Knives out for Shope-Mafole

By Paul Vecchiatto, ITWeb Cape Town correspondent

Cape Town, 02 Feb 2009

Political infighting, coupled with the department's disappointing overall performance, has resulted in rising speculation that Department of Communications (DOC) director-general Lyndall Shope-Mafole could be on her way out.

Over the weekend, ITWeb was told by high-placed sources that Shope-Mafole had been “fired” due to her inability to galvanise the DOC to meet its objectives. The move is also a result of her failure to ensure the policy of managed liberalisation of the telecommunications sector follows government's strategy.

Shope-Mafole, in turn, has denied she is leaving her post any time soon and says she is continuing as usual.

“No one has spoken to me about my leaving. No one is trying to force me to leave,” she said yesterday.

However, one key source says: “Preparations are being made for her exit.”

Shope-Mafole took over as DOC director-general, the highest position in the department for a public servant, in 2004 following the resignation of her predecessor Andile Ngcaba.

Ngcaba now has a number of business interests in the ICT sector, including that of holding the position of chairman of Dimension Data Middle East and Africa.

She says her relationship with communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri remains “excellent”, which is contrary to what sources within the DOC say. They claim the relationship broke down early last year, when Shope-Mafole was appointed to the ruling African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee.

Political future

In November, Shope-Mafole defected to the new Congress of the People (Cope) party, a move that shook many people within the DOC. It also led to a visible withdrawal of the protection ANC members of parliament had extended to her during the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications hearings.

At that time, Shope-Mafole said she was considering her future and this included the possibility of working full time for Cope, or even becoming a member of parliament for the party.

“I will not go into the private sector, and in particular, I will not go into the ICT sector,” she said.

Shope-Mafole's contract as director-general is scheduled to run until 2011. The Public Service Act does make provision for a shortening of the period on condition that she, the minister and Cabinet all agree.

Dismal results

The DOC's performance over the past four years has been marked by its failure to perform on a number of key issues. These include the embarrassment generated by it losing the legal case brought by communications group Altech. This led to value-added network services being allowed access to the same telecommunications licences as the incumbents.

There was also much confusion surrounding the school's e-rate saga, the non-finalisation of the guidelines for the landing of undersea cables, and the inability to secure national signal distributor Sentech's funding for the roll-out of digital terrestrial TV infrastructure.

“Tension with the DOC, between those who support her [Shope-Mafole] and those who don't, is running high and it is affecting the performance of the department as a whole,” says a source within one of the DOC's portfolio organisations.

Another source says the DOC has not been able to make any real headway on its key issues over the past year.

“This year has started pretty much with the same discussions and issues that were on the table more than a year ago,” the source says.

Hypocritical move?

Dene Smuts, official communications spokesperson for the Democratic Alliance, says: “On a performance basis, I would have no problem with the removal of the DG. However, if it is on a party political basis, then it would be hypocritical as the ANC encouraged the deployment of cadres.”

Smuts says public servants should be apolitical, but that Shope-Mafole has made a point of playing the political card during her career.

ANC members of the Communications Portfolio Committee were either unreachable or unwilling to comment this morning.