DA tackles Simelane over his 'shoddy' CV

Menzi Simelane describes his management style as “flexible” in a CV that will come under the spotlight during the DA’s court bid to set aside his appointment as national director of public prosecutions.

“I believe in leading by example but at the same time giving subordinates an opportunity to express themselves in their areas of speciality,” Simelane wrote in the CV, sent to President Jacob Zuma in his application for the post. “I am a hands-on manager but not a micro-manager.”

Simelane says that he believes in the “open dialogue of issues”, especially where these are differences of opinion.

His weakness, he writes, is that “I tend to work very long hours for extended periods, thus leading to fatigue. This may be risky for an organisation but I am able to manage this risk.”

DA chairperson James Selfe has claimed in court papers that Simelane’s CV preparation was “shoddy” and this implied that he knew it was unimportant because Zuma had already decided to appoint him.

Selfe states that Simelane’s CV reveals that at 38, he was “very young” and inexperienced for the position, and that there was an ulterior motive in appointing him—namely, to replace his predecessor, Vusi Pikoli, with someone “more malleable”.

In his responding affidavit, Simelane rejects this claim as a “slur”.

The case will be heard in the North Gauteng High Court on September 13, 14 and 15.

This article was made possible by funding from the Open Society Foundation for South Africa Media Fellowship Programme.