Mantashe's second adviser rejected

Department tells the minister that he chose wrong candidates for the cushy job

- By Mawande AmaShabalala

Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe's second attempt to appoint his chief of staff has suffered a blow after the new candidate he recommended for the post was rejected due to lack of the required experience.

Mantashe, who is also the national chairperson of the ANC, had recommended former SABC journalist Unathi Binqose to be given the cushy job but the human resources unit in his department rejected him, saying he was inexperienced for the plumb job. Binqose's rejection comes a few months after Mantashe 's first preferred candidate Charles Makola was also rejected for similar reasons by the Department of Public Services and Administration, which has afinal say in the appointments of chiefs of staff. Binqose's rejection has left Mantashe without the chief of staff for nine months.

Workers in the department responsible for human capital allege that Mantashe has been "harassing and abusing" them to appoint unsuitable candidates to fill the vacancy.

However, Mantashe dismissed the claim, saying if such were true, he would have long bulldozed his way into having one of the two candidates that were rejected appointed by force.

Mantashe said that he had in fact elected not to have a chief of staff because of the process that rejected the two candidates. The minister originally recommended Makola to be given the nod to lead his political office, but the candidate was turned down because he allegedly did not possess the required NQF 7 qualification for the post.