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The Citizen
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
KZN premier summoned to appear before portfolio committee
KZN Premier Thami Ntuli has been summoned to appear before the Portfolio Committee on Office of the Premier, Community Safety and Liaison to give clarity on allegations that the youth manager in his office threatened to physically harm the former director general, Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize. Portfolio Committee chair Mbali Frazer alleges that Mkhize's crime was to refuse to sign off an appointment letter related to the R100-million Youth Fund. ALSO READ: Embattled KZN director-general resigns 'We believe it will be an abdication of our responsibility not to allow the premier of the province to address these serious allegations in an appropriate platform,' said Frazer. 'We have written a letter to him requesting him to appear before the committee. As the committee responsible for playing an oversight role over the executive, we believe such allegations warrant our attention. 'The Office of the Premier has a critical role to play in terms of the co-ordination of the work of provincial government departments on service delivery. The destabilisation of the Office of the Premier in any form, including threats to physically harm a senior female civil servant, should be viewed in a serious light by all leaders of society across all political affiliations,' she said. The ANC Youth League strongly condemns the actions of Premier Thami Ntuli for allegedly shielding perpetrators of violence, particularly gender-based violence (GBV), within his administration. ANCYL KZN Provincial Secretary Lulama Mabude said they are appalled by these allegations. 'We fully support the Youth Fund initiative established by the former ANC premier, Numusa Dube-Ncube, to empower young people to thrive in business and contribute meaningfully to the economy. 'However, we categorically reject the misuse of these funds to benefit non-compliant applicants or those selected based on political affiliation. 'We demand an immediate halt to this process and call for a transparent, merit-based review to ensure funds serve their intended purpose of uplifting KZN's youth,' said Mabude. She added that the youth manager in question is alleged to have pressured Mkhize to approve these funds to benefit his political allies and associates, undermining the integrity of the Youth Fund. 'We will not tolerate government officials perpetuating GBV and escaping accountability. 'South African women and youth live in constant fear due to harassment and abuse, and the premier's office has failed to address these serious allegations,' said Mabude. Attempts to obtain comment from the Office of the Premier were unsuccessful at the time of going to print. Don't have the ZO app? Download it to your Android or Apple device here: HAVE YOUR SAY Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. For news straight to your phone invite us: WhatsApp – 060 784 2695 Instagram – zululand_observer At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
IOL News
12-06-2025
- IOL News
Gender-based violence allegations shake KwaZulu-Natal Premier's office after DG's resignation
Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize, the director-general in the Office of the Premier in KwaZulu-Natal resigned earlier this week. It has been alleged that her resignation came after a colleague threatened her. Image: KZN Provincial Government / Instagram The Office of the Premier in KwaZulu-Natal has been rocked by allegations of gender-based violence after the most senior civil service staff member in that office suddenly quit her post, allegedly after she was threatened by a male staffer. The chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on the Office of the Premier, Mbali Frazer, raised the issue. She has written to Premier Thami Ntuli demanding an explanation regarding the resignation of Director-General Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize, who resigned suddenly this week. Frazer said it was alleged that Mkhize quit after allegedly being subjected to verbal abuse and threatening conduct by a senior male staff member in that office. Attempts to contact Dr Mkhize were unsuccessful yesterday. The Premier's office acknowledged Dr Mkhize's resignation a few days ago but did not give a reason for her resignation. 'As the first female Director-General of KwaZulu-Natal, she leaves behind a powerful legacy of transformation, collaboration, and excellence in public service. Her ability to foster unity across both the political and administrative spheres will have a lasting impact on the governance of our province,' the statement from the Premier's office said. Committee chair Frazer said in a statement, 'In my capacity as the chair of the Portfolio Committee on the Office of the Premier, Community Safety and Liaison, I wish to inform the people of KwaZulu-Natal that we cannot ignore the widespread serious allegations levelled against a certain official in the Office of the Premier. 'It is alleged that a youth manager in the Office of the Premier threatened to physically harm the first and longest-serving female Director-General, Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize. Her crime was refusing to sign off on an appointment letter related to the R100 million Youth Fund,' said the statement. 'As the Portfolio Committee, we believe that it would be an abdication of our responsibility not to allow Premier Thami Ntuli to address these serious allegations on an appropriate platform. In this regard, we have written a letter to the Premier requesting him to appear before the committee. As the committee responsible for oversight over the executive, we believe that such allegations warrant our attention. Threats to physically harm a senior female civil servant should be viewed seriously by all leaders of society across all political affiliations,' said the statement. The Mercury has seen a letter sent to the Premier and the Portfolio Committee about the incident. The unsigned letter alleges that on May 20, the youth directorate section submitted documents for the award of the Youth Empowerment Fund; however, the letter was returned the same day as there were no supporting documents. It states that the documents had not been seen by the Director-General because the practice in her office is that staff vet the documents. They vetted the documents that had been sent and found them non-compliant and sent them back. However, the official who sent the document allegedly made accusatory remarks towards the Director-General. It further alleged that on June 4, there was a heated meeting between the Director-General and the official over the matter where Mkhize was allegedly threatened. The letter further claimed that the police were called, and Mkhize subsequently resigned. 'The DG ended up tendering her resignation, which was not her plan, due to fear for her safety and life. Her resignation was tendered due to the severe nature of threats, as well as the emotional and psychological trauma,' the letter claims.
