Public Service Commission ‘must get rid of bad elements’

THE PUBLIC Service Commission (PSC) must remain without reproach and get rid of all the rotten apples within its ranks, as it is the heartbeat of government and good governance, according to the senior official who blew the whistle on how then-commission DG Dovhani Mamphiswana chaired the interviewing panel that recommended the appointment of his mistress to the top position.

The comment yesterday followed the dismissal on Friday of Mamphiswana’s mistress and the decision the state must recoup more than R1 million from her.

“I was brave enough to stand up against our disgraced DG, who was a powerful man at the time and my boss, and his mistress, to expose this unethical behaviour. The Sunday Independent is also vindicated, as all long, these people wanted the world to believe that the story was fake news,” said the whistleblower.

“(The PSC) must lead by example, and I didn’t blow the whistle for fame, but I did it for principles of ethics. Whistleblowers are harassed and killed in South Africa, and I am happy to be alive,” said the whistleblower.

Sister title Sunday Independent reported, in January, how Mamphiswana chaired the interviewing panel that recommended the appointment of his mistress as the chief director of ethics, in October 2019.

The couple failed to declare during the interviews that they had a 6-year-old child together.

Mamphiswana has been married for years, while the woman is still single.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was forced to institute a disciplinary hearing against Mamphiswana as the Public Service Commission DG is appointed by the president.

Mamphiswana was found guilty and dismissed, last October, but the woman kept her job by prolonging her disciplinary hearing, until Friday.

“Now the state must open a criminal case with (the) relevant law enforcement agencies, as recommended by the panel that did the disciplinary hearing and recoup all the monies paid to her as monthly salaries she didn’t deserve.

“The state is expected to recoup more than R1.3m from her and that would be deducted from her pension,” said the whistleblower.

The whistleblower confirmed that the commission hasn’t laid criminal charges against Mamphiswana almost a year after he was dismissed.

“If the Sunday Independent didn’t continue exposing the matter, these people were going to be protected and not even disciplined. The panel recommended that the commission must report the matter to the relevant law enforcement agencies, but to this day, nothing like that has happened.”

The commission spokesperson Humphrey Madikizela, said they were waiting for the matter to be finalised, before they could approve the relevant law enforcement agencies.

“Kindly note that the matter is close to finalisation. Once finalised, the PSC will communicate accordingly. Director-General post was advertised and the selection process is in advanced stage,” Madikizela said.

The couple was investigated after the Sunday Independent exposed their romantic relationship in January last year, when the woman was employed in December 2019.

At the time both parties dismissed the story and even denied that they had a relationship or a child together.

It was during the disciplinary hearing that the woman admitted that she “had unprotected sex” with Mamphiswana nine years ago, which produced a child.

During her hearing, the woman confirmed the Sunday Independent report that she and Mamphiswana visited Home Affairs in Centurion, in August 2019, where they registered themselves as the child’s biological parents, 70 days ahead of her job interview.

An initial investigation into the saga by advocate Smanga Sethene, last year, revealed that Mamphiswana’s decision to “interview and recommend for appointment” his mistress was not only professionally unethical, but also criminal.

Sethene recommended criminal charges be laid against Mamphiswana and the woman.

Advocate Emmanuel Mokutu, the chairperson of the disciplinary hearing, asked the PSC “to recommend what it regards as an appropriate sanction in the light of the finding of guilt on some of the charges preferred against” her.

“She was pompous and disrespectful because of her relationship with Mamphiswana. And she got what she deserves,” said the whistleblower, who together with Mamphiswana, couldn’t be reached for comment.