Cape Town - Communications Minister Dina Pule tore into her director-general in Parliament on Tuesday, claiming she had “disappeared” and abandoned many of her duties, leaving the department without a head.
Pule said she had not seen the head of her department, Rosey Sekese, since April.
Astonished MPs expressed “grave concern” over the situation, saying it appeared the embattled department had been left leaderless and the minister did not seem to know what was going on.
Pule sent the director-general on special leave in December after a dispute over whether or not she had signed a performance agreement ended with Parliament asking the minister to take steps against her.
But Sekese took the matter to the Labour Court and the department was instructed to allow her to return to work.
The next day, Pule sent Sekese a letter removing her authority over all human resources matters, including “planning, work organisation and reporting”.
Sekese interpreted this to mean she no longer had authority over strategic planning and the execution of work and excused herself from a meeting with Parliament’s appropriations committee last week on this basis.
Called to explain the situation on Tuesday, Pule said Sekese had made herself scarce since her return.
They had met on Sekese’s return in April and agreed the director-general would begin preparing for the presentation of the department’s budget to Parliament the following month, “but then she disappeared in the process”.
“The only time I realise that she is in the office is when I see documents coming through that are signed by her. Face to face, I haven’t seen her,” the minister said.
As far as she was concerned, only the human resource functions had been taken from Sekese and she was expected to carry out her remaining duties. “It’s not workable, it’s not possible to work without the DG,” she said, explaining that she now had to approach Sekese’s deputies to find information she needed.
While the department waits for the matter to be resolved, a number of significant decisions are pending, including on digital television migration and radio frequency spectrum allocation for broadband services.
Pule herself is awaiting the outcome of a probe into allegations of impropriety by Parliament’s ethics committee.
Sekese, whose future is under discussion with Public Service and Administration Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, was unable to comment.
Political Bureau