Postponed: Update on consequence management; DIRCO & ARF Quarter 3 & 4 2020/21 performance

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International Relations

25 August 2021
Chairperson: Ms T Mahambehlala (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xhC2TDW1gDD6BPLtlGcd7UrN9gia5S-X/view?usp=sharing

At a virtual meeting, the Committee convened to be briefed by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) on its consequence management measures and implementation, especially involving the Acting Director-General and Ambassador Faisel Moosa. The second item on the agenda was for the Committee to be briefed on the performance of the DIRCO and the African Renaissance Fund (the ARF) for the third and fourth quarters of the 2020/21 financial year.

The delegation from the Department was not allowed to present its briefings to the Committee because of the absence of both the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and the Acting Director-General for the Department. The Committee expressed dissatisfaction that these officials submitted their apologies at short notice. The Chairperson said that this is disturbing since the Department has been aware of the Committee’s programme for more than a month. On the other hand, had the Minister's apology been communicated earlier, alternative arrangements could have been made to accommodate her. Unfortunately, the Minister has not given a possible future date for her briefing. She noted that it is unacceptable that, at the time when the Department has to update the Committee on its performance, both the Executive Authority and the Accounting Officer are unavailable. She also mentioned that the Department has a long record of submitting its required documents to the Committee late and in a poor state, which denies Members an opportunity to engage with the documents. This is disrespectful conduct by the Department, and if the issue is not attended to, the matter will be escalated to the Speaker of the National Assembly. Members were of the view that the Minister and her senior executives are repeatedly undermining the Committee and its oversight role.

The Committee is mindful of its considered call on the Department to implement consequence management but warned that this should not be used to arbitrarily target individuals because of other ulterior motives and those that are considered undesirable. The Chairperson was of the view that it does not make sense to have employees suspended over long periods while earning full salaries, thus leading to unnecessary fruitless and wasteful expenditure. As a way forward, the Committee recommended that the DIRCO should furnish Members with its findings and recommendations of its investigation report on the allegations of misconduct by the Acting Director-General. This was because of the Committee’s consideration that it has not found in its oversight report that the Acting Director-General was in any way implicated in the procurement processes for the New York Project. The Department was also directed to furnish reasons as to why the Committee should not regard the case relating to Ambassador Moosa to be unfair labour practice. This is due to the fact that Ambassador Moosa was suspended after having been charged. The Chairperson expressed a concern that, when it is not a sanction, suspension is meant for investigation purposes prior to charges being preferred.

The Committee was critical of the absence of the Minister and the Acting Director-General, saying that these two officials were the only ones who could speak with authority on the matter. Members want the Deputy President of South Africa, s Leader of Government Business, and the Speaker of the National Assembly to intervene in the matter.

Meeting report


The Chairperson convened the virtual meeting, welcoming the Members and the delegation from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). The purpose of the meeting was for the Committee to be briefed by the DIRCO on its consequence management measures and implementation, especially involving the Acting Director-General and Ambassador Faisel Moosa. The second item on the agenda was for the Committee to be briefed on the performance of the DIRCO and the African Renaissance Fund (the ARF) for the third and fourth quarters of the 2020/21 financial year.

The delegation from DIRCO consisted out of Mr Tali Munzhedzi, Deputy Director: Public Diplomacy, Ms Dineo Mathlako, Head: African Renaissance Fund Secretariat, Adv Sandea de Wet, Law Advisor, Ms Shameema Moosa, Monitoring & Evaluation, Mr Mandla Mashaba, Chief Director: Supply Chain Management, Ms Hlengiwe Bhengu, Chief Director: Financial Management, and Mr Lunga Ngqengelele, Media Liaison Officer for the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.

Remarks by the Chairperson

The Chairperson noted the late apologies tendered by the Minister, Deputy Minister and the Acting Director-General of International Relations and Cooperation. She said that it was disturbing that both officials tendered their apologies at such short notice since DIRCO has been aware of the Committee’s programme for more than a month. The timing of the leave was unfortunate, as it coincides with the Minister’s responsibilities to account to the Committee on matters of DIRCO’s quarterly performance. On the other hand, had the Minister's apology been communicated earlier, alternative arrangements could have been made to accommodate her. Unfortunately, she has not given a possible future date for her briefing to the Committee. The Chairperson found it unacceptable that, at the time when the DIRCO has to update the Committee on its performance, both the Executive Authority and the Accounting Officer are unavailable. This leaves the Committee with no choice but to link this development to the repeated concerns that DIRCO does not respect the oversight role of Parliament. It is unacceptable that the Committee’s programme is undermined in this way.

