The chief executive of the Commission for Gender Equality, Chana Majake, had to be escorted by security guards from her Johannesburg office this week after angry staff members accused her of maladministration.
The commission announced Majake’s immediate suspension this week without providing any details.
But the Mail & Guardian has established that her suspension came after staff members passed a motion of no confidence in her leadership.
It is understood the commission’s board was forced to act after staff members flew into a rage this week and demanded immediate action against Majake.
”People felt they could not tolerate the situation any more,” said a staff member who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In a memorandum submitted to the commission’s chairperson, Nomboniso Gasa, staff members accused Majake of inefficiency and failure to resolve numerous problems at the commission.
They also accused her of failing to implement recommendations made by the parliamentary review of Chapter 9 institutions and reports of the public protector.
The Gender Commission has been dogged by conflict between staff and management since its inception, leading to the resignation of several commissioners who cited Majake’s ”unpopular” management style.
Former chairperson of the parliamentary review committee Kader Asmal last year lashed the commission for its failure to understand its legal and constitutional mandate.
Asmal found that the commission represented ”a lost opportunity” and had failed to maintain its independence from the executive.
Majake was also the subject of Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana’s investigation in 2006 after staff members accused her of mismanagement and corruption.
Among other things, staff members complained that the commission under Majake’s leadership bought unnecessary equipment of no benefit to its target audience. They said she and the commission’s former chair-person had travelled first class to a United Nations convention in New York.
Mushwana cleared Majake of mismanagement and corruption, but found that the commission had failed for almost two years to deal with a case of sexual harassment against one of its provincial heads.
A recent report on the assessment, design and implementation of communication and information strategies for Chapter 9 institutions funded by the European Union found the commission to be ineffective in its dealings with the media.
The study found it did not have defined internal information management systems and that staff felt alienated from decision-making processes.
The memorandum handed over by staff this week complained that the commission’s problems had been ignored, despite severe public criticism, and treated as ”mumblings of a confused nation who are unaware of [its] mandate”.
”Staff have been crying out to management for almost half a decade to resolve the problems and inconsistencies of an organisation which is perpetually in crisis,” it read.
Staff members also complained about the exodus of skilled people who left the commission because they disapproved of Majake’s leadership style.
The commission said it had appointed a three-person team, led by deputy chairperson Mfanozelwe Shozi, to investigate allegations against Majake.
On Thursday Gasa confirmed that Majake had been escorted out of the commission’s offices, saying that the board wanted to ensure that certain information in her possession remained intact.
She said the commission would begin addressing staff grievances, which included salary and pension disparities. It was expected that the investigation would be completed in June.