The Democratic Alliance's spokesperson on Home Affairs, Sandy Kalyan, will this week question minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on the suitability of outgoing State IT Agency (SITA) CEO Mavuso Msimang for the department's top spot.
Earlier this month, Mapisa-Nqakula announced Msimang had been approved by Cabinet to take the role of director-general at the much-maligned department. Since then, an awaiting trial complaint of sexual harassment against Msimang has placed the appointment in the media spotlight.
In a statement yesterday, Kalyan said the country requires a full-time DG for the "chaotic and inefficient" Department of Home Affairs, not a part-time executive who already serves on the boards of over 20 companies.
"It will require significant effort from a determined and committed individual to ensure the turnaround of the department is a success. It now appears the Home Affairs DG designate may not be that person, for - in addition to the sexual harassment suit that hangs over his head - Msimang also has to fulfil fiduciary duties on the boards of 22 companies," she said.
However, this morning SITA said Msimang is an active non-executive director on seven boards and not 22, as alleged by the DA. Of these, two are non-profit conservation concerns and he only draws board fees from three of the directorships. The majority of the companies listed by the DA are small family investment vehicles, many of which are non-existent or dormant, that require little, if any, time and attention from Msimang.
Msimang added: "I am under no illusions about the demanding challenges that await me as DG of Home Affairs and do not need advice from any quarters in this regard. I am fully committed to the role, which I will undertake as a full-time responsibility and not as a part-time incumbent as alleged by the DA."
Past performance
However, Kalyan also called into question his tenure at SITA, saying there remained several uncertainties.
"[We would question] whether the government-wide implementation of the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) is properly funded; whether the corruption-plagued Batho Pele Gateway Project will make any progress in the near future; and, whether the annual SITA-funded luxury junkets, organised as a 'thank you' for most valued 'customers' for senior government officials - who are seemingly obliged to make use of SITA's service - are warranted or not."
SITA disagrees. This morning's statement notes that during his tenure, Msimang was responsible for driving the organisation's turnaround: "Under his stewardship, SITA has seen customer satisfaction levels rise by over 50% in the past 18 months. Corruption has been reduced to negligible levels and tender turnaround times have been fast-tracked from 240 days to 78 days."
Other highlights of Msimang's tenure, says the agency, include the development of a municipality blueprint and Cabinet's decision to assign responsibility for the multibillion-rand IFMS project to SITA. The National Treasury will confirm this project is properly funded up to phase two, it added.
SITA also advised the DA to note the irregularities emanating from the Batho Pele Gateway Project had occurred prior to Msimang's arrival at SITA and that he had initiated the investigation into those irregularities.
"Regarding so-called 'luxury junkets' for its clients, for SITA - like any commercial enterprise - customer relationship management is imperative for the organisation to build and sustain successful relationships with its key clients," it said.
As the record shows, Msimang has continued to perform excellently at SITA; there is no obvious justification to support the concern that he might perform any differently at Home Affairs, SITA concluded.
Share