SUSPENSION STORM: Lumka Oliphant defies Minister Sisisi Tolashe after R3 Million New York trip exposé
By Sitha Maliwa:
The Department of Social Development has been thrown into turmoil following the suspension of its outspoken Head of Communication, Lumka Oliphant, after the Sunday Times exposed Minister Sisisi Tolashe’s R3 million two-week trip to New York.
Oliphant, who has long been recognized as one of the government’s top-performing communicators, believes the suspension has nothing to do with her performance but everything to do with political victimisation.
“I have just received a letter of suspension from the department following an exposé by the Sunday Times on a trip to New York where Minister Sisisi Tolashe spent R3 million for two weeks,” she declared. “The department, Sisisi in particular, believes that I leaked the information … just because I hav...