Khadija Magardie
The Office of the Public Protector has confirmed that it is investigating the CEO of the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE), Zith Mahaye.
A representative for Public Protector Selby Baqwa’s office this week said it is in the process of investigating a complaint against Mahaye, but has not yet made any findings.
The complaint is believed to be related to supposed irregularities surrounding Mahaye’s appointment last year in the midst of a protracted legal action involving the CGE and its former CEO, Colleen Lowe-Morna.
The probe was announced in a disputed press release circulated to various media this week. CGE sources have labelled the release as part of a “disinformation campaign” aimed at discrediting the commission particularly in the week it hosted the national gender summit, in Gauteng.
The disputed press release painted a picture of a CGE in financial disarray with its donor funds steadily drying up.
It also said senior staff had been resigning in droves, morale was low, and the commission had a long list of labour dispute cases pending at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
The release added that the commission was desperately trying to boost its poor public image with “cheap ploys”, such as its recent announcement that it planned to subpoena the advertising industry to answer charges that it was sexist. But its main target was Mahaye.
Among other things, the disputed press release claimed that Mahaye had resigned with effect from August 1, following a probe by Baqwa’s office into his appointment. This was strenuously denied by the CGE.
“Mahaye is currently on family responsibility leave,” CGE chairperson Joyce Piliso-Seroke said.
She did, however, confirm that the CGE was “cooperating” with Baqwa’s investigation.
The press release quoted extensively from a Mail & Guardian story published last year, which revealed that Mahaye was hired by the CGE to conduct an R87 000 management review for the commission just prior to his appointment. Critics of the report said last year it was sycophantic towards the then commissioners.
Though the then deputy chairperson of the CGE, Pumelele Ntombela-Nzimande, subsequently informed staff in an internal memo that Mahaye had not made himself available for appointment, he was hired soon afterwards.
According to the press release, Baqwa’s office wrote to the CGE this year demanding a brief on Mahaye and the role he fulfilled during his tenure. This has not been confirmed by the CGE.
According to a CGE source, the disputed press release could be part
of a deliberate attempt to negate
the “good publicity” the CGE was basking in. The source said the press would “find a real story” by probing the source of the disputed press release.