DG accused of ‘unfairly’ blocking appointment

A SENIOR government official has accused the Eastern Cape directorgeneral (DG) Marion Mbina-Mthembu of “unfairly” blocking his appointment.

Office of the premier (OTP) information and communication technology (ICT) manager Siyabulela Jindela claims Mbina-Mthembu instructed the health department not to appoint him because he was allegedly being investigated by the OTP, an investigation he claims he knows nothing about.

He said he was supposed to take over as the department’s ICT director this month.

His union, the Public Servants’ Association (PSA), has described Mbina-Mthembu’s alleged action as a violation of its member’s rights.

However, provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo yesterday denied Jindela was about to be appointed, saying their recruitment process found no suitable candidate.

Jindela yesterday told the Daily Dispatch that had it not been for Mbina-Mthembu, he would have started working for the health department this month.

Jindela said the issuing of his appointment letter was halted when Mbina-Mthembu “misled” the department’s administration head Dr Thobile Mbengashe by claiming he was being investigated.

He claims he was never told of any investigation against him at OTP and that Mbina-Mthembu’s alleged claims, were “mere hogwash”.

Last week, he wrote to MbinaMthembu asking her to provide details of the alleged investigation.

“I have been reliably informed by the health department that I was appointed to a position of a director ICT as from June 2017.

“When I requested for my letter of appointment, I was informed that you informed them that I am under investigation and my appointment letter must not be issued.

“To my surprise I have not received any letter informing me of any investigation,” he wrote in one of his correspondences to MbinaMthembu.

He claims Mbina-Mthembu instead instructed the department to re-advertise the post.

Jindela said he wrote to the DG on two occasions last week, seeking clarity but to no avail.

He said he then reported the matter to provincial legislature’s OTP portfolio committee chair Sicelo Gqobana and PSA, which has now taken up his fight.

Jindela, who has worked at OTP for the past 12 years, said over the years investigations into how some ICT programmes had been procured by OTP, pointed to no wrongdoing “as all procurement was found to be above board”.

“I don’t know what the DG is now talking about. It seems like she is frustrated as nothing was found against me or my unit,” he said.

OTP spokeswoman Mandisa Titi yesterday said “as is the norm in any recruitment process, OTP did receive and responded to a reference check by the health department.

“Using all information sourced on a candidate, the onus to appoint or not to appoint lies with the appointing office. We frown upon the implied suggestion that health HOD would have been instructed [not to hire Jindela],” Titi said.

Gqobana yesterday confirmed the matter was brought to the attention of his committee and he advised Jindela to seek legal help as his committee “doesn’t feature much on recruitment issues”.

Gqobana confirmed he “confidentially called” Mbengashe who “confirmed there was a note from the DG stating that Jindela should not be appointed as he was being probed”.

“I was told they then withdrew consideration of his appointment,” Gqobana said.

In their letter to Mbina-Mthembu dated July 13, PSA’s Piet van Aardt said Jindela’s constitutional rights had been violated by Mbina-Mthembu’s alleged actions.

The union then asked MbinaMthembu to, within seven days, provide them with reasons for her alleged decision “to retract the appointment of Mr Jindela”. —