Drew Forrest High-flying foreign affairs Director General Sipho Pityana has confirmed he will be leaving government service for the private sector when he quits the department this week. Pityana declined to say what private interests he will pursue, or why he has stepped down well before his contract expires at the end of next month. He said he was bound by an agreement not to comment on the circumstances of his departure.
There has been strong speculation that tensions between him and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma are a factor in his decision. However, sources indicate he is also dissatisfied that the expertise he has built up in the department is not adequately used in government policy-making. Zuma’s frequent absences abroad mean that there is poor liaison between the department and the presidency, from which foreign policy is essentially driven. It is suggested that certain leaders are suspicious of Pityana, seeing his desire to influence policy as evidence of political ambition.
Pityana, who made his mark as labour director general under Tito Mboweni, is universally recognised as a fine administrator who has sharpened the policy-formulating capacity of the foreign affairs department, making it better prepared to respond to events abroad. He is also credited with advancing affirmative goals, particularly in white-dominated foreign missions, and with strengthening and formalising performance criteria for embassy and department officials.
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