Communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has appointed Gerda Grabe as acting director-general of the Department of Communications (DOC), until further notice.
A DOC spokesman says no official statement will be issued to announce Grabe's temporary appointment. However, he did confirm it has taken place and that she acted in the position several times in the past when former director-general Lyndall Shope-Mafole was away.
He says Matsepe-Casaburri announced Grabe's appointment on Friday morning, just before the minister left to visit Cuba. Matsepe-Casaburri is expected back by the end of the week.
The spokesperson could not say how long the appointment would be for, or when the minister is expected to place an advertisement for a permanent appointment to the position.
Grabe was appointed late last week, following the sudden departure of Shope-Mafole, who left to pursue her involvement with the Congress of the People ahead of the coming general elections.
Sources close to and within the DOC say Grabe is seen as a “neutral” appointment, as she has not been identified as belonging to any particular faction within the DOC - which has been broadly separated into those who supported or were against Shope-Mafole.
A social worker by training, Grabe is not seen as a policy-making expert, but rather as a sound administrator. She was brought into the DOC four years ago to become its chief operations officer and deputy director-general in charge of administration.
“Don't expect any policies to be finalised while she is in charge, but there is a good chance that the paperwork will be in order once a new director-general is appointed,” a source says.
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