The slow pace of change at the Department of Foreign=20 Affairs has prompted Zola Skweyiya to take action,=20 writes Rehana Rossouw
MINISTER of Public Service and Administration Dr Zola=20 Skweyiya this week stepped in to overhaul the=20 Department of Foreign Affairs, impatient at the pace of=20
A ministry source said Skweyiya, who met Foreign=20 Affairs Minister Alfred Nzo on Tuesday to discuss=20 accelerating change in the department, was “seriously=20 concerned” about the department’s staff composition.
“We are not seeing change in the department at the rate=20 that it is taking place in other government=20 departments, even though it is acknowledged that the=20 public service takes time to change,” said the source.
“What makes the minister (Skweyiya) intent on speeding=20 up change in the Department of Foreign Affairs is that=20 it should represent the face of the country abroad, and=20 is not doing so at present.”
South Africa’s Paris embassy, for example, has a staff=20 of 84, of whom only two — including Ambassador Barbara=20 Masekela — are black.
At their meeting, Skweyiya and Nzo discussed a new=20 staff plan drawn up by the department to create an=20 extra 198 posts. It was agreed these would be=20 advertised to ensure candidates came forward not only=20 from within the public service but also from the=20
The posts include five new deputy director generals.=20 Two people in the department have already been=20 identified for those positions. There are 26 vacancies=20 for chief directors, but Foreign Affairs intends=20 advertising only 13 of those positions.
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Peter=20 Swanepoel, said the meeting was intended to update=20 Skweyiya on progress made in rationalising the=20 department ahead of an October 30 deadline.
“It’s difficult for me to comment on whether or not the=20 minister is dissatisfied (with the pace of change). The=20 Public Service Commission has already approved the new=20 staff plan and how we’re going to implement it.”
Not discussed by the ministers was the issue of making=20 South Africa’s foreign missions more representative. A=20 follow-up meeting could be in the offing as the=20 department makes new postings and transfers twice a=20 year, in August and December.
Swanepoel said the department hoped to “achieve a=20 balance in terms of the demographics of the country=20 within the next two or three years.”