Sunday World reports that a major rift has erupted within the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) in Mpumalanga, where a branch has clashed with the provincial leadership over the appointment of union chairperson Sidumo Bethuel Masilela to a senior post in the Mpumalanga Provincial Treasury.
The dispute stems from Masilela’s appointment as the treasury’s deputy director for planning, a position the union’s treasury branch insists he did not qualify for. The initial complaint was lodged on 3 July, shortly after interviews were conducted, while Masilela’s appointment was finalised and took effect on 1 October. In a complaint sent to head of department Gugu Mashiteng and later escalated to finance MEC Bonakele Majuba, the branch accused the department of flouting recruitment rules and alleged that Masilela lacked the minimum three years of functional experience in public service policy and planning required for the post. The complaint described the process as “an abuse of institutional integrity”, saying it “betrayed the very workers Nehawu claims to defend”.
After months without formal feedback, the matter was escalated to the MEC. In a letter dated 3 October addressed to Nehawu branch secretary JK Sithole, Majuba advised the branch to “direct its escalation to the Nehawu provincial executive committee to handle the matter further.” According to Mpumalanga Provincial Treasury, the appointment of its new deputy director for planning was done “in full compliance with established public service regulations and principles of fairness and transparency.”
Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tshwarelo eseng Mogakane at Sunday World
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