New chief fire officer ‘lacks basic requirements’
MBABANE – On November 21, 2022, the CSC advised the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development that a candidate recommended for the position of chief fire officer did not possess the basic requirements to be appointed into this position.
However, less than three weeks later, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) gave the green light to the appointment of the candidate, Luke Lushaba, into this position.
In a memorandum from the CSC executive secretary dated November 21, 2022, addressed to the ministry’s Principal Secretary (PS), Clifford Mamba, which was in response to a memo from the latter dated November 8, 2022, the issue of Lushaba’s lack of the necessary requirements was detailed.
The ministry had recommended him together with Denis Khumalo, the latter being suggested for the position of deputy chief fire officer.
The CSC said according to the ministry’s seniority list, there seemed to be a supersession in that Lushaba had only been promoted to the position of divisional officer on January 3, 2022.
According to the CSC, the Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services stipulates that for an officer to be appointed in the position of chief fire officer, he must possess the following; the officer should have served for a minimum of two years as divisional officer and should have served for a minimum of two years as deputy chief officer.
“According to the above requirements, Mr Lushaba does not possess the basic requirements to be appointed into the position of chief fire officer. Moreover, Mr Lushaba will be proceeding on compulsory retirement on the 3rd of March 2023,” said the CSC executive secretary.
He then sought comments and recommendations from the PS on the issues raised.
Subsequent to the comments and recommendations from the PS, the CSC then appointed Lushaba into the position.
APPROVED YOUR PROMOTION
“I am pleased to inform you that the Civil Service Commission has approved your promotion to the grade of F1 in the post of Chief Fire Officer,” reads the communication to Lushaba dated December 9, 2022 and also December 8, 2022.
He was informed that the effective date of his promotion was the date of assumption of duty and that his salary would be E441 055 per annum.
“You will continue to be governed by General Orders and other regulations in force, or as may be amended from time to time / the terms of Agreement entered into between the Eswatini Government and yourself which is hereby varied to the extent set out in the foregoing paragraphs of the letter,” further reads the communication.
Khumalo has since approached the Industrial Court to seek redress as he believes he is the rightful candidate for the position.
He wants the court to interdict the CSC executive secretary and PS in the Ministry of Public Service from facilitating in any manner the implementation of the letter dated December 8, 2022.
In his application, Khumalo narrated to the court that he was employed as a civil servant under the Eswatini National Fire and Emergency Services on March 13, 1985.
He said he was currently employed as such and was stationed in Matsapha.
Khumalo brought it to the attention of the court that in the subsistence of his career under the Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services, he attended various work-related courses.
According to Khumalo, he obtained certificates in prevention and control of
HIV/AIDS, middle managers course, middle management skills development course, report writing, counselling in the workplace and he participated in a human trafficking workshop.
The applicant further mentioned that he obtained a Higher Diploma in Human Resource Management.
“Pursuant to serving in other positions at the Fire and Emergency Services, I was in 2017 promoted to occupy the rank of divisional officer. When I was appointed to this rank, I was ahead and by virtue of the appointment, I became senior to Lushaba. I occupied this position for a period of notably three years, while Lushaba remained in a junior rank than me,” he argued.
He alleged that on August 4, 2021, Lushaba was then appointed on acting basis to the rank of divisional officer from August to December 2021.
The applicant alleged that he (Lushaba) only became incumbent in that rank in January 2022.
The applicant brought it to the attention of the court that Lushaba’s appointment was made four years after his (Khumalo) appointment into the position.
“I remained senior to Lushaba and ahead of him in terms of experience. On the other hand, when Lushaba was now getting acting appointments in the position of divisional officer, I was appointed Deputy Chief Officer from December 1, 2021 up to July 2022,” Khumalo submitted.
He informed the court that in a shocking and unprecedented occurrence, Lushaba, who had never acted in the rank of deputy fire officer, was elevated to chief fire officer.
MORE EXPERIENCED
In his responding affidavit, PS Mamba has argued that Lushaba is more experienced for the position due to the fact that he worked closely with the former chief fire officer and his former deputy.
He submitted that further, Lushaba’s supervisory work and leadership was undoubtedly satisfactory and that his performance and appointment as chief fire officer was well deserved.
Mamba denied that the acting of Lushaba as chief fire officer was an unprecedented occurrence.
“The appointment, as all other appointments in government positions, was in addition based on the satisfactory performance of the 5th respondent (Lushaba) in the discharge of his duties. Further, the chief fire officer’s appointment sought to be challenged first occurred on March 2022, when the 5th respondent was acting for the position. The applicant was aware of the developments since he was acting deputy chief fire officer reporting to the 5th Respondent. The applicant did not challenge the appointment from inception until the 5th respondent was confirmed to the position,” submitted the PS.
