GOOD press statement by Brett Herron,
GOOD: Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
06 April 2022
Rules must be re-evaluated as Western Cape Premier receives the green light to appoint disgraced matriculant career politician to a high-earning position.
Because Premiers and members of the Executive are not necessarily experts in the fields over which they exercise control, it makes sense for them to be able to appoint expert advisers.
In South Africa, our 28 Cabinet Ministers and nine Premiers are each entitled to appoint two advisers (up to four if the workload warrants it), while the President and Deputy President can appoint as many special advisers as they like.
That’s approximately 80 advisers, in all, at an estimated cost to the country of approximately R150 million per annum.
Some advisers are highly qualified and experienced and acknowledged specialists in their professions. Others have fewer practical credentials and are simply highly paid political cadres.
As a group, they generally fly under the radar; their identities and what they actually do is little known. We heard about some of them at the State Capture Commission. But although they cost the country a fair packet, it is impossible to hold them to account.
In February Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, finally answered my parliamentary questions relating to his proposed appointment of serial liar Bonginkosi Madikizela as a special adviser; and then last week it emerged, from the response to another of my parliamentary questions, that the Minister of Public Service and Administration, who by law has to approve such appointments, vetoed Winde’s proposal to pay Madikizela more than a MEC’s salary, but approved his appointment at a cost to the nation of R1.7m.
These developments, collectively, make a compelling case for the re-evaluation of the criteria on which special advisers are appointed.
According to Winde, Madikizela is a man of proven integrity with the requisite knowledge and expertise, as a former MEC, to advise him on economic and mobility issues.
Madikizela resigned as a MEC last year after being exposed as a liar for falsely claiming he had a university degree. In fact, he has the same level of qualification as the Premier: Matriculation.
Just before his departure, in a separate matter, Madikizela was found by the Public Protector to have lied in the Western Cape Legislature, in breach of the code of ethics.
According to Winde, Madikizela promised to take the Public Protector’s finding on review but had the integrity to resign before being able to do so, which is why Winde was unable to implement the Public Protector’s (binding) remedial action.
With respect to Madikizela’s alleged “requisite knowledge and expertise”, one need look no further than the state of housing and public transport in the Western Cape and Cape Town – the two departments he commanded as MEC – to reach a balanced conclusion.
According to the reply of Minister of Public Service and Administration, Ayanda Dlodlo, Madikizela did not qualify for the nearly R2m salary Winde wanted to pay him, but did qualify to receive more than R1.7m.
She said, at that level, “the dispensation does not specify the level of skills that a special adviser should possess”.
From the Minister’s response, and reading the regulations, there appears to be no vetting process for special advisers besides a security clearance. Certainly, no requirement to appoint people of integrity or proven expertise.
Winde claims to lead a government of integrity, and President Ramaphosa claims to lead a government in the process of renewing its integrity.
Appointing special advisers of the like of Bonginkosi Madikizela betrays a lack of integrity at both the provincial and national levels of government.
There is a critical need to reconsider the rules governing the appointment of special advisers such that they strengthen the hands of members of the executive and provide citizens with a bang for their buck.
Media enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD: Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
Cell: 0825183264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Samkelo Mgobozi, GOOD: Media Manager
Cell: 0792315977 (WhatsApp)/0829684021 (calls)
Email: samm@forgood.org.za