Mkhize to seek advice on extent of her powers
Higher Education and Training Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize has indicated she will still seek guidance on ministerial powers with regard to placing directorsgeneral on suspension.
Mkhize, who was embroiled in a dispute with home affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni that landed in the High Court in Pretoria when she was in charge of that portfolio, will seek guidance from Public Service and Administration Minister Faith Muthambi.
Muthambi herself is at loggerheads with her directorgeneral, Mashwahle Diphofa, and deputy director-general for administration, Linda Shange.
In the matter brought by Apleni in the High Court in Pretoria against Mkhize following his suspension, Judge Hans Fabricius said that the minister had exercised powers reserved for the president when she suspended Apleni. These had “not been delegated to her” in terms of the Public Service Act.
The ruling’s substantial implications for what is understood to be ministerial powers have prompted Mkhize to consult Muthambi.
“It [the judgment] challenges the delegation of powers signed by [former president Thabo] Mbeki,” said Mkhize.
The Department of Public Service and Administration has been working on developing guidelines to limit ministers’ prerogative to appoint directorsgeneral, while the Public Service Commission has long lobbied for its head to have the authority to make those appointments.
Department of Home Affairs spokesman Thabo Mokgola said Apleni had returned to his office, and David Hlabane, another