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It is high time that a new, permanent Director-General is appointed in the Department of Water Affairs. The post has been unoccupied for 19 months, ever since Pam Yako, the DG at the time, was placed on “special leave” pending an investigation. The Auditor General’s subsequent investigation painted a damning picture of over R1bn of irregular expenditure on, among other things, the irregular extension of contracts, deviation from procurement policies and the paying of service providers without contracts being in place. On 31 August 2010, Pam Yako was dismissed following a disciplinary hearing. But the matter drags on, and governance within the Water Department is suffering, affecting service delivery in this critical portfolio.

Yako appealed her dismissal to the President, an action that was procedurally irregular, and which was correctly dismissed by the President. She then took her appeal to the General Public Service Bargaining Council, which has yet to make its ruling. Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has said that a new DG would not be appointed until the matter was concluded by the Bargaining Council, but nothing stops the Department advertising for applications. Yako’s original employment contract comes to an end this month, irrespective of the fact that she was dismissed. Whatever the outcome of the Bargaining Council, there is surely no prospect of Yako being re-employed in the position.

It is also worth noting that, as reported to the Portfolio Committee on 27 January this year, Ms Yako was blacklisted on the PERSAL database on 31 October 2010, meaning she cannot be employed in the public service again.

The Department of Water Affairs is truly a rudderless ship. Besides there not being a DG in place, the woes of the Department are compounded by the fact that the Chief Financial Officer, the DDG of Corporate Services and the Chief Information Officer have all been suspended pending investigation and disciplinary action. Senior staff members have disclosed to the DA this week that there is a paralysis in the Department as the lack of permanent leadership across various divisions in the Department has resulted in senior managers becoming hesitant to make decisions and to sign documents for fear of contravening Treasury guidelines.

The negative effect on spending is already apparent. At the end of the third quarter of the last financial year, only 61.83% of the Department’s budget had been spent, significantly under the benchmark 75% of spending that should have been completed at that time.

With so many people occupying acting positions there is considerable difficulty in shaping the direction of the Department going forward. Considering the very severe problems faced by the water sector at this time, including failing waste water treatment plants, acid mine drainage, backlogs in water licencing, and massive problems in billing and collecting payments from water users, our country and its people cannot afford to have a Department that is, at best, treading water. A new DG is required to steer the troubled ship that is the Department of Water Affairs back on course.