The Gauteng Transport Authority (GTA) has come under fire for appointing Molatelo Rapetsoa to its board. The former Tshwane municipality head of transport was dismissed over what was described as a “chequered employment history” that she had allegedly failed to disclose.
For more than a month, the GTA has dodged questions from the Sunday Times about how Rapetsoa was appointed, despite findings that she lied in her job application to Tshwane and was subsequently dismissed by the municipality.
This comes after insiders accused the GTA of failing to conduct proper due diligence before appointing Rapetsoa. Despite promises to respond to the Sunday Times, GTA spokesperson Lesiba Mpya went to ground and failed to answer questions.
Rapetsoa was fired by the municipality in March 2024 following an urgent investigation by its recruitment division, which uncovered a “chequered employment history” that she had not declared.
“GTA is fully aware of these allegations but is not taking any action,” said an insider who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation. “This lady is just being moved around despite her behaviour in leadership positions being questionable.”
Evidence presented at a marathon labour bargaining council hearing revealed that Rapetsoa had a pattern of leaving positions just as pressure mounted.
It was found that in 2015 she resigned from the Polokwane municipality on the same day she was served with notice of a disciplinary hearing relating to charges of gross dishonesty and misrepresentation.
At the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, history appeared to repeat itself in 2018 when she resigned on the very day her disciplinary inquiry was due to begin.
“The municipality can confirm that Ms Rapetsoa was charged with and subsequently dismissed for misrepresentation following the conclusion of internal processes … aspects relating to her previous employment [at the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality] formed part of the considerations during the internal processes that led to her dismissal,” said Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba.
The City of Tshwane argued that Rapetsoa’s failure to disclose her past amounted to a “deliberate misrepresentation” that shattered the trust required for her specialist role.
However, Rapetsoa maintains she is fit to serve on the GTA board.
“The basis of my separation from the City of Tshwane — which occurred in August 2023 — was non-disclosure of a confidential settlement agreement with a former employer during the recruitment process,” she said. “At that time, I recused myself from board roles as required by applicable government prescripts.”
Rapetsoa said she started serving in a board role in November 2025, having fully served the sanctions imposed in line with applicable re-employment conditions.
“To the best of my knowledge, no law permanently bars an individual from serving on any board where such sanctions have been fully observed and served,” she added.
The South African Local Government Bargaining Council ruled that her dismissal from the Tshwane municipality was both procedurally and substantively fair. Rapetsoa’s bid to get her job back was dismissed, leaving the city’s transport department looking for a new head.
The controversy began when Tshwane’s city manager, Johann Mettler, spotted Rapetsoa at a council meeting. Mettler, who previously headed the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, was reportedly stunned to see his former employee occupying such a senior role. He immediately raised concerns, asking officials whether they were aware that Rapetsoa had resigned from his municipality while facing a raft of disciplinary charges.
At the centre of the scandal is a 2018 job application form in which Rapetsoa allegedly ticked “No” when asked whether any conditions prevented her re-employment. Despite her seniority and years of experience, she argued she did not believe she was required to disclose pending charges because she hadn’t been “officially” dismissed.
However, the arbitrator rejected that explanation. Arbitrator Joseph Mphaphuli criticised what he described as her “legal sophistry”, ruling that a person of her intelligence and senior standing had a duty to be “truthful and transparent”.
However, Rapetsoa remains adamant she is suited to serve as a GTA board director. “I am, and remain, confident that I am a perfect fit for the role in terms of the requisite skills, qualifications and experience,” she said.
Thanduxolo Jika
www.sundaytimes.timeslive.co.za
