A Public Protector investigation found the appointment of a senior secretary in Department of Defence (DoD) Human Resources Division was “irregular”.
The appointment of a Mr NM Tsela as Senior Secretary in the Chief Directorate: Human Resource Development (CD:HRD) on 27 May 2021 was brought to the attention of then Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. It reached finality with the release of an investigation report late in December by current Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka. The report has it a whistle blower brought the irregular appointment to the Public Protector’s attention.
The 84-page investigation report makes a number of recommendations, but not against the officer who authorised the appointment. He is named in the report as Brigadier General M Mbanjwa, now retired.
Following oral and written evidence from, among others Major General NE Mkhize, Chief Director Human Resource Management, the Public Protector report concedes the Tsela appointment was not substantiated because he did not meet the minimum requirements for the post.
It reads, in part: “The shortlisting, interviewing, recommendation and appointment of Mr Tsela who did not meet the inherent requirement of three years’ experience as set in the advertisement, was irregular. In terms of the criteria set out in the advertisement, Mr Tsela did not qualify and should not have been shortlisted and appointed in that his appointment was at variance with section 11(2) of the PSA read with section 67(5) of the PSR and paragraph 9 of Appendix B of the Staffing Policy”.
It further points out the conduct of “all functionaries of the DoD involved in the [Tsela] recruitment and selection are in violation” of sections of the South African Constitution and the Public Service Act. The functionaries’ conduct is described as “improper”. There is no indication in the report as to whether Tsela is still a DoD public service employee.
