ANCYL President Collen Malatji has defended Zwelo Maselela over his deployment as a senior researcher at the Mbombela local municipality.
Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
ANCYL president Collen Malatji has defended Zwelo Masilela, stating that it is not his “fault” for being hired by the Mbombela municipality as a senior researcher without post-matric qualifications, arguing that many people face similar situations.
Masilela's deployment at the local municipality, where he worked as a senior researcher from 2016 to 2023, has sparked a public debate about irregular cadre deployment in the country’s government.
Masilela, who now works as treasurer general for the ANCYL, earned his journalism diploma Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in 2021, a year after his appointment at Mbombela.
His deployment has raised questions about transparency and the appropriateness of allowing someone without relevant qualifications to hold a prominent position.
In an interview on SABC’s Face the Nation, Malatji defended Masilela, claiming that he was deployed before the 2021 Local Government Act, which allowed people to be appointed to positions without post-matric qualifications.
“He was deployed before the Act and people could be deployed without qualifications. You could be called into an office and become a personal assistant,” Malatji said.
“It was not enforced at that time that you must have a post-matric qualification. For example, even to be a researcher in South Africa today, having a degree alone is not enough. You need to have a certain experience.”
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ANCYL’s leader Collen Malatji has defended Zwelo Masilela's deployment in Mbombela municipality as a senior researcher with no relevant qualifications.
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Malatji defended Masilela that it was unfair to blame him for his employment.
”If you apply for a job as PA, and then later, a new chief comes in and says ‘I want my own PA,’ and they move you to a different position, you can’t be blamed for that,” he said.
Malatji claimed that the new regulations, which require candidates to have certain qualifications and experience, would prevent similar situations in the future.
“At least the law is now able to protect everyone in those processes, so that no one abuses that platform,” he said.
“This one, the 2021 Local Government Act, which calls for professionalisation of local government, is a problematic situation. But in the past, people could be deployed in those offices.”
When asked if it is acceptable for someone to receive payment as a senior researcher without possessing the relevant qualifications, Malatji shifted the responsibility to the Mbombela municipality."
“The municipality must take accountability for that. Because if I'm employed as a PA, and moved to a new responsibility by the municipality when they restructure, you have two options there: either you go home, or you do the job that you're required to do,” he said.
Malatji defended Masilela for mentioning the senior researcher role on his resume, stating that it would be dishonest to claim he was never moved into that position.
“If your payslip says you're a senior researcher, that is where you are deployed as a senior researcher,” Malatji explained.
In response to further questions, Malatji went on to defend Masilela, stating that he was deployed as a PA. However, he was later moved to a position of a senior researcher.
“In a political office, if you are deployed, then they move you around. It's a political deployment,” Malatji added.
simon.majadibodu.africannewsagency.com
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