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On 11 October 2017, there were media reports that I, as the Director-General of the Department of Public Service and Administration had been notified of the Minister’s intention to place me on precautionary suspension.

These reports were correct, and I was given until Friday 13 October to make representations to the Minister. These representations were made, and after they were considered by and discussed with the Minister, she decided against placing me on precautionary suspension.

There is recognition, however, that there are issues we still need to resolve and that we will require an appropriate mediation process in this regard.

We have accordingly agreed to approach the Public Service Commission, an independent body established under Chapter 10 of the Constitution to facilitate such a mediation process. In the meantime, I have also decided to apply for annual leave and will return to work in November.

It is important to clarify that the issues are not about whether the Department supports izimbizo or not. We have indicated before that izimbizo are a programme of government as a whole and are supported by the Department within a specific resource envelope without us being coerced to do so.

Finally, it also needs to be clarified that the Director-General still retains his powers as Accounting Officer in terms of the Public Finance Management Act.

Issued by GCIS on behalf of the Department of Public Service and Administration