Andile Ngcaba and Dimension Data head for arbitration

Businessman Andile Ngcaba and Dimension Data are heading for arbitration after failing to reach a settlement on a remuneration dispute.

Ngcaba, who until July was the executive chairman of Dimension Data Africa and Middle East, took the technology company to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) over allegations of discrimination and unfair remuneration practices.

Ngcaba found out in May 2016 that he had been excluded from a long-term incentive scheme that benefited his white colleagues, including juniors.

The scheme was implemented at a Dimension Data group level.

Ngcaba said on Monday that no date had been set yet for the arbitration. He had said on Sunday that he had exhausted all internal processes in a bid to resolve the matter, hence his approaching the CCMA.

He also planned to approach the authorities in the UK and Japan, where Dimension Data’s owner, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, is based.

In an attempt to resolve the matter internally, Ngcaba had asked the group’s directors why he was excluded from the scheme. According to Ngcaba, the group proposed a settlement but he refused as he needed information on what other directors received before an agreement could be reached.

Ngcaba described the director’s decision as institutional discrimination. “I am pursuing this on a basis of principle. If this is happening at my level how much more on junior level,” Ngcaba said.

Ngcaba joined Dimension Data in April 2004 as executive chairman of the group’s Africa and Middle East businesses after his company Convergence Partners led a consortium that bought a 25% stake in the business. He stepped down from his position in July after Convergence Partners sold its shares back to the group.

According to Ngcaba, there was an attempt to combine the incentive benefits matter with the negotiations over the empowerment deal, which was nearing the end of its term at the time, but he refused as those were separate matters. He said the reason for leaving Dimension Data as an empowerment partner had nothing to do with the incentive scheme matter.

mochikot@bdlive.co.za