‘Powerful’ Agriculture and Land Reform DG calls it quits

Mike Mlengana, the director-general (DG) who once described himself as the most powerful human being in the ANC, has quit his state job. The Presidency has confirmed to Sunday World that Mlengana has left the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Khusela Diko, said: “I can confirm that Mr Mlengana has tendered his resignation to the president. The president has accepted the resignation.” Diko said the process to replace Mlengana, the former president of the African Farmers Association of South Africa, would commence immediately.

Last November, Sunday World reported the Public Service Commission (PSC) had found Mlengana, the former DG of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, had driven the department to ruin and displayed “an overall failure and lack of leadership”.

Ramaphosa moved the fisheries and forestry functions to the Department of Environmental Affairs when he reconfigured the executive in June last year. The PSC said Mlengana failed, among others, in his handling of disciplinary issues in the department, did not pay suppliers within 30 days as required and could not arrest the decline in performance.

The public service watchdog also said Mlengana had failed to implement recommendations of forensic reports and did not manage conflicts of interest in reports he was implicated in. “The department under his leadership had to return R30-million to the National Treasury after failing to use it to establish a monitoring and evaluation unit to assist in the support of upcoming farmers,” the PSC report said.

“The PSC is seriously concerned by the toxic, divisive, factionalised and unprofessional environment within the department. This report does show some of the most unprofessional conduct by the responses of some of the employees to the outcomes of the PSC’s investigation.”

The PSC called on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza to hand over copies of the report to the Hawks, the special investigating unit and the public protector. Mlengana is challenging the report and the matter is in court. He refused to comment on his resignation.

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