Politics

Department of Military Veterans DG Irene Mpolweni suspended

Irene Mpolweni, suspended Director General of the Department of Military Veterans

The Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans confirmed over the weekend that Irene Mpolweni, Director General of the Department of Military Veterans, had been placed on precautionary suspension.

The Ministry also said that it is not in a position to disclose the nature of the allegations or charges at this stage.

“We have a duty to respect employer-employee confidentiality. We will pronounce once the entire disciplinary process had run its course.”

The Ministry insisted that suspension does not necessarily presume guilt on her part.

“It is intended to give the employer an opportunity to gather evidence and establish facts.”

An Acting Director General will be appointed in due course.

Unilateral changes negatively impact service delivery

Last October, President of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) Bantu Holomisa shared a letter he had written to former Minister of Defense Thandi Modise, regarding complaints he had received about Mpolweni.

In his letter, Holomisa alleged that she had made unilateral changes in service providers that negatively impacted the delivery of services to the veterans.

He further alleged that her entire department had taken a cue from her lack of interest in serving military veterans.

Holomisa also accused the DG of having a bias towards KwaZulu-Natal in her dealings with the military veterans.

Some months later, the Umkhonto weSizwe Liberation War Veterans went on a media blitz, demanding a sweeping overhaul at the Military Veterans department and the removal of Mpolweni.