A document terminating the secondment of controversial government official Ayanda Dakela from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has been leaked.
A letter from then minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Patricia De Lille, addressed to Dakela has been doing the rounds on social media.
The document outlines the reasons for Dakela’s abrupt removal from his position, a move that preceded his later appointment as head of Infrastructure at the Department of Health.
Dakela had been seconded from the CSIR to the department, but De Lille terminated his secondment before its completion.
Dakela later descended on the Department of Health as head of Infrastructure but was later suspended when serious allegations surfaced.
It is believed that one of the reasons for Dakela’s suspension was his failure to disclose that his secondment had been abruptly terminated by another government department.
Dakela was hired to “transform the construction and property sectors through the development of policy and legislative prescripts, to provide oversight of the public sector and to provide an oversight role in the implementation of Project Execution Plans through EPWP standardise frameworks”,
Dakela was remunerated in line with the duties and responsibilities of a Deputy Director-General: Project Management Office, an inclusive remuneration package of R1 521 591 per annum, for the duration of his secondment period.
On recalling Dakela, De Lille said: “This letter serves to inform you of the department's decision to terminate your secondment from the CSIR to the department.
“The decision to terminate your secondment emanates from your breach of the internal departmental communication protocols in that you have been acting on behalf of the Ministry and issued communication on behalf the Ministry on ministerial letterheads to various parties without authorisation.
“In so doing, you have compromised the integrity of the Ministry and this is viewed in a serious light taking Into account your seniority and current acting capacity in the department. The termination of your secondment is effective immediately with a thirty(30 days' notice from the date of signature. However, in the interest of the good standing of the Department you are released from the Department to the CSIR with immediate effect.”
De Lille accused Dakela of using ministerial letterheads to communicate with various people or entities without the authorisation of the minister or the department.
According to his X profile, Dakela is an “experienced, qualified mechanical engineer”.
According to the Department of Health, Dakela was suspended from the department a few months ago for “unauthorised interference with procurement processes at the Independent Development Trust, for entering into an agreement and issuing instructions that were beyond his scope of delegation and for failure to declare critical information during his interview and appointment”.
“Mr Dakela is still suspended,” Department of Health spokesperson, Foster Mohale, confirmed.
Before his suspension Dakela had been appointed to lead the rebuilding of Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, following a devastating fire.
The Gauteng government roped in the National Department of Health to repair the facility; however, some described the fire as a “strange phenomenon” and “tender creation”.
Dakela had not been available for comment at the time of publication.
This is a developing story.