Department of Labour Director-General (DG) Nkosinathi Nhleko begins the second phase of his provincial tour this week with a two-day visit to Mpumalanga starting on Wednesday after a short hiatus to attend to other departmental business.
Nhleko began his provincial excursion in July 11 with a visit to the Northern Cape. This was followed by visits to Free State, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and one of the department’s business entity, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
The visits by Nhleko, who joined the department in 10 May this year, are part of a drive to introduce himself to the staff in the department, articulate his vision for the department, provide an opportunity for him to engage with provincial management teams, staff and union representatives in order to understand better issues facing service delivery at the coal face of the Department of Labour.
The visits will also provide him with an opportunity to experience first hand services offered by the Labour Centres of the department, enable him to devise intervention mechanisms, in the short to long-term, based on real challenges facing service delivery in the department, meeting with key stakeholders such as business, labour, government and civil society.
Nhleko told a staff meeting during a Free State visit that while his presence will escalate expectations, he cautioned that: ’I am not a messiah’ who has descended to eliminate all the problems in the department. My visit to provinces is intended to help create necessary structures of interaction between local management and where pockets of excellence exists nurture and provide support in the provincial delivery chain,’ Nhleko said.
During his criss-crossing Nhleko leads a delegation which includes a number of managers such as a director in his office, and directors of various directorates/business units from Project Management, Service Line and Administration, Inspection and Enforcement Services Operation, Chief Operation Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Human Resources Management, Office Administration and Supply Chain and Communication.
Save for exceptional cases the DG’s delegation usually spend two days in a province. During his visits he meets with provincial staff members and Labour Centre staff, the provincial management team and the union representatives.
Other provinces that are yet to be visited by Nhleko include the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and the department’s other business entity, the Compensation Fund.
Source: Department of Labour
Nhleko resumes provincial tour after a brief hiatus
