Fired in news ad, alleges Mohlala

FILE PICTURE. Mamodupi Mohlala Communication Commissioner was fired through newspaper advert.photo by Simphiwe Mbokazi

FILE PICTURE. Mamodupi Mohlala Communication Commissioner was fired through newspaper advert.photo by Simphiwe Mbokazi

Published May 13, 2012

Share

Does Mamodupi Mohlala, the National Consumer Commissioner, court controversy wherever she is employed?

On Friday, she said she was technically without work after her job was advertised in the Sunday newspapers.

“I was surprised when I saw the advert,” Mohlala said.

She had a three-month renewal clause in her contract. This meant that Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies should inform her three months before the end of her contract, with reasons.

Mohlala said she would be going to court to force the renewal of her contract.

But Lionel October, the director-general of the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), said Mohlala was informed in February that her job would be advertised because her contract expired at the end of August. She was told she could re-apply.

“This has happened twice in my lifetime,” she said.

She was referring to her short but controversial stint as the director-general at the Depart of Communications, where she fell out with then minister Siphiwe Nyanda.

Nyanda fired Mohlala in July 2010 after it became apparent that the trust between them had broken down. The spat was over an instruction by Nyanda that all tenders for the department be cancelled until they had been “discussed and approved by the minister”.

Mohlala warned Nyanda that removing the administration of tenders from her would violate the Public Finances Management Act (PFMA).

She took the department to the Labour Court for unfair dismissal. After an intervention by then public service and administration minister Richard Baloyi, a settlement was reached. The terms were that Baloyi would find an alternative and equal post in another department. Her present position is the result.

When asked what could have prompted the department to advertise her job, Mohlala said it was possibly related to her March 28 complaint lodged with Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, against October.

Mohlala said Madonsela had written back a week and a half ago, saying her complaints warranted an investigation.

October said it was “absolute nonsense” for Mohlala to claim she did not know that her job would be advertised.

When told of this by Davies, Mohlala had said she deserved a longer period, otherwise she would go to court.

“We will be in court to oppose her application. We gave her due notice,” he said.

October said Mohlala joined the commission on the remaining portion of the contract, which would expire in August.

Business Report is in possession of a February 3 letter from Davies to Mohlala regarding her contract.

It states: “The terms and conditions of your settlement agreement and your appointment letter stipulate that your contract is from 1 November 2010 until 25 August 2012. Given this context, your contract will not be automatically renewed.

“Rather, in the interests of good governance, the dti will embark on an open recruitment process to appoint the next Commissioner. You are, of course, welcome to apply for this post as soon as the recruitment process has been triggered.”

A letter from October dated March 29, 2011 to Mohlala shows the dti had concerns about the commission’s financial management systems.

October said the department’s chief financial officer had assisted the commission to open a bank account in January last year, but the PFMA required that the department obtain written assurance that the commission had implemented effective, efficient and transparent financial management and internal control systems before funds could be transferred.

He then lists 13 requirements that must be in place before the department can transfer any funds.

October continues: “I am aware that you have made a concerted effort to have the issues addressed by 01 April 2011, but due to insufficient time I am sure that this will not be substantially achieved. In view of this, I would recommend that the majority of the financial processes be outsourced for a period of time while you address the foregoing issues. The outsourcing agreement should also allow for the transfer of skills and the relevant financial systems to the National Consumer Commission.”

Related Topics: