The Public Service Commission (PSC) has paid tribute to its former Deputy Chairperson, Phelele Tengeni, who passed away on 16 July 2021.
Tengeni was resident Commissioner in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial administration for 10 years.
She also served as Deputy Chairperson of the South African Public Service Commission from 2010 to 2014 and Acting Chairperson of the Public Service Commission from February to August 2011.
Whilst at the PSC, she served as a member of the following Specialist Task Teams:
• Monitoring and Evaluation and Service Delivery Quality Assurance (Member)
• Institution Building and Special Operations (Member)
• Leadership and Management Practices (Member and Convener)
• Integrity and Anti-corruption (Member)
Tengeni made a significant contribution to the body of work that the PSC produced during that period.
Prior to her appointment as Commissioner, she was a Senior Lecturer in Political Science at the erstwhile Durban-Umlazi Campus (DUC) of the University of Zululand, where she had been an academic for 13 years.
She also served as Branch Secretary of NEHAWU at DUC, and volunteered her time in extra-mural activities such as Provincial Coordinator for the KZN Churches’ Democracy Education Project and Electoral Officer for the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
In October 2003, she received a merit award for excellence in service from the University of Zululand.
She participated in the empowerment of women and consolidation of democracy in South Africa through voluntarism.
She was also a member of a number of professional organisations, including the South African Political Studies Association, the International Political Science Association, the Union of African Population Studies, the Fulbright Association and South African Association of Public Administration and Management (SAAPAM).
In 2006, SAAPAM honoured her with the award of Distinguished Practitioner in the field of Public Administration and Management.
She served the PSC during the time of the late Chairperson, Professor Stan Sangweni.
She continued to take keen interest in the work of the PSC and public administration in general, until her untimely death. – SAnews.gov.za
