Disciplinary action should be taken against government spokesman Jimmy Manyi for failing to get written approval for being paid as a director of the Black Management Forum’s (BMF) investment arm while he was labour director-general.
This is the recommendation of the Public Service Commission (PSC), which investigated a complaint laid by the Freedom Front Plus in March last year.
In a five-page report dated February 22, PSC chairman BM Mthembu recommends that the Minister in the Presidency, Collins Chabane, take “appropriate disciplinary steps against Mr Manyi” for failing to comply with section 30 of the Public Service Act, 1994, as amended.
Manyi failed to get written approval for being paid for his work as a director of the BMF’s investment arm, the PSC said.
Manyi’s insistence on remaining president of the BMF after he was appointed chief executive of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) and became government’s chief spokesman raised eyebrows.
He took up the posts after being suspended as labour director-general following a formal complaint by the former Norwegian ambassador that he had tried to promote his own business interests in an official meeting. No disciplinary steps were ever taken.
In September last year, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found that Manyi’s BMF presidency was a conflict of interest with his duties as labour director-general.
She also found there was a perceived conflict of interest between his remaining BMF president and his current positions, which could become an actual conflict of interest if not managed properly.
The PSC investigated whether Manyi had declared his financial interests in terms of disclosure rules for public servants by the April 30, 2010, deadline. It received a completed financial disclosure form from him only on May 31 that year.
He declared gifts, shares and other interests, including in properties, and also supplied a print-out of his directorships,
But he didn’t give all the details required, the PSC found.
Manyi’s boss at the time, former labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana, was also in breach of the rules because of this, the PSC states.
Manyi told the PSC the BMF’s goals were “complementary to the government agenda and not in conflict with it”.
He denied withholding information from his superiors or being paid for work outside his employment in the public service, arguing that the Financial Disclosure Framework distinguished between remunerated work and directorships.
The PSC did not agree.
“For the period ending 30 April, 2010, Mr Manyi did not complete the financial disclosure form in respect of remunerated work outside the public service as he was of the view that he had not performed remunerative work.
“However, in respect of the period ending 30 April, 2010, the BMF Investments Company Limited prospectus shows that remuneration had been paid to its directors in the 12 months ending May 31,” the PSC report states.
As Manyi had been paid, and because no evidence could be found that he had Mdladlana’s written approval, he was in breach of the Public Service Act.
Manyi was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday night.
Anton Alberts, the FF Plus MP who laid the complaint, welcomed the findings and said Manyi should be suspended pending a disciplinary inquiry. “We think he should be fired because,” he added. - Political Bureau