Daily Dispatch

Clamp down on freeloaders

IT IS unfathomable that anyone could be on sick leave for six years. But in this province we have about 56 public servants who have been on extended sick leave for periods of two to six years.

How this is possible is anyone’s guess. It would be laughable were it not so serious and costly. As taxpayers we have coughed up R162-million for 396 civil servants who have been on extended sick leave.

Granted some cases are genuine instances of sickness – the list includes those who have been away from work for three months and above.

But surely there are medical records or a history that explain why anyone is away from work, especially for an extended period.

And if an employee is away for a lengthy period there are normal human resource processes – including medical boarding – which should kick in. Anything beyond that is plain ridiculous. Topping the list of culprits is the department of education, implying that teachers are involved, followed by health.

Education alone accounts for 278 of the total, or 70% of the public servants on extended leave.

In response to a question from the DA in the Bhisho legislature Premier Phumulo Masualle made it clear the list included cases of abuse of the sick leave processes.

Some of these public servants “just stay at home as long as they wish without discipline”.

It was also revealed that some civil servants claiming to be sick had failed to submit the required documentation to back up their claims.

That should be a clear cause for a dismissal. Such people should not be on a government payroll and a burden to taxpayers.

As to how anyone can stay away for such an extended period without the matter being detected and addressed talks to a total collapse of human resources processes within our government.

How it got to this point is anyone’s guess. Obviously someone in Bhisho knows. Then again it’s possible that no one knows. Such is the quandary of a systems collapse.

The high turnover of senior officials may also be a factor, having resulted in an absence institutional memory in some departments.

But it is not enough for politicians to just bemoan the lack of discipline. We should not have to carry the burden of civil servants who have no interest in working.

With the Eastern Cape accounting for the highest unemployment rate in the country – 34.4% against the national average of almost 28% – we do not have a shortage of people, some of whom could fill these positions.

The provincial government must not only take responsibility. It must present a solution to the problem.

Clearly systems need to be jacked up. Individual departments can also not abdicate their responsibility in ensuring that cases are resolved.

Anyone who cannot or does not want to continue working, whether their case is genuine or not, should be removed from the system and government’s payroll.