the remuneration board committee for months but “at the 11th hour just before the hearing on Wednesday, they decided to provide much of the information”.
Ngcaba is seeking R441 million in compensation from DiData after accusing the company of discrimination.
In his lawsuit, Ngcaba wants R170 million in damages for racial discrimination, and is claiming R261.3 million for unpaid bonuses, alleging racial discrimination in violation of the constitution.
Ngcaba says he was prejudiced on the grounds of race, resulting in him being paid less than other senior executives.
The businessman is also claiming R10 million in damages for racial slurs and insults.
DiData has denied the allegations, saying they are “completely without merit”.
Initially, Ngcaba hauled DiData to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in 2017, after he learned he was excluded from an incentive scheme that benefited other staff.
The commission found the delay of 15 months in referring the alleged unfair labour practice to the CCMA was “wanting and not reasonable at all” and that Ngcaba's prospects of success were slim.
The discrimination lawsuit this week was heard just a day after DiData confirmed that founder and executive chairman Jeremy Ord, whose team appointed Ngcaba, is leaving the company he started 38 years ago.
Ord will be joined by other executives who are also exiting the systems integrator, including Saki Missaikos, chief strategy officer, and Steve Nathan, chief corporate finance officer.
The resignations come a few months after long-serving Dimension Data CEO Grant Bodley also stepped down from his role after serving 20 years at the firm.
DiData then appointed Werner Kapp as Bodley’s replacement, effective from 1 April.
Ngcaba would not be drawn to comment directly on Ord’s departure and its potential impact on his case.
“As for Dimension Data leadership, Mr Ngcaba believes that the current CEO Werner Kapp has shown good leadership in the ICT sector,” a statement from his office reads.
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