The state-owned Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) is battling with alleged widespread recruitment irregularities that some staff have attributed to interference by the executive management of the entity.
According to minutes of the MDDA exco meetings, which we have seen, the organisation “had encountered challenges in finalising the ICT manager, technical broadcast specialist, and broadcast intern positions”.
The agency confirmed this in written responses to our questions.
An applicant to the ICT manager position has dragged the MDDA to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), alleging foul play in the recruitment process.
“An internal staff member was overlooked for a promotion to the position of IT manager because they say he does not qualify,” said an MDDA insider close to the decision-making structures in the agency.
“This is despite being a manager for close to five years before he was irregularly demoted.”
Gloves are off
The MDDA chief executive, Shoeshoe Qhu, whose own recruitment has question marks, said they will not comment on the employee who wants to battle it out with them at the CCMA.
“The complaint as regards the IT manager position has been referred to the CCMA, and no further information may be furnished as the matter is sub-judice,” said Qhu.
“Please note that all recruitment activities are conducted in compliance with the MDDA’s policies and procedures to ensure fairness, transparency, and equal opportunity for all applicants.”
Those who are unhappy with the problems in the human resources department of the MDDA say this increases the workload on other employees.
Furthermore, they claim that it negatively affects staff morale.
In terms of the technical broadcast specialist position, the agency received a complaint from an external candidate who had applied for the position when it was advertised previously.
The candidate claims that he had submitted a new application for the position when it was advertised, but until the date of his query he had not received feedback.
He was made aware through MDDA sources that interviews for the position were about to commence.
Application in the junk folder
In the previous recruitment process, the candidate’s application was allegedly lost in the junk folder and recovered upon his inquiry.
The human resources and ICT units apparently attempted to locate the application on the recruitment portal, but the search strangely did not yield any results.
“The candidate was then requested to forward the application he had submitted to the agency; no evidence has been provided to date,” read minutes of an MDDA exco meeting.
“The legal unit has advised the agency to issue official correspondence informing the candidate that in absence of a valid proof of submission, the MDDA will not be able to move forward with his query.”
Another complaint was registered by a candidate who had applied for the broadcast intern position.
The candidate was of the view that her application was overlooked. She demanded clarification on how the agency arrived at the decision to appoint another person.
She was told that there was no proof that she had applied for the position.
“Relevant responses were furnished to the applicants, and no further queries have been received,” said Qhu.
MDDA boss defends herself
Other alleged irregularities included those in the position of executive manager: research, training, monitoring and evaluation.
In this regard, one candidate for this post, who is said to be overqualified, was not shortlisted despite meeting the criteria.
The candidate currently occupies a managerial position in the strategy and planning unit at the Services Seta.
MDDA senior staff members have also raised concern with Qhu sitting on all recruitments for management as a loophole that has opened the flood gates for irregularities.
She denied this, saying it was well within her right to participate in interview panels where the appointed candidates would report to her directly and that this complies with the agency’s human resources policy and procedure manual.
