Parliament looking for new security chief and CFO

Parliament is looking for a new head of security and CFO and is hoping to fill the two positions that have been vacant for years.

The legislature advertised the two positions on Sunday alongside that of a sergeant-at-arms, which has been vacant since December 2019 when Regina Mohlomi retired.

Parliament has been without a permanent head of security since July 2015 when Zelda Holtzman was put on suspension. She was later dismissed in October 2017 after being found guilty of insubordination.

Holtzman fought her dismissal before the CCMA and a settlement was reached between the two. 

After her departure, the security division was downgraded into a unit under Institutional Support Services, alongside household and catering and without an independent head.

Opposition MPs have previously blamed the head of security vacancy and the resulting lack of accountability for some of the security lapses over the years, including the breach that led to the devastating fire in January.

For R2.1m a year, the new chief of security will be responsible for leadership and management of the security management division of parliament, assisting the secretary to parliament (STP) to manage the overall security strategy.

Two months ago, newly appointed STP Xolile George told the joint standing committee on financial management of parliament he was prioritising the filling of the head of security and CFO positions.

He later told Sunday Times he had found that the two positions had been “juniorised” and that he had to review the scope of the two roles before he could pitch them to the market.

“We have a situation of the fire, you have security being a subdivision of facilities management. Security is quite a strategic issue for the image of the institution. 

“So you need an elevated conversation for an institution like ours, which is a national key point. Security must be a major focus and priority,” he said.

The same will apply regarding the CFO position, whose “current level is quite low” in the organisation, said George at the time. Parliament’s last permanent CFO Manenzhe Manenzhe left in 2018.

Parliament had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publishing.

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