Government spokesman Jimmy Manyi has denied a report on Friday that he received a letter indicating that his contract would not be renewed.

“There is no such thing, it is a complete fabrication,” Manyi said.

Harold Maloka, spokesman for Minister of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency, Collins Chabane, echoed these sentiments.  

“The minister did not have a discussion with Manyi regarding his contract and there was no such letter.” 

The Mail&Guardian reported that Manyi had received a letter from Chabane to inform him that his contract would not be renewed when it expired in August.

An unnamed government official was reported as saying:

“Effectively [Manyi] has been sacked from government, in particular for repeatedly making embarrassing remarks”.

Another official claimed Manyi’s comments on the Gauteng e-tolls were “thoughtless”.