The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, urgently requesting that the Minister of Public Service and Administration, Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi, be summoned to account for the alarming misuse of public funds highlighted in yesterday’s media reports.
According to the Sunday Times, approximately R800 million of taxpayers’ money is spent each year on the salaries of hundreds of suspended public servants, many of whom have remained at home for years while their cases remain unresolved.
This is not a minor administrative issue. It points to a serious breakdown in accountability across all spheres of government.
The report shows that at least 674 provincial and national officials are currently suspended, most of them well beyond the 90-day guideline. In some cases, individuals have remained on paid suspension for years, even after disciplinary processes have concluded.
Municipalities, already under intense financial pressure, are among the hardest hit, with millions of Rands lost due to prolonged, unresolved suspensions.
There are also growing concerns that lengthy suspensions are being misused either to quietly remove officials from their posts or to delay accountability processes, thereby allowing misconduct to continue unchecked.
At a time when service delivery is collapsing in many communities and every Rand counts, it is unacceptable that so much public money is being spent on officials who are not working and are not held to account. Parliament cannot afford to look away while this situation continues.
The DA therefore calls on the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee to urgently summon the Minister to account for the scale of precautionary suspensions across government, and:
- Explain why disciplinary processes are routinely allowed to exceed legal and regulatory timeframes.
- Set out clear steps to ensure suspensions are properly managed and time-bound.
- Provide a plan to recover funds where maladministration or abuse is identified.
The Minister must also explain the apparent failure of oversight within departments and the lack of consequences for those responsible for prolonged delays.
South Africans deserve a public service that is accountable, efficient, and focused on delivery, not one in which employees are paid for years while cases drag on without resolution. The DA will continue to use all parliamentary mechanisms at its disposal to enforce accountability and safeguard public funds.