While the state must decisively act against corrupt bureaucrats, it must do so economically and in a timely manner. This week, we report on hundreds of millions of rand the government pays to employees sitting at home while on suspension for misconduct.
While corruption-weary South Africans want to see action taken against state officials who collaborate with politicians and criminals to loot state resources, spending millions on suspended employees while they contribute nothing amounts to a waste of public resources.
State departments are notorious for failing to adhere to the 60 days prescribed for officials who collaborate with politicians and criminals to loot state resources, spending millions on suspended employees while they contribute nothing, amounts to a waste of public resources.
State departments are notorious for failing to adhere to the 60 days prescribed for disciplinary processes. Many cases drag on for years.
Many officials do not understand labour relations laws, or even what precautionary suspensions entail
The department of public service & administration says that it had identified capacity problems as the reason.
Many officials do not understand labour relations laws, or even what precautionary suspensions entail. Employees facing disciplinary hearings often involve lawyers, forcing the government to also bring in professionals and consultants, significantly increasing the costs of such processes.
In a new approach in recent years government employees have been allowed to return to work even if their cases have not been concluded in the prescribed 60 days, and then being transferred to a different department. It is not clear how effective this strategy has been, but the R300m annually spent on suspended employees could go a long way towards tackling many social ills, such as poverty, crime and unemployment.
To improve the civil service, the department of public service & administration must ensure suspensions with full pay are finalised within the prescribed time frames, improve the capacity and skills of those handling cases, and see to it that heads of departments are held responsible when they don’t resolve disciplinary processes promptly.
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