South African court throws out R17m claim over failed public works job bid
A Western Cape High Court judge has dismissed a R17 million claim brought by an unemployed man who said a municipality wrongly led him to
A Western Cape High Court judge has dismissed a R17 million claim brought by an unemployed man who said a municipality wrongly led him to believe he would get a public works job. The case, heard in George, ended with the court finding that the application was thin on facts and backed by no real evidence.
Claim tied to EPWP job
Thabang Motjamela had sued the Garden Route district municipality over its failure to permanently appoint him after his involvement in the expanded public works programme, known as EPWP. He said he had been shortlisted in 2021 for a senior worker post and was then sent for a medical examination, which he took as a sign that the job was coming his way.
That never happened. Motjamela said the municipality later passed him over, apparently because of his criminal record. He argued that he had already disclosed that record before the medical exam and that officials still left him with the impression he would be hired.
The damages he wanted were huge. He calculated alleged earnings all the way to his projected retirement in 2054.
Judge rejects the case
The court did not buy it. In dismissing the application, the judge described it as “stillborn” and “bare and vague”, saying Motjamela had not made out a proper case for the relief he sought.
The ruling also pointed to his history as a persistent litigant. According to the court, that pattern, combined with the lack of supporting evidence, weakened the claim further. The judge cited both the absence of proof and the background of vexatious lawsuits in shutting the matter down.
EPWP, or the expanded public works programme, is used in South Africa to create temporary work and provide limited employment opportunities, often for people on the margins of the labour market. Cases like Motjamela’s can test how far a hopeful candidate can go in turning a failed job bid into a legal claim for damages.
The court’s order leaves the municipality off the hook for the R17 million claim, at least for now. Motjamela’s bid to turn a missed appointment into a lifetime compensation case collapsed in court, with the judge finding no evidence to support it.
