The fur is flying at the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services. A deputy director-general punched a colleague during a heated exchange about why the deputy director-general, on his return from leave, was locked out of his office. He shouldn't have been surprised, because the director-general SMSed him in his absence to tell him that he had been fired for reasons not publicly specified.
Then there are the administrative staff being subjected to disciplinary inquiries based on evidence given in an unfinished Special Investigating Unit, SIU, report into the R756 million Media Corner deal. Why them, and not the three directors-general named in media reports as being responsible for the deal?
Another two deputy directors-general are involved in disciplinary hearings for obstructing Parliament's Ethics Committee.
Through it all, the Minister remains in the shadows. His response to my written request for clarity on these issues was breathtaking in its contempt for parliamentary oversight. He told me to direct my enquiry to the director-general herself.
The Minister is accountable to Parliament for the running of his department. He must tell us what is going on. The increasing failures in his department are testimony to his unengaged management style.
Hon members, I should have called the ANC before the DA. Therefore, I will give the ANC two opportunities now to make their statements.