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The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes that Mamodupi Mohala, the suspended Director-General of the Department of Communications, successfully contested her dismissal in the Labour Court today. The Department of Communications has been instructed to settle the costs of the litigation and re-deploy Ms Mohlala within the Public Service within 30 days, failing which, she must be re-instated to her position in the department.

The Labour Court order suggests that the Minister of Communications erred in dismissing Ms. Mohala and greatly exceeded his authority as a Cabinet Minister - all hallmarks of his authoritarian and autocratic brand of leadership, which has resulted in the current acting D-G describing morale within the Department as dismal.

There are bound to be tensions between senior civil servants and their political heads, and the pressure that Directors-General often face to maintain their independence must be considerable. This is precisely why, when a ‘breakdown' in the relations between a minister and D-G occur, the situation, through a consideration of representations, can be assessed by the President in Cabinet. Indeed, it is precisely these processes that maintain the distribution of powers and assure other civil service heads that they are not unquestionably beholden to every whim of their ministers. Unfortunately, Minister Nyanda has misunderstood the constraints of his position, and in acting against Ms Mohlala in this manner has greatly exceeded his authority.

The DA will be requesting that the Minister appear before the Portfolio Committee on Communications to provide Parliament with an explanation as to why he acted in a manner that was not only frivolous and outside his remit, but also contravened good governance principles.

We will also be submitting parliamentary questions to establish what the Minister's actions will cost the Department of Communications, given that it is now liable for both its own and Ms Mohlala's legal costs.