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It seems all is not well in the Department of Higher Education and Training. Minister Blade Nzimande has been embroiled in another scandal. Tensions between the minister and the civil service head of the department, Director-General (DG) Mary Metcalfe, have apparently erupted, with the minister allegedly asking the DG to resign. If the reports are true, the minister should explain his decision to Parliament. As such, the Democratic Alliance (DA) shall be calling on Dr. Nzimande to appear before the portfolio committee on higher education and training.

If reports in today's City Press are accurate, there is a degree of discord and animosity between the minister and his civil servants that the department can ill afford. The reports suggest that there have been numerous sources of conflict between the minister and the DG, allegedly relating to his expensive overseas trips and expensive stays at luxurious hotels during his tenure in the Cabinet.

If these reports of the possibly imminent departure of the DG are accurate, then the minister needs to explain to Parliament the internal disruptions the department is facing, his precise reasons for asking the DG to resign and also who will be replacing her as the administrative head of the ministry. The DA shall be writing to the chairperson of the portfolio committee on higher education and training requesting that Dr. Nzimande appear before the committee to answer these questions. It is time for the minister to be open and transparent about the affairs of a ministry responsible for overseeing the education and training of our people.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the minister has been involved in controversy. During his brief tenure, he has engaged in unethical, self-indulgent and excessive spending, including the purchase of a luxury BMW as his ministerial car and taking up extended stays at high-end hotels.

The DA is concerned that, more broadly speaking, allegations of the DG's possible ousting come on the back of numerous resignations, transfers and dismissals of directors-general under the Zuma administration:

• August 2009: Public Enterprises DG Portia Molefe resigned
• April 2010: Presidency Chief Operating Officer Jessie Duarte resigned
• June 2010: Labour DG Jimmy Manyi was suspended
• July 2010: Rural Development and Land Reform DG Thozamile Gwanya resigned
• July 2010: Communications DG Mamoduphi Mohlala dismissed
• September 2010: Presidency DG Vusi Mavimbela transferred

These changes at the highest echelons of the civil service do not bode well for service delivery. The South African people are entitled to some constancy in the departments that serve them. At the very least, the minister either needs to confirm or deny the allegations of discord in his department.