Narconon Africa challenges claims of labour law breaches as whistleblower drama unfolds

4 Feb 2025

Following allegations of late and non-payment of employees and making UIF and PAYE deductions to wages, despite failing to make contributions to the Department of Labour and SA Revenue Service, Narconon Africa has reached out to Daily Maverick to address the issues highlighted in previous articles.

In a statement sent to Daily Maverick, a member of Narconon Africa’s Board of Directors, Sandile Hlayisi, sought to clear up what he said were “inaccuracies and blatant misrepresentations” published in previous articles about the drug rehabilitation centre’s alleged non-compliance with South African labour laws and the subsequent suspension of employees who spoke to Daily Maverick about the non-payment of wages.

Previous articles detailed how employees alleged that the NPO engaged in illegal labour practices including late or non-payment of salaries, and making UIF and PAYE deductions from wages despite not registering employees with the Department of Labour or the SA Revenue Service (SARS).

Read more: Staff at Scientology-backed drug rehab claim wages not paid, blow whistle on dodgy labour practice

Narconon Africa Letter of Response and Press Statement by Kevin Flynn on Scribd

In response Hlayisi stated:

All wages are paid in full.

The questions on UIF and PAYE were already covered in the document I attached to my original email proving SARS registration. This has always been the case despite allegations to the contrary.

Narconon has been inspected by all relevant government bodies satisfactorily.

There have always been standard report lines at Narconon for employees to report grievances. Nonhlanhla and Nomalady are vindictive as we are undergoing a legal retrenchment and have now been suspended for their unethical conduct during their employment. We continually refuse to accept their illegal demands.

Hlayisi added that the articles relied only on the accounts of Nomalady Nekhabambe and Nonhlanhla Pangisa, however, the publication spoke to several current employees who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation. The employee accounts corroborated Nekhabambe and Pangisa’s accounts.

When Daily Maverick asked for clarification on when the employees were registered with UIF and for PAYE, Hlayisi said:

“The PAYE and UIF registrations were completed on 27 February 2024, as stated in the ‘Your Tax Obligations’ section of the document previously sent to your email. Due to varying employee start dates, I cannot provide individual registration dates at this time. The EMP201 submissions are fully up to date, and all PAYE, UIF, and SDL payments have been made as required. The EMP501 reconciliation, which includes individual employee details including registration numbers, will be submitted when due.”

Daily Maverick reached out to the Department of Labour numerous times to verify the employees’ registration status and payment of UIF, but had received no response by the time of publication.

Suspension of Nekhabambe and Pangisa

Hlayisi told Daily Maverick that “Both suspended staff members have consistently demanded that Narconon Africa pay their PAYE and UIF directly to their personal accounts, instead of to the government as required by law. Despite numerous explanations and evidence provided to them that this request is unlawful, they continue to make this demand. We have shown them proof that Narconon Africa is fully compliant with the South African Revenue Service regarding PAYE and UIF contributions, yet they have disregarded this and continue to push for these payments to be made to them directly.”

Read more: Scientology-linked rehab boots out whistle-blowers who exposed illegal labour practices

This is despite audio recordings that Daily Maverick has heard in which both Hlayisi and another director, Diana Safina, admit that UIF and PAYE have not been paid to the department or SARS. Narconon Africa failed to provide answers about what the money was used for or when the alleged payments of UIF or PAYE were made.

Following Daily Maverick’s reporting several people have come forward detailing similar concerns of non-payment and irregular employment practices. One was the medical liaison officer prior to Nekhabambe. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous at this stage, said that she worked for Narconon Africa when it first opened in January 2024, but was never paid by the organisation. DM

This is an ongoing story.

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Suspension of Nekhabambe and Pangisa