MAIL & GUARDIAN RESPONSES
The Minister enjoys a cordial and professional relationship with members of the departmental Exco, its Manco and all staff. This has created an environment for frank but respectful conversations in which organisational strategy and performance can be discussed. As the Executive Authority, the Minister has delegated specific powers and duties to the Director General, as required in Section 42A of the Public Service Act (see Mail & Guardian article here).
The structure of the department clearly shows the reporting lines, where all staff members including the Deputy Directors General report to the Director General. Notwithstanding that it is NOT the policy of the department to discuss internal HR matters through the media, we can however confirm that neither the Minister nor the acting Director General have received any formal complaints from any staff member. It is therefore not clear which of the perceptions have informed your question.
The Director General: Communications is delegated to recruit and appoint departmental employees and does this in consultation with the relevant Deputy Directors General. For the record, the Minister does not involve herself in the recruitment process, and would not interact with Deputy Directors General on advertising of posts.
Section 38 of the PFMA vests all the responsibility and accountability for the finances of the department which includes signing off adverts to newspapers to the Director General. The Director General may in turn, delegate such authority to any staff member as he/she deems appropriate. However the Director General continues to have a right to exercise any of the authority he may have delegated without seeking permission from any junior staff member.
The Department of Communications is ranked in the best performing quartile of departments in the annual MPAT Assessment and there is no basis to claim that it is dysfunctional.
Issued by Ayanda Holo, Ministry Of Communications
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