A written response to a DA parliamentary question has revealed that, in just two years, the government is on course to spend R4,5 billion remunerating public service employees who are currently on suspension with full pay and benefits pending the finalisation of their disciplinary cases.
After spending R2,4 billion in the 2019/2020 financial year, the South African taxpayer will fork out another R2,1 billion to pay suspended public service employees in 2020/21.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling on the Department of Public Service and Administration to consider placing a cap on the amount of time it takes government departments to resolve disciplinary cases of suspended public service employees.
At most, it should not take longer than three calendar months to resolve a case of a suspended public service employee, as per the Public Service Act and its Regulations. This after the parliamentary reply in question also revealed that some employees have been on suspension, with full pay and benefits, for a period of 21 months.
Taxpayers should not be expected to subsidise a flawed, and expensive, administrative system that adds no value to service delivery.
Some of the reasons given for the suspension of public service employees in this regard, include, but are not limited to:
- Sexual harassment;
- Possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon on state premises;
- Under the influence of habit-forming/stupefying drugs;
- Stealing, bribery and fraud;
- Possession or wrongful use of state property; and
- Willful or negligent mismanagement of finances.
Public service employees are all bound by a code of conduct in the exercise of their professional responsibilities. As such any wilful violation of the Act and its Regulations should not become a financial burden on the taxpayer as is the case in this particular instance. This speaks to the flawed nature of Government’s current system on “suspension with full pay and benefits” which requires to be amended as a matter of urgency.
Timely resolution of disciplinary cases in the public service should be included as a key performance area for Director Generals and Heads of Departments in all government departments so as to prevent long drawn out and protracted disciplinary processes that place an undue and unjustified burden on the taxpayer.
Therefore, the DA also calls on the Public Service Commission to urgently launch an investigation into the delays in finalising the identified disciplinary cases by the implicated government departments.
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