Chairperson and Minister, in the Hogarth column of the Sunday Times of 29 April, under the heading "Letting 'em have it", the following appeared:
The Department of Public Works recently came under harsh criticism. In the words of an outraged critic: "There are a lot of shenanigans in Public Works. All big tenders have a problem. It's a fact that there are serious problems in the department. Officials disregard supply-chain management procedures and accept big gifts, such as cars. Nobody wants to associate himself with this department."
Members, I asked who the critic was, and why. And he is none other than the Minister of Public Works, Thulas Nxesi. If the hon Minister Thulas Nxesi was correctly quoted, then he deserves accolades for his forthcoming admission of the failures of the department, without fear or favour, and our hon Minister can add a notch to her credibility if she emulates this responsibly and professionally.
For now, the signs are that her department is in a state of political confusion, as it lacks political leadership cohesion. The relationship between the Minister and the Deputy Minister in the department is cause for concern in department corridors.
The Minister continues to centralise power in her office, undermining the Deputy Minister and senior officials. The Minister undermines the role of the administrators, and she has become the director-general of the department herself. We doubt her understanding of professionalism and the relationship between political office bearers and administrators. [Interjections.] She always distances herself from collective responsibility of the department. The department's poor service delivery is not because of officials that the Minister keeps changing every month in the Ministry and the department. The Minister blames officials whenever the department is accused of poor service delivery.
Owing to the Minister's approach, we have seen specialists in the department move to areas that do not relate to academic specialisation under her leadership. We ask ...