Marian Shinn. Image courtesy of The Democratic Alliance.
Marian Shinn, the Democratic Alliance’s shadow minister for communications, has said the reason for the Department of Communications’ director general’s suspension last year by former minister Dina Pule remains a mystery.
HumanIPO reported yesterday Rosey Sekese had apologised to parliament for previously misleading them, and new minister Yunus Carrim had said she would continue in her role although her exact responsibilities are yet to be decided.
Pule had placed Sekese on “special leave” in December last year, following revelations she had misled parliament over the status of her performance contract at the DoC.
Speaking to HumanIPO, Shinn said the portfolio committee had never recommended Sekese be suspended and Pule never explained why she had done so.
“Exactly why Pule suspended Sekese is not known to us, but it seemed that she used the committee’s request to consider some appropriate action in response to our finding that Seseke had misled us, to settle personal scores,” said Shinn.
“What happened to Ms Seseke at the DoC this year was way out of proportion to what was a relatively minor criminal offence (ie misleading parliament) and not of such a nature as to jeopardize her job.”
Shinn added that Sekese had “suffered enough” and it was now time for all parties to move on and give her “an opportunity to show us what she is capable of”.