She said that DIRCO has a record of submitting documents to the Committee very late and in a poor state, in most cases. This denies Members of the Committee an opportunity to interrogate DIRCO to their satisfaction. The Committee has raised this issue before, but it seems to fall on deaf ears. It is unacceptable and disrespectful conduct by DIRCO and it has to stop, or else the Committee will have to elevate the matter to the Leader of Government Business through the Speaker of the National Assembly.

She referred to the suspension of the Director-General. She noted that the Minister placed Mr Kgabo Mahaoi on precautionary suspension six months ago, but said Members are still in the dark on to the reasons for the suspension. This leaves the Committee with the impression that there are ulterior motives involved. She directed the Committee’s Secretariat to obtain information from the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) regarding the limits on precautionary suspensions that are costing the government money. She referred to the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 regarding the notice needed for precautionary suspensions with a minimum time frame of 60 days. She said that a precautionary suspension can only be extended through a fair process between the employer and the employee. This is meant to avoid unnecessary fruitless and wasteful expenditure. Ambassador Faisel Moosa has been on suspension since 24 June 2021, which was instituted after he was served with charges. The charges and the notice of the disciplinary hearing were received by him on 12 April 2021, which is in violation of the Labour Relations Act that states that a person cannot be suspended after the hearing has commenced.

This is contrary to Section 23 of the Constitution, which provides that everyone has the right to fair labour practice. In addition, Schedule Eight of the Labour Relations Act (known as the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal) provides that an investigation should be the basis for suspension. It is also fundamental that the employee be given a chance to be heard and make representations. Item four of DIRCO’s Code of Practice provides that employees be given the opportunity to present a case on their own behalf in response to the allegations, and that the employee is entitled to assistance by a shop-steward or a fellow employee.

She said that the Committee will not allow a situation where consequence management is used as an arbitrary mechanism to target certain individuals due to other ulterior motives and those that are considered undesirable. It does not make sense to have employees suspended over long periods while earning full salaries, thus leading to unnecessary fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

The Committee is mindful of its considered call on DIRCO to implement consequence management but warned that this should not be used to arbitrarily target individuals because of other ulterior motives and those that are considered undesirable. As a way forward, the Committee recommended that DIRCO should furnish Members with its findings and recommendations of its investigation report on the allegations of misconduct by the Director-General. This was because of the Committee’s consideration that it has not found in its oversight report that the Director-General was in any way implicated in the procurement processes for the New York Project. The DIRCO was also directed to furnish reasons as to why the Committee should not regard the case relating to Ambassador Moosa to be unfair labour practice. This is due to the fact that Ambassador Moosa was suspended after having been charged. The Chairperson expressed a concern that, when it is not a sanction, suspension is meant for investigation purposes prior to charges being preferred. DIRCO should also furnish the Committee with its internal policies regarding precautionary suspensions.

Discussion

Mr T Mpanza (ANC) stated that the Committee raised the issue of DIRCO’s report on the consequence management implemented in relation to the Director-General and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). It was placed on record in one of the Committee’s previous meetings that the report on consequence management should be tabled in the current meeting by the Minister and DIRCO. It is not acceptable that the Committee’s resolution was communicated to the Minister, the Deputy Minister, and the Acting Director-General and yet there are none of these officials present. The Committee can accept the Deputy Minister’s apology for medical reasons, but the late apologies tendered by the Minister and the Acting Director-General is unacceptable. There is a clear undermining of the Committee and its oversight role by the Executive and senior management of DIRCO. This issue has been repeatedly raised with the DIRCO. Members are public representatives on the Committee, and they have to perform particular responsibilities in their deployments. He proposed that the Committee reject the apologies of the Minister and the Acting Director-General.

Mr M Chetty (DA) reminded Members of the bullish manner in which the Minister directed the Committee to report her to the Speaker of the National Assembly during a previous meeting. He said that the leadership of the DIRCO was treating Members as if they were part of a “smallanyana” Committee that could be pushed around. At that time, it was clear that the Minister had no respect for the Committee or its oversight role. The Committee is kept oblivious and out-of-the-loop regarding the suspension of the Director-General and the New York Project that is ongoing. The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) found the R118 million for the New York-project to be irregular expenditure, and it is a serious concern that the Committee cannot get the information from the Minister despite having to conduct its oversight over the DIRCO’s expenditure. Members have also raised issues around the investigation and other people that were involved in this matter, but there are many things that the Committee is still unclear on or has not resolved as the Minister’s input is outstanding on this matter. It is necessary for drastic measures to be taken and that the Committee send the DIRCO packing as a drastic measure to ensure that the governmental department takes the Committee seriously. He stated that the last time the Committee had an engagement with the Minister, she threatened the Committee and challenged Members to report her to the Speaker of the National Assembly. However, for harmonious working relationships, the Committee did not report the Minister. It is clear that this was a mistake. The matter should have been pursued and the conduct of the Minister reported.

