A mystery hangs over the sudden departure of the Director General of Water Affairs and Forestry, Jabu Sindane, from his office this week. Employees at the department were shocked when they arrived in their office on Monday, to be met with a message from Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Lindiwe Hendricks stating that Sindane had resigned on Friday.
Moshibudi Rampedi, the current deputy director general, is now the acting director general. Sindane joined the department as a deputy director general responsible for regions and operations, and was appointed director general in September 2005.
Speculation is rife in the department that Sindane left because of in-fighting. It is also believed that the minister was unhappy with service delivery and that Sindane was made a scapegoat for the department’s problems.
The department has been plagued by a huge turnover of staff during the past year. Sources inside the department say 52 members of senior management have resigned since January.
Departmental spokesperson Linda Page says Sindane left for family reasons. ”As a result his contract was redetermined and has expired.”
Sindane says there is nothing sinister about his sudden departure from the department.
”It is for personal and family reasons that I left. The sudden announcement was due to slow bureaucracy. It has nothing to do with a disagreement,” he says.
At the moment he is simply ”taking a break and reflecting on where [he] want[s] to take [his] life”. Though he has broken all ties with the department, Sindane says he will be available if the acting director general should need advice and counsel.