National Zumas daughter gets top state job President Jacob Zuma’s daughter Thuthukile may have made history as South Africa’s youngest head of a minister’s office.From a lowly public liaison officer to the powerful position of chief of staff within two months at the age of 25, she now earns almost a million rand a year.Her dramatic rise to the position, which she assumed in May after the appointment of her father’s new Cabinet, has raised concerns about political nepotism at the renamed department of telecommunications and postal services.It appears the post was never advertised, although ministers have the prerogative to make these appointments without going through the normal processes. Several departments do advertise such posts to ensure they attract the best-qualified candidates.Thuthukile is the youngest of the president’s four daughters with ex-wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, a former Cabinet minister who is currently chairperson of the African Union Commission.Thuthukile now occupies a similar position to Lakela Kaunda, President Zuma’s chief of staff, who is considered to be one of the most powerful senior managers in the government.‘HR procedure’Most chiefs of staff are appointed at chief director level – earning an all-inclusive package of R934000 – but ministers can motivate for the incumbent to be appointed as deputy director general, the second highest position in the civil service, a government official confirmed to theMail & Guardian.“There is an HR procedure for an upgrade of posts, but ministers’ requests are rarely turned down,” the government official said. It is not clear which level Thuthukile is on.A chief of staff position requires “extensive management experience, an understanding of ministerial services and parliamentary functions to take charge of the overall management of the ministry, knowledge of the Public Service Management Framework and Public Finance Management Act”, according to several job advertisements for the position that the M&G has seen. The chief director position requires at least five to 10 years’ experience at senior management level. Shortly after completing her undergraduate degree in 2011, she worked – or “volunteered”, according to the ANC – at the ruling party’s headquarters. She subsequently joined the State Security Agency and spent less than a year there.The University of the Witwatersrand confirmed that Thuthukile graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in April 2011 and received an honours degree in anthropology in June 2012.Political appointmentOne public servant maintained that a chief of staff position is a political appointment and that ministers do not consider a candidate’s managerial experience, but several ministries have advertised such positions with strict senior managerial requirements.Soon after the elections in May, Thuthukile followed Zuma loyalist Siyabonga Cwele from the State Security Agency to the new telecommunications ministry, where he was appointed minister.Apparently, a formal complaint has been lodged about the appointment, according to M&Gsources, but this could not be confirmed independently.Ministerial spokesperson Siya Qoza told the M&Gthat there are no human resources complaints relating to Thuthukile’s appointment. “We have checked with the department’s human resource management unit and they have assured us that there is no record of a complaint about Ms Zuma’s appointment,” he said.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 13:15:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015