Johannesburg - Carl Niehaus says his life is falling apart due to the non-payment of his salary by the ANC.
On Friday, he told IOL News that he had written to his attorney to urgently look into his matter with Labour Court after learning that the ANC had paid some of its employees their outstanding salaries.
Niehaus said he had not been paid his salary since August last year. He was suspended in July and subsequently fired with immediate effect in September 2020. ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said Niehaus would have to communicate with the party through his legal representative.
Niehaus is one of the staff members who opened a case of corruption and fraud against the ANC and its top brass for non-payment of salaries, pension fund and UIF last year.
On Thursday, ANC Treasurer-General Paul Mashatile said that all stall members had been paid their outstanding salaries. However, staff representative spokesperson Mvusi Mdala confirmed to IOL News that not all staff had been paid.
Niehaus wrote to his attorney complaining about non-payment.
“This is now becoming a disaster for me. I have nothing to live on, and I am unable to pay rent. I have lost my car. I literally do not have food in the house. How long is this still going to take? How am I expected to live while all of this is dragging on? Please forgive me for becoming emotional, but my life is falling apart. Please, is there a way that matters can be sped up? Please, I am pleading with you”.
Niehaus said the matter of his dismissal from the ANC in September and the subsequent application that he had made for conciliation and arbitration at the CCMA was only heard late November. He said in terms of labour law, his employment was up to that point after he made an appeal still to be honoured.
“Yet, the ANC has not paid me for the last couple of months. This is a vindictive action because of the whistle-blowing decision I took to bring charges of corruption and fraud against the senior management and office bearers of the ANC. The ANC still owes me money with regards to the payment of the bonus to be calculated proportionally and the salary still owed on a back pay basis,” said Niehaus.
He filed an urgent application with the Labour Court. He said his outstanding salaries and the bonus had been filed with the labour department, and the department is taking care of it.
“Unfortunately, all of these actions take time, and of course, the negative impact that one is faced with is that bills do not wait to be paid. I am convinced that the senior ANC management and senior politicians within the national office bearers are very well aware of this, and they are aware that the actions they have taken will not stand challenge and must stand in terms of our labour legislation, but they do so because they want to victimise me. They also want to continue to out me under pressure to silence me.”
Niehaus further said: “I want to make it clear that I will not be silenced. I have raised the issues of criminal actions of senior managers and national office bearers with regards to the non-payment to the UIF pay as you earn, provident fund of monies that have been deducted from ANC staff salaries. Those actions that took place since mid-2018 were clearly criminal, and I acted as a whistle-blower to bring that by laying charges to the attention of the SAPS.
“I have been in contact with the investigating officer of the NPA. He informed me that he had consultations with senior magistrates, and they had instructed him to serve subpoenas on the head of HR of the ANC to get further information he requires. Unfortunately, the ANC management said only on the basis of receiving a warrant will they give him the information to continue to have a full investigation.”
He said all of this indicated bad faith from ANC senior politicians, saying that they wanted to break him financially because of his whistle-blowing.
“I will win these cases. I am aware it will not be easy,” said Niehaus.
Political Bureau