The African National Congress’ (ANC) Study Group on Agriculture has raised concerns about DA leader John Steenhuisen’s apparent request seeking permission to appoint three unqualified people into posh ministerial positions.
Steenhuisen has reportedly written to Public Service and Administration Minister Mzamo Buthelezi, seeking a deviation from the Professionalisation Framework, which sets out clear recommendations for whom should be employed into middle and senior management positions in the public service.
Steenhuisen wants to appoint a spokesperson and two other high profile ministerial appointments, who were understood to be underqualified. All three are understood to have matric as their highest qualification.
This comes after Steenhuisen appointed the controversial podcaster Roman Cabanac as his chief of staff in the Department of Agriculture.
Steenhuisen has defended the decision, saying Cabanac was qualified for the position as he had an LLB degree and 12 years experience as a legal consultant.
Cabanac however, has a history of spewing racially charged comments, often referring to black people as 'Bantus' in several of his social media posts.
Cabanac’s appointment has sparked widespread outrage.
Former DA MP Mbali Ntuli, who now runs the NGO Ground Work Collective, said although political appointments were at the discretion of the Minister, they still required individuals with leadership, management and policy experience.
“It’s not a job you just give to a mate cause they are a great person. These people will staff the political office of a minister who needs people with the political acumen to get things done when they are not there.
“The chief of staff also sits in exco and other sensitive meetings and will also step in for the minister in other areas. They literally run that office.
“If you’re going into a new ministry it would be prudent to have people who won’t take a long time to understand what their job description is let alone actually execute it. They have to understand a wide spectrum of policy and depending on the ministry they need to understand provincial issues as intimately too,” said Ntuli, writing on Facebook on Friday.
She said Cabanac’s role was a bridge between the ministers office and the department, meaning they need to possess exceptional interpersonal skills and be able to navigate complex situations on behalf of the principal shielding them when necessary from “office drama”.
“If you have people that will immediately enter the role with baggage that antagonises the very people who will report to them it’s going to be a very painful experience.
“Add to that a lack of experience and it’s very likely that officials and technocrats could run circles around that ministers office and end up getting nothing done,” she warned.
In a statement, ANC MP and Whip of Agriculture, Sharon Davids criticised Steenhuisen for recommending individuals lacking qualifications and relevant experience.
She pointed out the hypocrisy, noting that both Steenhuisen and the DA had previously expressed strong opposition to cadre deployment and the practice they labelled "Jobs-for-Pals."
Davids said the attempted appointments by Steenhuisen were attempting to bypass the Public Administration Act and the Framework for the Professionalisation of the Public Service.
IOL has reached out to several people in Steenhuisen’s office and the DA to get comment, but to no avail. The story will be updated once comment has been received.
The ANC has also reminded Steenhuisen that his party, the DA, has fully endorsed the Professionalisation Framework, which outlines specific recommendations for appointing individuals to middle and senior management roles within the public service.
“The deliberate deviation from the Public Administration Act to favour personal acquaintances above qualified candidates is ethically and morally indefensible and represents a gross misuse of power, betrayal of the public's trust and is antithetical to the values of transparency, accountability, and equal opportunity that are essential for the effective functioning of our government,” she said.
Davids urged Steenhuisen to respect the provisions of the rules and regulations governing the appointment of staff into political offices and to distance himself from the inflammatory racial remarks made by Cabanac, his chief of staff.
IOL Politics