The director-general (DG) of the Department of Communications (DOC), Rosey Sekese, has been placed on special leave and deputy DG Gift Buthelezi has been appointed as acting DG until 15 February.
The department would not this morning be drawn on the reason for Sekese being placed on special leave.
In November last year, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications found Sekese lied to it when she provided misleading evidence about signing a performance agreement with the DOC.
As the department's accounting officer, Sekese's role includes supporting the minister, Dina Pule, and deputy minister, Stella Ndabeni, in implementing government policies. She also oversees the development of ICT policies and strategies that "will place the country at the cutting-edge of development in the ICT environment in order to meet the strategic objectives of the country".
Sekese's responsibilities include making sure provision of ICT infrastructure is robust, reliable, affordable, secure and able to support a multiplicity of applications and services. Also included in her role is supporting the minister in providing leadership, guidance and oversight support to ICT state-owned entities.
Sekese was appointed by former minister Roy Padayachie in May 2011, after having previously worked in the department as deputy DG of ICT infrastructure development, from 2006 to 2011.
According to the department's Web site, Sekese is an electrical engineer by training from the University of Cape Town. Sekese also holds an MBA and has attended a number of programmes to further develop her specialised skills, such as project management and executive development.
Sekese started her career at Eskom as an engineer in training and later as an engineer responsible for national telecommunications between 1995 and 1998. She has also held positions at Telkom and Denel.
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