Ms T Msane (EFF) noted that the concerns of the Committee regarding the conduct of DIRCO seems to be repetitive. The Department is not taking the Committee seriously. Members, as politicians, are not taken seriously by the senior officials or the Executive of DIRCO. The leadership of DIRCO shows no willingness to account to the Committee. The meeting and programme of the Committee have been set over a month ago, and yet there is no attendance from the Minister or the Acting Director-General. She agreed with Mr Chetty that the meeting be suspended, and that the Committee report it to the Speaker of Parliament. The meeting cannot proceed if there are no senior Accounting Officers present in the meeting. The work of the Committee is delayed by leadership officials who do not want to account for DIRCO’s work. She agreed with the Chairperson that it is unacceptable that documents are received so late.

Ms B Swarts (ANC) agreed with Members regarding the issue of DIRCO having a record of submitting poor-quality documents after its deadlines. It is clear that the Minister and senior executives are repeatedly undermining the Committee and its oversight role by not preparing for meetings with the Committee.

Mr D Bergman (DA) noted that Members were concerned in 2019 that this Committee did not previously make progress in the previous administration of Parliament. However, it is now clear that the fault lies with the leadership of DIRCO. It is appalling that there is a continued disregard for the work of the Committee. He stated that the Minister had known about the Committee’s meeting for a while and could have made other arrangements, especially in the age of online meetings. This is unacceptable conduct. DIRCO is allocated a significant part of the budget, but there is no real accountability to the people spending this money.

Mr D Moela (ANC) accused the Minister and her senior staff of arrogance, saying that DIRCO is run like a “spaza shop”. The Committee is facing very serious arrogance from DIRCO, to a point where officials think that they are at a level where nobody can tell them what to do or not to do. He said that it seems as if the Committee is not doing oversight over a governmental department, but rather a “spaza shop”. There is a high level of disrespect and arrogance. There was such arrogance to the extent that the Executive Authority dared the Committee to report them. There is a culture at DIRCO of not providing the Committee with the required information on any of the matters before Parliament. This situation is not new. Members wanted to establish and maintain healthy and productive working relationships with DIRCO, but there is a lack of will to be held accountable and report on the work of DIRCO. The leadership of the DIRCO is under the impression that the Committee is “toothless” and will not hold them accountable. He agreed with Members that the meeting should not continue because of the blatant disrespect of the DIRCO officials.

Rev. K Meshoe (ACDP) concurred with the other Members and supported the remarks from the Chairperson. When the Committee started its term of office, one of its early observations was that the previous Committee was a rubberstamp exercise in the eyes of the DIRCO. The Committee agreed that it will do its job and hold the DIRCO accountable. Members have discovered that there is a culture of disrespect and impunity that has characterised DIRCO for many years, and it seems that there are people who are committed to ensuring that this culture of disrespect for the Committee continues. It is clear that the recently appointed Acting Director-General has adopted the same culture of arrogance and of undermining the Committee. The senior officials of DIRCO are acting and behaving like the untouchables. It is clear that the Minister has no respect for the Committee. No stone should be left unturned until the Committee can establish who started this culture of disrespect at DIRCO, and this disrespect for the Committee should not be tolerated.

Mr W Faber (DA) concurred with the opening remarks of the Chairperson. He agreed with Members that the meeting should not continue, and agreed with Mr Bergman that the Minister had known about the Committee’s meeting for a while and could have made other arrangements, especially in the age of online meetings. He also agreed with Mr Moela that there is arrogance from the officials of the DIRCO that feel it is acceptable to not report to the Committee or attend its meetings when required to do so.

Mr B Nkosi (ANC) concurred with the opening remarks of the Chairperson. He was critical of the absence of the Minister and the Acting Director-General, saying that these two officials were the only ones who could speak with authority on the matter. He proposed that the Deputy President of South Africa, as the Leader of Government Business, and the Speaker of the National Assembly be approached to intervene in the matter with urgency. The leadership of the DIRCO is showing contempt for the processes of the Committee and those of Parliament.

The Chairperson noted the inputs from Members. She proposed that the Committee does not hear the briefings from the DIRCO because of the absence of the Accounting Officers and the late submission of documents. The Committee subsequently resolved to convene next Wednesday, where the Minister is demanded to be present to brief the Committee on the investigation report that led to the suspension of the Director-General. In addition, the DIRCO must inform the Committee as to whether that report came to a contrary conclusion to that of the AGSA and the Committee that was adopted by Parliament in November 2020. In addition, the Minister is required to present the DIRCO’s policy on precautionary suspensions. She concluded that the delegation from the DIRCO would not be allowed to present its briefings to the Committee because of the absence of both the Minister and the Acting Director-General for the DIRCO.

The meeting was adjourned.
 

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