Issued by: SA Communication Service
7 July 1997
We have taken note of Minister Omars recent statements, published in Rapport. We strongly object to the allegation made that we are to blame for the non-filling of posts due to our alleged unwillingness to come to some reasonable agreement on the way these posts are to be filled.
We presented the Department with an action plan already on 16 April, 1997. Urgent negotiations would have followed. However, apart from the Department having cancelled the meeting scheduled for 7 May, with an undertaking that another will be scheduled before the end of May, we have not heard anything from the Department. We were informed at the Departmental Bargaining Chamber on 24 June that a meeting will be scheduled within a week. Again, nothing has been done or heard. Minister Omar can only blame his own Department for this unreasonable delay.
We do not believe the rest of the allegation, as to who is to blame for the inefficiency within Minister Omars Department, worthy of comment. We do, however, wish to reiterate that we are a non-racial, non-racist Society. If anyone proves him/herself not capable of doing the job, the appropiate steps should be taken to get rid of such a person, irrespective of whether he/she is black or white.
Retha Meintjies Chairperson