Public Works Deputy Minister Sihle Zikalala has, during a media briefing on Tuesday, set the record straight regarding the appointment of the Independent Development Trust (IDT) Chief Executive Officer, Tebogo Malaka.
The Deputy Minister said he had noted with “deep concern” media articles which appear to have been deliberately planted and arranged to defame and tarnish his image, disguised as concerns about issues of governance in the IDT.
The IDT is a Schedule 2 State-owned entity, which manages the implementation and delivery of critically needed social infrastructure programmes on behalf of government. It reports to the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, who is the shareholder representative.
Addressing the media in Pretoria, the Deputy Minister explained that when he was appointed as Minister in March 2023, the appointment of the CEO had already been processed by the IDT Board with the concurrence received from his predecessor.
He said the recommendation to appoint Malaka as CEO had already been submitted to Cabinet for final processing when he joined the department.
“As the Minister, I withdrew the matter due issues that were emerging at the time about the entity and had to deal with the issues of due diligence,” Zikalala said.
He added that also informing his decision to withdraw the matter were allegations related to the office lease at the IDT, which was an issue that had been in the public domain long before his arrival in the department.
“I had to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. During the period of my arrival at the department, I found the IDT plagued by challenges and infighting among the board members, which defocussed the entity from its primary mandate of delivering social infrastructure to communities,” Zikalala said.
According to the Deputy Minister, at the time of his appointment as Minister, there were serious concerns about governance affairs of the IDT.
“As Minister at the time, I held a number of meetings to refocus the board to its governance and fiduciary duties, these efforts to focus the board on governance issues did not yield expected results.
“I am the first Minister to task the board of the IDT to investigate the matter of the office lease and to give a report after six months,” Zikalala said.
The Minister said he was committed to serving with integrity, transparency and accountability. – SAnews.gov.za
