Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson and his deputy Sihle Zikalala are engaged in a raging turf war, with the latter calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene.
The duo has been at each other’s throats since the beginning of the GNU administration, after the highly qualified Zikalala was demoted in favour of the underqualified Macpherson.
Macpherson is accused of going out of his way to “clean out” any remnants of Zikalala’s tenure at department, even if it meant interfering in operational matters meant for administrators.
Zikalala was the last minister of the department under the sixth ANC-only government.
As things stand, Macpherson has threatened to remove two board members/trustees of the Independent Development Trust (IDT), a subsidiary of the department, namely Chairperson Advocate Kwazikwenkosi Mshengu and Lindlwa Dlamini.
Macpherson slapped the two – who were appointed by Zikalala – with letters of intention to suspend. Mshengu has fired back at Macpherson, falling short of calling him an intellectual vegetable for wanting to remove him for the wrong reasons.
Macpherson stated in his notice of intention to remove Mshengu that he was doing this because, according to him, clause 14.5 of the Trust Deed provides that the two trustees appointed by the executive authority are not eligible for appointment as chairperson,
“Yet you unlawfully accepted nomination and appointment, conducted yourself as the chairperson, and continue to do so. In the circumstances, I have no confidence that you are able or intend to adhere faithfully to your duties prescribed by the Trust Deed and/or relevant laws, including your responsibilities as a trustee,” charged Macpherson to Mshengu on Monday.
Mshengu hit back, emphasising that this was not a representation of why he should not be removed but rather an attempt to correct “your insidious factual inaccuracies, distortions, slander, and contradictions, which are the hallmark of your letter”.
In his strongly worded response, Mshengu said Macpherson had in fact quoted the wrong clause with which Zikalala used to appoint him to the IDT board.
He believes this was occasioned by Macpherson’s allergy to reading documents.
“It is dumbfounding then that, based on the failure to familiarise yourself with my appointment, you level a serious allegation that I unlawfully accepted nomination and appointment to serve as chairperson of the board,” wrote Mshengu.
The notice of intention to remove Mshengu comes after allegations that Macpherson was interfering in tenders and payment of service providers at the department.
In an email communication to Mshengu on November 19, 2024, Macpherson personally issued a notice to suspend the PSA Oxygen Plant tender.
He purports to be doing so on his allegation that the budget for the tender skyrocketed from R256-million to R836-million “without proper clarification” and goes on to allege that the bidding company lacks required experience.
In another email communication on December 9, 2024, Macpherson appears to be exerting pressure for the outstanding payment of R5-million to be expedited to a particular service provider and acknowledged that he is overreaching because “I do not normally get involved in matters like this”.
The EFF has opened a criminal case against the GNU minister this week for his alleged interference in procurement processes.
James de Villiers, the spokesperson for Macpherson said the minister was not worried being reported to Ramaphosa because he had done so himself about the tender he is questioning. “The Minister has appointed a forensic investigation to get to the bottom of the alleged corruption in this scandal.
It must be explained how a tender escalated from R200 million to R800 million. That didn’t happen by accident. This investigation should be welcomed if no one has anything to hide,” said De Villiers who also laughed off EFF’s criminal complaint against Macpherson.
