Office of the presidency gets three new faces

Three new appointments have been made in the office of the presidency in an attempt to make President Thabo Mbeki more available to the public, it was announced on Wednesday.

Head of the presidency, Frank Chikane, said they would also seek to beef up the government's capacity to monitor performance.

Trevor Fowler will be heading up the newly-created post as deputy head of the presidency and chief operating and accounting officer.

"I will be responsible for the finances, auditing and ensuring that all financial reporting was done correctly and on time," Fowler told reporters at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

Chikane said Fowler's role would also be to ensure that decisions taken in the presidency were carried out efficiently and in a streamlined manner.

His appointment came after lengthy negotiations with the Treasury, as his duties required Fowler to be an accounting officer.

Lorato Phalabe was appointed head of the president's office and would be responsible for the daily running of Mbeki's diary.

"It is our duty to ensure that the president is as accessible to as many people as possible throughout the year," she said.

Murphy Morobe was appointed deputy director general for communications.

He said he would be tasked with streamlining the communications between the presidency and the outside world.

"My task is not to spin anything because facts are facts," he said, adding that there would always be a degree of interpretation but noted that this was a healthy situation.

He said there was a special relationship between the president and the media, and he would ensure that information passed between the two would be as concise as it needed to be. - Sapa