Communications DG Mohlala fired

The Department of Communications (DoC) today confirmed that its Director-General (DG) Mamodupi Mohlala has been released from her position effective immediately.

“The Department has been facing a number of challenges relating to internal processes and procedure, and in trying to find solutions, it became apparent trust between Minister Siphiwe Nyanda and the director general had broken down irretrievably,” the DoC said in a press statement.

“In the interests of the Department, the staff and the government, the Minister has come to the conclusion that it would be best to release Ms Mohlala from her position as Director General with effect from 23 July 2010.”

Dr Harold Wesso has been appointed as acting director general.

The Mail and Guardian reported last week that Wesso was appointed as an acting director general for two days after a fallout  between Nyanda and Mohlala.

Nyanda last week dismissed reports that he was suspending “Mohlala” –following repeated disagreements over tenders she refused to sign — as “false, spurious and malicious”.

Nyanda reportedly issued an instruction that all tenders for the department be cancelled until they had been “discussed and approved by the minister”.

It was understood that Mohlala warned Nyanda this week that removing the administration of tenders from her would violate the Public Finances Management Act.

The saga with his director general is the latest landing Nyanda in the media spotlight.

In March freight group Transnet dismissed two senior managers for irregularly awarding a R55 million tender to a company allegedly linked to Nyanda.

In a separate case, the Democratic Alliance alleged that a company partly owned by Nyanda was unlawfully awarded a R67.8 million tender by the Gauteng roads and transport department.

Earlier this year Nyanda was accused of indulging in a “caviar and silk” lifestyle after allegedly spending thousands of rands on hotel stays at the luxurious Mount Nelson and Twelve Apostles hotels and buying two R1.2 million BMWs for his work.

Congress of SA Trade Union leader Zwelinzima Vavi singled out Nyanda when criticising the government’s failure to act on allegations of corruption in Cabinet.

Vavi had said reports that Nyanda had spent half-a-million rand on hotels in Cape Town should be probed, which landed him in hot water with its ally in the ruling alliance, the ANC.

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