Call for ministers to be able to hire and suspend DGs

PSC raises concern over vacancies in public service

The Public Service Commission (PSC) wants President Jacob Zuma to give his ministers the power to hire and suspend their directors-general.

This follows the reinstatement of Home Affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria in October after he challenged his suspension by former home affairs minister Hlengiwe Mkhize.

The court nullified his suspension on the grounds that it was unconstitutional and only Zuma had the authority to suspend him.

Speaking at the release of a quarterly report on the state of the public service, PSC commissioner Mike Seloane said they had raised the issue of the delegation of powers to ministers by Zuma with Public Service and Administration Minister Faith Muthambi.

“The executive authority of the country vests with the president. The president exercises that authority together with the cabinet that he appoints. What it means is that when the president is sworn in, he or she has to sign delegations to ministers to be able to appoint heads of department.”

The PSC is a statutory body that monitors provincial and national government departments and plays a role in dispute resolution. Seloane expressed concern about the 22.6% vacancy rate in the Eastern Cape government, the highest in SA. SA’s 1.3 million strong public service has an average vacancy rate of 10.3%.