Cape Town - The provincial ANC has questioned whether the hiring and appointment of the Environmental Affairs and Development Planning head of department Gerhard Gerber was above board and has vowed to ask the Public Service Commission to investigate the matter.
Leader of the official opposition, Cameron Dugmore (ANC), said the appointment was questionable and alleged that Gerber was the son-in-law of Marius Du Randt, the head of the office of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development MEC Anton Bredell.
“This raises alarm bells not only in terms of possible nepotism and good governance, but continual undermining of employment equity and redress,” he said.
However, reached for comment, Bredell's spokesperson Wouter Kriel denied that Gerber was Du Randt’s son-in-law.
Kriel said Gerber had applied for the position under the same prescripts as the other candidates.
“He scored the highest marks throughout the various stages of the recruitment process, and MEC Bredell is confident that he was the best candidate for the position as head of department,” he said.
In two separate written questions to Bredell, MPL Pat Marran (ANC) queried the recruitment process and how the department dealt with cases of conflict of interest in filling senior management positions.
Bredell said in his written answer that the post was advertised in several media, including the province’s jobs portal and social media, on November 12, 2021, and that the closing date of the advertisement was December 13, 2021.
The officials who formed part of the short-listing and interview process were Premier Alan Winde, who attended as an observer, Bredell, Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer, Mobility MEC Daylin Mitchell, and Province DG Harry Malila.
With regard to conflict of interest issues, Bredell said panel members signed a declaration form which bound them to disclose any conflict of interest to the full selection committee should they become aware of an application by a family member or close friend, or any other possible conflict.
The ANC’s claims come at a time when the DA in parliament has sponsored the End Cadre Deployment Bill.
DA Public Service and Administration spokesperson Leon Schreiber said the Bill was meant to empower the Public Service Commission to enforce merit-based appointments.