The Public Service Commission says it will investigate allegations of irregular appointments within the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, following claims involving Minister Dean Macpherson and recruitment procedures.
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The Public Service Commission (PSC) says it will investigate allegations of irregular appointments within the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, including claims that Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson may have been involved in appointing a senior official without following proper recruitment procedures.
This comes after ActionSA Member of Parliament (MP) Malebo Kobe wrote to the commission raising concerns over the appointment process.
In a written response to Kobe, the Public Service Commission confirmed that it had assessed a complaint relating to the appointment of the Chief Director: Executive Support in the Office of the Director-General within the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.
“Kindly be informed that your complaint has been escalated to PSC, Chief Director: Public Administration Investigation Division, for further handling and appropriate intervention. Please note that the PSC will investigate the appointment of the Chief Director: Executive Support in the Office of the Director-General,'' said the Commission.
According to the PSC, the complaint outlines possible contraventions of Regulations 65 and 67 of the Public Service Regulations regarding the appointment process for the position.
It further states that it is alleged that the individual was brought into the department at the insistence of the Minister through a memorandum arrangement involving the African Development Bank.
While such arrangements may be used to source specialised expertise, the complaint alleges that the appointee lacks the required qualifications or experience for the post.
The Commission said the allegations further include that the post was not publicly advertised and that there were no properly constituted selection or interview processes, including the absence of a selection committee as required under the Public Service Act and Regulations.
It said the complaint raises broader concerns about possible circumvention of recruitment procedures, irregular appointments, cadre deployment, and the undermining of merit-based public administration.
The PSC further noted that ActionSA has requested that the investigation not be limited to the single appointment, but should also extend to other senior appointments within the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to establish whether legal and regulatory requirements were complied with, and whether any officials acted unlawfully or improperly in facilitating such appointments.
Meanwhile, Kobe said ActionSA welcomed the move, describing the allegations as evidence of “blatant cadre deployment” within the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.
“ActionSA welcomes the decision by the Public Service Commission to open an investigation based on our complaint against the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, over what appears to be blatant cadre deployment within the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.”
“The allegations surrounding the appointment of the Chief Director: Executive Support in the Office of the Director-General paint a deeply disturbing picture of cadre deployment.”
“Evidence before us suggests that there was no public advertisement for the position, no properly constituted selection committee, and that the individual appointed may not even possess the qualifications required for such a senior role, but was rather appointed at the singular insistence of the Minister.”
ActionSA said that, if proven, the allegations would amount to a serious breach of public service regulations and an abuse of public office.
“What makes this scandal even more hypocritical is that it involves the very same Democratic Alliance that spent years posturing as the moral crusader against cadre deployment. South Africans were lectured endlessly by the DA about merit, professionalism, and clean governance.
''Yet now, comfortably ensconced in the GNU, it appears those principles have been abandoned in favour of perks and rewarding politically connected comrades in blue.”
The party said it would support the PSC investigation and called for accountability where wrongdoing is found.
“We will support the Public Service Commission as it conducts a thorough and uncompromising investigation, with accountability to follow wherever wrongdoing is uncovered.”
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