Newly appointed Home Affairs director general Mavuso Msimang has downplayed the gravity of sexual harassment charges hanging over his head, saying they do not give him any ”sleepless nights”.
Briefing the media in Cape Town on Tuesday, Msimang said the allegations would not affect his duties.
”These allegations are baseless and will not give me any sleepless nights,” he said.
Msimang said he had managed to live with the allegations in his previous job.
”It has been with me for sixteen months, and yet I still managed to do my duties at the State Information and Technology Agency (Sita),” he said.
A former colleague claims he sexually harassed her while he was working as chief executive of Sita between 2003 and 2005.
”Everybody who knows me at Sita and everybody who knows this lady knows that the allegations are baseless,” he said.
He blamed the media for not having bothered to get his side of the story before publishing the allegations.
”I do not have a problem with the allegations, my main problem is the manner in which the story came out,” he said, adding that the media had been unethical in the way it reported the story.
Msimang’s appointment at the Home Affairs Department drew sharp criticism from opposition parties, with the Democratic Alliance saying the department did not need someone with a ”cloud hanging over his head”. – Sapa