Gaye Davis
It’s going to be the highest profile job in South Africa. And ideally the person who gets it should be black.
An interviewing panel of Cape-based commissioners has drawn up a short-list of potential candidates for chief executive officer of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but wants the net cast wider, which may be another way of saying the names on the list belong to whites.
The committee felt very strongly that all things being equal this should be an affirmative action post, said commission chairman Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Part of the commission’s job is to try and redress imbalances, and the image the commission projects must be part of that message to the country.
While it was important the appointee came from the sector of the community on the receiving end of apartheid abuses, Tutu emphasised that the determining factor would be whether a candidate could ensure the commission operated efficiently.
It’s a critical appointment. Colour is not the only criterion. If a person satisfies all the other requirements the amount of melanin in their skins will not be a factor.
The CEO would be responsible for about 150 staffers scattered across the country and would need considerable managerial skills, Tutu said. We need someone with energy, drive and oodles of initiative. They would need to have their finger on the pulse not only in the regions but in the depots we hope to set up in smaller towns.