By Christina Gallagher and Sapa
Gauteng social development MEC Bob Mabaso has resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment.
He said on Friday he had informed the premier and speaker of the Gauteng legislature that he was stepping down as a Member of the Executive Council and as a Member of the Provincial Legislature.
Mabaso has denied the allegations.
"I want to reiterate that I have not committed any act of sexual harassment against anybody," he said.
Mabaso said he had resigned due to the seriousness the government attached to gender struggles, fighting women abuse, and the creation of a new society. These were all values he upheld.
He said the move was in the best interest of the government and his family.
Provincial ANC spokesperson Ignatius Jacobs did not want to give details on the allegation, but said it was made "by a person in the Gauteng legislature".
He said Premier Mbhazima Shilowa and the ANC had accepted Mabaso's resignation on Thursday.
When asked whether Mabaso was given the option of remaining in his position or being suspended while an internal investigation was conducted, Annette Griessel, head of communications for the provincial government, said she was not aware of any of these options being posed to Mabaso. "He resigned voluntarily," she said.
Mabaso was well known for taking on the plight of streetchildren, as well as implementing a 25 percent cut in provincial social development spending, which severely affected a number of non-profit welfare organisations. In the past two years, his duties have been overshadowed by the problems his department faces.
His resignation has been welcomed by many social services organisations as a step in the right direction. As MEC for social development, Mabaso inherited problems from the previous administration, explained DA social development spokesperson Rika Kruger.
"The previous administration never budgeted for development and dipped into social security," she said. "There was not enough money and he wasn't able to handle it."
Mabaso's concern for streetchildren included controversial mass collections of streetchildren, who were taken to centres. Beth Thomas, director of Gauteng Alliance for Street Children, said Mabaso's efforts were not all that they seemed.
"He would do anything for his own glory," said Thomas. "He took children off the streets, but never delivered on his promises."
Moira Simpson, director of Kids Haven in Benoni, said: "Mabaso brought street-children to the attention of the welfare department. The whole department focused on taking them off the street."
But Simpson added that although the attention was positively received, some in the sector felt Mabaso's ideas for taking children off the street were "extreme" because he appeared to believe in a mass action strategy.
"He regarded everyone on the street as streetchildren.
"This included bringing in adults who were forty-year-old gangsters," she said. "That is a huge risk for girls who are with us, some of whom are just 12.
"We hope that whoever comes in will listen better and hear that mass action is failing and puts people at risk."
Simpson said apart from this issue, she had a good relationship with the department.
Jackie Loffell, interim co-ordinator for the Gauteng Welfare Social Service and Development Forum, said when Mabaso was appointed in April 2004, the department was already in a crisis.
"When the announcement was made about the 25% budget cut, he said the matter was beyond his control. He put the NGOs under threat."
Joan Muller, a provincial representative of the South African Communist Party, said Mabaso would retain his position as the provincial leader of the party.
Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa has been appointed acting MEC for social development.