The previously suspended director-general of the Department of Communications (DOC) Rosey Sekese is set to retain her post, at least until the 2014 elections.
This is according to a report in the Sunday Independent, citing communications minister Yunus Carrim: "Carrim this week confirmed that he was sorting out 'a last outstanding issue' regarding Sekese's powers and functions, but said she was currently performing all typical functions of a director-general."
The Sunday paper further quotes Carrim: "Considerable progress has been made in relation to the one outstanding matter before the delegations are finalised. This matter will be resolved shortly. She is functioning as the DG of the department and we are linking her position to a performance agreement."
Recently the DOC presented a draft strategy and programme document to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications (PCC), in which Sekese's situation is explained and motivation for keeping her on as DG outlined: "[Sekese] won her case against [Dina Pule] in the Labour Court.
"For a variety of reasons, including the legal case she won, the need to avoid paying out senior officials unnecessarily, the court challenges that might follow, the limited period left before the elections, the time it takes to appoint a new DG, the work effort of the current DG, and the increasing willingness of most of the senior managers (even if some of them grudgingly) to work with her, it has been decided for now by the minister and deputy minister to leave Ms Sekese as the DG until the elections, after which the incoming executive can review this decision, if it is necessary."
Carrim says negotiations with the DG on delegation of powers and functions to her have begun, but are not yet complete because there are "outstanding issues between the DG and the PCC that need to be addressed, and there are questions relating to consistency with the Public Finance Management Act of some of the DOC decisions taken that are being investigated."
He says, as soon as the said matters are finalised - which will be "shortly" - final decisions will be taken about the role of the DG.
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