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By Political Bureau
While Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and his deputy, Fikile Mbalula, have come out publicly to deny rivalry between them, the two are again set to separately address the media this week.
The Police Department has offered Parliament's Press Gallery Association a free breakfast in Cape Town with Mbalula on Thursday, in apparent disregard of the minister's wish that his deputy speak to the media only after an official briefing in which the minister will take part a day later.
Mthethwa is scheduled to brief the media on Friday as part of an official government briefing week organised as part of the cabinet's Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster by the Government Communication and Information System.
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The tensions and "petty rivalry" between the two politicians - both close to President Jacob Zuma - have apparently been so rife that Mthethwa, supported by police commissioner Bheki Cele, had put pressure on Mbalula to cancel a briefing with the National Press Club last Wednesday. This was soon after both Cele and Mthethwa called club chairman Yusuf Abramjee to find out what the briefing was about.
It is understood that the root of the turf war lies with their political ambitions, in line with earlier suggestions by the ANC Youth League that Mbalula - a former president of the league - was more senior. The league is among groups that have mooted Mbalula as a future ANC secretary-general.
Abramjee said yesterday that he had calls from both Cele and the minister last Tuesday to inquire what the deputy was up to. The minister suggested that he was "not dead" yet and therefore could not be replaced by his deputy.
"I must admit I found that rather strange, because it seems to me they only heard of the briefing on Tuesday," Abramjee said. He added that Mbalula's briefing was organised at the deputy minister's request.
All three of the police leaders issued a statement to quell reports of the tensions, saying that the mysterious cancellation of Mbalula's briefing was because of the official cabinet briefing next week
"It is against this background that we need to clarify and in fact dismiss the allegations that the National Press Club briefing was cancelled as a result of 'tensions in the police leadership'," they stated.
"Both the minister and his deputy enjoy a healthy, professional working relationship with clear areas of responsibilities. Mthethwa is the political head and executing authority and his responsibilities include crime intelligence, protection and security, detective services and the new Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation. Mbalula is responsible for administration and visible policing."
Mthethwa's spokesman, Zweli Mnisi, yesterday could not confirm that both would be present at the official briefing on Friday.
Mnisi said the National Press Club briefing was not cancelled, but postponed until after the Friday briefing.
"Only after that briefing will programmes be communicated via various platforms, such as the National Press Club," he said.
This was despite the fact that the Police Department issued a request on Friday inviting journalists reporting on Parliament to join Mbalula for a breakfast briefing in Cape Town on Thursday, a day before the official briefing.
- This article was originally published on page 2 of Pretoria News on November 09, 2009
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