The appointment of Mamodupi Mohlala, to head up the Department of Communications (DOC), will hopefully instil a focused and dynamic leadership that has been sorely lacking, says Ismail Vadi, Parliament's communications committee chairman.
Yesterday, Cabinet issued a statement saying Mohlala had been appointed to the post of director-general. The position had been vacant since January, when former incumbent Lyndall Shope-Mafole resigned to enter politics full time.
Cabinet's statement and another issued by the DOC confirmed ITWeb's story of 18 August, written after Mohlala was spotted attending the ICASA councillor nomination hearings in Parliament.
Mohlala is currently the head of the Pension Fund Adjudicator and is expected to take up her new appointment next month.
“It has been an assessment of mine that the DOC has been lacking a focused leadership for some time. It has also been very difficult for the acting director-general, Gerda Grabe, to fill this role as she does not have a permanent appointment,” Vadi says.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications is the legislative's oversight body for the DOC.
All the political parties have been critical of the department's seeming lack of focus as it has become involved with and supported a number of projects of questionable value. These include the Uhurunet undersea cable and the Presidential National Commission on Information Society and Development. Its inability to ensure lower telecommunications prices has also been highly criticised.
Vadi says he only met Mohlala once, in 2007, shortly before she left her position as an Independent Communications Authority of SA councillor, but looks forward to having a fruitful relationship between her and the committee.
He also points out the DOC is now headed by a new minister and deputy minister. Vadi hopes Mohlala will bring some industry experience and knowledge they can count on.
Related story:
DOC appoints director-general
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