Ex-MEC told to explain officials’ non-promotion
FORMER Health MEC Sicelo Gqobana appeared before an arbitration hearing last week to say why the department failed to promote a group of about 10 employees while he was at the helm more than three years ago.
He was summoned to explain why they were not promoted despite a Public Service and Administration (PSA) department directive for the standardisation of their posts.
The employees were employed as support staff to senior administrators and were to have had their salaries adjusted upwards after the PSA ordered that such posts be upgraded across all departments.
Gqobana missed his first hearing on October 17 and faced the music on Friday.
He confirmed yesterday that he had signed for the implementation of the directive.
He said then department head Dr Siva Pillay was to have implemented it, but could not because of financial constraints.
“I was also told that [it] could not be implemented because the department was still going through restructuring,” he said.
Gqobana did not know why the directive was not implemented when Phumza Dyantyi succeeded him.
Provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said the decision to upgrade the posts was a provincial executive committee decision.
“The positions had to be subjected to job evaluation. At the time, health could not do [this] as it had already started [realigning its] organogram.”
On Friday, Gqobana said he was asked to confirm whether he had signed the memorandum.
The hearing has been postponed to next year.