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Sources claim that that Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA) acting CEO, Dr Nicollete Mhlanga-Ndlovu, has gone “rogue” and launched a fishing exercise to find wrongdoing against senior executives.

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Sizwe sama Yende

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The board of a water resources management agency in Mpumalanga are at loggerheads with employees for allegedly turning a blind eye to the citizenship status of an acting CEO and her unilateral appointment of a law firm to institute an investigation without any prima facie evidence.

Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA) board has also riled up the workers for extending Dr Nicollete Mhlanga-Ndlovu’s acting term to nine months.

The board has usually been rotating senior executives to act in the CEO’s position for six months as stipulated in national government policies, but in Mhlanga-Ndlovu’s case, they have done the unprecedented.

IUCMA is an agency of the Department of Water and Sanitation that is  promoting community participation in the protection, conservation, management and control of water resources in its management area.

IUCMA board chairperson, Linda Zulu, and Mhlanga-Ndlovu did not respond to written questions e-mailed to them on May 13. Mhlanga-Ndlovu promised to respond after the sitting of the board but reneged on her promise.

“Since the enquiry involves resolutions made by the IUCMA governing board in response to addressing a ministerial directive to the governing board, your email was forwarded to the governing board for their guidance and advice on the response pertaining the investigation. The response from the board is yet to be finalised,” Mhlanga-Ndlovu responded in writing.

“Furthermore,” she added, “the other aspect of the enquiry involves IUCMA human resources recruitment processes. The matter has therefore been referred to the IUCMA legal specialist to assist with a response.” 

Mhlanga-Ndlovu promised to respond by May 16, but did not.

Insiders have told The People’s Eye that Mhlanga-Ndlovu had gone “rogue” and launched a fishing exercise to find anything and everything against senior executives.

“There are no terms of reference for the investigation and, secondly, the agency  is on a R17 million budget deficit and should not be spending money on a fishing exercise. There is no allegation or prima facie evidence that the investigation is based on,” an insider said.

Mhlanga-Ndlovu has allegedly appointed the law firm (whose name is known to The People’s Eye) for a fee ranging between R1.5 million and R3 million without following an open bidding process and had also done it unilaterally without the approval of the board.

“The board members have ignored the contravention of the supply chain management process, and they have also paid no attention to the fact that the agency has no money.”

The insider said that Mhlanga-Ndlovu initially appointed the law firm for R3.2 million, but went on to re-negotiate the price when board members complained that the amount was too much.

Other allegations that insiders put forward are that:

·      Mhlanga-Ndlovu hails from the Kingdom of Eswatini and has never produced any identity document for her file at human resources but a passport;

·      A qualified South African was overlooked when she was appointed;

·      Mhlanga-Ndlovu obtained a quotation from one law firm to bid for the forensic investigation job, which is against  treasury guidelines on the sourcing of quotations;

·      The board is applying double standards, favouritism and unequal treatment of staff when it comes to the acting CEO position.

Insiders have also indicated that most of the board members have since promised to retrospectively condone Mhlanga-Ndlovu’s mistakes and validate her decision to appoint the law firm.

The allegations on Mhlanga-Ndlovu’s nationality comes at a time when concerns have been raised, particularly in universities, about the employment of foreigners in positions that could be occupied by South Africans.

The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education sharply criticised the University of Free State (UFS) in March after finding out that it employed 141 foreign academics and 26 foreign support staff.

The committee also raised concerns about the underrepresentation of African, Coloured, and Indian staff in professorships and associate professorships, highlighting ongoing transformation challenges at UFS.

It urged UFS to prioritise the development and hiring of local talent where possible, cautioning against over-reliance on the “scarce skills” argument to justify overlooking qualified South African candidates.