6 334 civil servants got paid billions while on suspension

TAXPAYERS have paid R4.5 billion to 6 334 public servants who have been at home while on suspension since 2019.

This was revealed by Public Service and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu when responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Mimmy Gondwe.

Gondwe asked for the number of employees on suspension, the nature of the disciplinary offence each employee allegedly committed, and the turnaround time for the suspensions. She also asked about measures to ensure a public servant suspended with pay in one department was unable to get employment in another department until his or her disciplinary case was finalised.

In his reply, Mchunu indicated that there were 6 384 civil servants on suspension two months ago – 6 092 were employed by national departments and 292 were working for provincial departments. He said the government had spent R2 4bn in the 2019-20 financial year pending the finalisation of disciplinary hearings. R2.8 million had already been spent by January this year.

Gondwe said the Department of Public Service and Administration should consider placing a cap on the time it took 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,” she said.

Mchunu’s response showed that some employees were on suspension for up to 21 months.

Out of the 6 334 suspended officials, 578 were civil servants who contravened acts, 287 intimidated others, 197 carried firearms or dangerous weapons at work, 392 wrongfully used state property, 208 blocked others from joining a trade union, 208 slept on duty without approval, and 185 mismanaged finances. Other offences included being absent from work without permission, damage of state property, failure to carry out instructions, falsifying documents, misuse of position to promote a political party, and running a money-lending scheme on state premises.

Gondwe maintained that taxpayers should not be expected to subsidise a flawed, expensive administrative system. She called for timely resolution of disciplinary cases in the public service to be included as a key performance area for directors-general and heads of departments in all government departments to prevent long-drawnout disciplinary processes that placed an undue and unjustified burden on the taxpayer.