Picture: North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Sello Lehari
By OBAKENG MAJE
Maladministration and corruption allegations hackle the North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Sello Lehari’s department. This comes after allegations of political manipulation in the appointment process of the new Head of Department (HOD) at the department surfaced.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West said there are allegations that the ranking of the two candidates on the interview list has been switched to benefit a candidate, who is allegedly closely aligned with Lehari.
The DA spokesperson on North West Department of Community Safety and Transport Management, Freddy Sonakile said they are concerned by allegations.
“The Head of Department position has been vacant since April 2022. The position was only advertised in February 2023 and later re-advertised. Interviews were held early in July and an interview report with the results was sent to the North West acting Premier, Nono Maloyi, who has since signed off on the appointment of a new Head of Department with effect from 1 September 2023.
“It appears that the results may not have favoured the candidate that Lehari preferred and the process may have been manipulated to make provision for appointing an individual who will be more amenable to the ANC,” he said.
Sonakile further said they will submit a Promotion of Access to Information (PAIA) to the Office of the Premier, requesting the entire interview report to be released. He added that should allegations of manipulation of the interview and appointment process prove to be true, they will be left with no choice but to explore all avenues at their disposal to reverse the appointment.
“Good governance cannot continue to be undermined because of the ANC’s continued interference with appointment processes within the public service.
“We will not hesitate to stop the ANC-led government in its tracks if any signs of cadre deployment are exposed. We are already legally fighting ANC cadre deployment in court nationally,” said Sonakile.
It is alleged that the appointed Head of Department (who is known to Taung DailyNews), is a staunch member of ANC in North West and a close ally to Lehari. He also holds a PhD from the North West University and he was a popular House DJ in the 90s.
Meanwhile, the North West Provincial Government (NWPG) spokesperson, Brian Setswambung refuted the allegations and described them as ludicrous. Setswambung said the post of Head of Department was initially advertised on 27 January 2023.
“The advert was placed with a closing date of 10 February 2023. The post was advertised both internally and externally in the North West Provincial Government Intranet, Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) Circular 03 of 2022, and National Publications.
“The initial shortlisting session was held on the 6 April 2023 in Rustenburg and the panel resolved that the post be re-advertised as it had the potential to exclude many competent potential candidates,” he said.
Setswambung said the Head of Department post was subsequently re-advertised on 21 April 2023 both internally and externally in the North West Provincial Government Intranet, Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) Circular No. 14 of 2023 and National Publications with the closing date of 11 May 2023.
He said the interview was held on 4 July 2023 at Rustenburg (Hunters Rest).
“There were eight shortlisted candidates, and seven candidates availed themselves. The candidate who has been recommended and approved for appointment is expected to assume duty on 1 September 2023. We are not aware of any manipulation of the process to favour the recommended candidate.
“All candidates were subjected to a fair selection process i.e. interview, competency assessment, and pre-employment verification process. The panel that interviewed candidates was representative of a balanced Selection Committee of six members, three MECs, the Director General, the National Department of Transport representative, and the Secretariat for Police Services,” said Setswambung.
According to Setswambung, the appointed candidate scored higher than any other recommended candidate and is therefore appointed on merit to the post.
The Guardian 