Like many other directors general (DG), Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela has received lucrative offers from the private sector, with huge financial incentives, but she has chosen to remain in the government.
Msengana-Ndlela (38) has been a DG in the Department of Provincial and Local Government for the past two years, working with Sydney Mufamadi, who has been re-appointed to a second term as Minister of Provincial and Local Government.
Local government is set to occupy centre stage this year, with President Thabo Mbeki due to announce measures to salvage ailing municipal government structures.
Msengana-Ndlela says she is humbled by the chance to serve the people. ”As a director general I have been given a great opportunity to serve the country. I have received lucrative financial offers but I could not accept them. I am committed to play my role and serve my term.”
She emphasises that there is nothing wrong with civil servants joining the private sector, which also has a role to play in the development of the country.
Msengana-Ndlela was previously a deputy director general in the Department of Trade and Industry, where she was responsible for the development of corporate governance systems for the department and its public entities.
She says she sees her role as mobilising the rest of her team to focus on development, as well as making sure that monitoring and evaluation of policy focuses on meeting the needs of poor people.
”In the private sector you look at the bottom line — whether there is profit. Here you check whether the lives of these ordinary people have improved for the better.” She considers herself not as a politician but as a public servant who receives guidance from the Cabinet. She skilfully avoids the issue of a potential clash with Mufamadi. ”Up to now I have not encountered a principal I would not work with. To lead you must be willing to be led. Mobility among civil servants is influenced by different factors, but in my case I really feel honoured.”
As for her present task, she says local government faces the challenge of working with other spheres of government to ensure efficiency. She echoes the president’s sentiments that intervention is necessary to ensure local government has the capacity to create jobs and deal with poverty
Msengana-Ndlela was head of the provincial department of sport, recreation, arts and culture in the Eastern Cape before joining the national department of trade and industry in 2001. She has a B Com degree from Rhodes University, a B Ed degree and a Master’s in business leadership from Unisa.