DA welcomes investigation into nepotism at PSC following DA pressure

31 January 2020

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the announcement by the chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC), Richard Sizani, that an advocate from the Johannesburg Bar has been appointed to investigate the extremely alarming allegations of nepotism at the PSC. According to a whistleblower report, the Director-General of the PSC, Dovhani Mamphiswana, allegedly chaired a panel that appointed the mother of his child to the position of Chief Director for Ethics at the PSC.

The DA further calls on chairman Sizani and his fellow commissioners to protect the integrity of the investigation and to ensure that it is handled in an impartial manner. Under no circumstances must there be an attempt to victimize the anonymous whistleblower(s) who have courageously stepped forward to protect the PSC. Instead, the focus must fall squarely on Mamphiswana’s alleged misdeeds.

If the claims of nepotism are confirmed, President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet – who have complete powers over the appointment and dismissal of DGs – must make an example out of Mamphiswana. The PSC is not “just another” government agency – it is the watchdog over the entire public service and is supposed to enforce and abide by the absolute highest standards of ethics. There can be absolutely no room for doubt about the integrity of the PSC.

The DA also reiterates our call that it is time to radically restructure the PSC by making it wholly independent from the government. To this end, the DA will soon table our Professional Public Service Bill, which will take away the cabinet’s power to appoint the Director-General of the PSC. We call on all other parties in Parliament to heed the danger posed to the entire state by a compromised PSC and to support our legislation.

Issued by Leon Schreiber, DA Shadow Minister for Public Service and Administration, 31 January 2020