Mbalula calls on disgruntled staffers to share grievances internally

The Transport Department has called on aggrieved staffers to make use of available internal mechanisms to give evidence of any wrongdoing or malfeasance they may have.

This, after a group of “ANC comrades” in the department lashed out against Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, in a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The group labelled Mbalula a “celebrity minister of Twitter”.

The letter, which centred around several alleged irregularities in the department, followed Ramaphosa’s open letter to ANC members in which he said the ANC stood as accused number one when it came to corruption in the country.

Mbalula’s spokesperson Ayanda-Allie Paine said it was unfortunate that public servants “unashamedly” entered the political terrain.

“This is a matter that the president and the governing party leadership collective have addressed decisively and should not be condoned. Employees who are disgruntled either because they are facing disciplinary processes for wrongdoing or have created comfort zones, have a penchant to create sensation without placing on the table a shred of evidence,” she said.

Paine further said: “We cannot discount the possibility that this may be the case, considering the fact that the department has been operating without proper leadership at management level for many years. Critical positions of the director-general and the majority of deputy directors-general have been vacant for years.”

She said the department had also taken note of unsubstantiated allegations the anonymous letter made against a number of officials.

“The department and indeed government have internal policies and procedures in place to deal with grievances and a complaints mechanism that allows staff members to lodge such complaints, not only to the department, but also to the Public Service Commission on any matter.

“We trust that these aggrieved employees will make use of the mechanisms available to them to provide evidence of any wrongdoing or malfeasance they may have. Law enforcement authorities are enjoined by law to act without fear, favour or prejudice and are the correct authorities to investigate allegations of corruption,” she said.

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