Boss in office of premier sheds tears

Manager offers to resign as she appears before committee

EASTERN Cape office of the premier (OTP) communications boss Mandisa Titi was reduced to tears and even offered to quit her job when the provincial legislature’s portfolio committee grilled her on the role she allegedly played in mistreating a fellow employee.

The drama unfolded at a committee meeting on Tuesday afternoon where Titi was summoned by the Sicelo Gqobana-led committee to account for her alleged role in making the work environment a nightmare for OTP senior manager in communications and marketing Nolitha Mbangcolo-Matshikwe.

Mbangcolo-Matshikwe sought the intervention of the portfolio committee and the Public Service Commission (PSC).

Titi was so shaken during the session that she declared she was willing to sacrifice her job at OTP so that her colleague could work freely.

But Gqobana stopped her, indicating that there would be no shortcuts and that it was too late for Titi to want to take that decision when the matter was before the committee.

Titi was in the hot seat to defend herself from accusations of plotting against Mbangcolo-Matshikwe.

The committee was told by both parties that the tensions between the two started in 2014.

However, they had different versions as to the cause of the problem.

Mbangcolo-Matshikwe told the committee that Titi had made it her priority to “portray me as an incompetent and a person who cannot do her work”.

She said this was a result of her raising concerns, among other things, about weaknesses in planning by the communications unit headed by Titi.

“Because I raised issues, including compliance issues, I appeared to be this difficult person and since then her mission was to portray me as this person who cannot do her work,” she charged.

Mbangcolo-Matshikwe added: “The harassment, intimidation, threats, emotional abuse, unpolished use of language and spiteful language by Ms Titi continued in November last year during a meeting to discuss communications related performance matters.”

Titi fired back, saying MbangcoloMatshikwe was under-performing and that the media production division she headed before she was promoted to her current position was “dysfunctional”. This, Titi said, was something she had noticed since joining the OTP in May 2014.

The committee noted this as disturbing, especially after the human resources unit said Titi’s performance reviews on Mbangcolo-Matshikwe were full of praise in most parts.

A teary Titi said if the separation of her and Mbangcolo-Matshikwe would bring about peace and sanity, she was willing to be moved from OTP and “go anywhere”. Gqobana was having none of this. “The issue here is not about separation … There are many people who have been cited who still have to appear before this committee.

“Therefore Ms Titi, this is not as simple as that, because what you are suggesting is a shortcut. But I suggest you think critically and not look for quick fixes – it is too late for that,” said Gqobana.

● In yesterday’s report on the same matter, a comment from provincial government spokesman Sonwabo Mbananga was cut out which could be mistaken that there was no remark from his office. In fact he said: “The premier is yet to be informed by the portfolio committee of this pronouncement and will await its formal communication, before commenting on the matter”. —