He said he was advised that Khumalo was acquiesced to such acting appointment and never challenged it, hence preempting the confirmation of Lushaba to the position he was acting for.
“Had the applicant been aggrieved, he ought to have challenged the acting appointment before the 5th respondent was confirmed to the position,” Mamba argued.
The PS said he further then recommended Khumalo to the CSC for the deputy chief fire officer position and Lushaba for the chief fire officer position; that Khumalo’s recommendation to his substantive position as deputy chief fire officer led to the appointment of Lushaba as chief fire officer.
“The applicant cannot have his cake and eat it,” he submitted.
He denied that Khumalo was recommended for the chief fire position but to that of deputy chief fire officer.
He also denied that the CSC had stated that Lushaba was not eligible to be appointed chief fire officer.
“The commission raised concerns about the recommendation and sought further comment and recommendations on the issues which were raised. Pursuant to the concerns raised by the commission, I appeared before the commission and motivated that promotions are premised not only on seniority but are also performance based,” Mamba said.
He said seniority was one of the considerations but not the sole consideration.
“I further motivated before the commission that the policy relied on was overtaken by Section 13 of the Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Act, 2022, which requires the chief fire officer to possess the relevant academic and professional qualifications and requisite experience,” submitted the PS.
He said the prevailing unrest emergencies required the leadership of Lushaba and alleged that Khumalo did not meet the criteria he himself relied on.
Mamba said there were also other officers who were senior than Khumalo and these included Ndumiso Sigwane and Auto Dlamini.
“After due consultations, the 5th respondent was recommended to the effect that he is more suitable to do the work. The Ministry of Public Service was consulted as well. It was due to these consultations and recommendations that the 5th respondent was considered for the post. The decision was informed by the recommendations of the immediate supervisors on the basis of working with the officers. The applicant is now substantive deputy who will at some point qualify to be chief officer. The applicant needs to diligently execute his duties for growth purposes. The appointment was merit based,” added the PS.
Lushaba has also deposed to a confirmatory affidavit in which he alleges that Khumalo was aware of his appointment as acting chief fire officer in March 2022 but did not challenge it until he was confirmed to the position.
ACTED ON THE POST
“The applicant never acted on the post in question. I acted in the position peacefully and undisturbed,” he said.
He said he had the required experience and quality to perform and execute his duties accordingly, having worked with the former chief fire officer and his former deputy, and been able to solve many issues in the service, which Khumalo had always failed to solve.
“The applicant was given a task by the former chief fire officer Mr Jabulani Ndzimandze, an issue involving Matsapha Station on workforce refusal to take instructions from their station officer. The applicant failed to solve the issue. I was then instructed to solve the issue and was able to do so,” Lushaba alleged.
Further, he cited an incident that occurred on February 23, 2022 at Siteki Fire Station, where workers were reportedly up in arms against the station officer about an issue concerning one Fuzi Khumalo (late).
“Applicant was instructed to handle the matter as divisional officer but failed to do so. The former chief fire officer then instructed me to handle it, I assisted accordingly and the matter was resolved,” he further alleged.
He averred that the service suffered maladministration when there was no officer acting in the position as officers were taking leave days willy nilly without the requisite procedure.
“This maladministration never prevailed when I was acting in the position. It is therefore correct that I am the most suitable officer for the chief fire officer position,” he submitted, and prayed to the court to dismiss Khumalo’s application.
The matter is pending before the Industrial Court.
MBABANE – The European Union (EU) Ambassador to Eswatini, Dessislava Choumelova, says calls for declaring gender-based violence (GBV) as a national disaster are rightly going stronger.
“Sadly, as we mark another International Women’s Day, the challenges we spoke about last year are still with us. GBV is still prevalent in Eswatini and calls for declaring it a national disaster are rightly going stronger,” the ambassador said.
Speaking on the occasion of the launch of the International Women’s Day (IWD) on Wednesday at UN House in Mbabane, the EU ambassador said: “We continue to lose too many girls and women to violence. One is too many.”
In Eswatini, she said women played crucial roles in supporting their households and communities to achieve food and nutrition security, generating income and improving livelihoods.
CONTRIBUTION TO ECONOMY
The diplomat said their contribution to the economy was enormous. She mentioned though that 70 per cent of the Eswatini population was living in rural areas where women were the main drivers of development.
She highlighted that more than 90 per cent of all caregivers were women.
Choumelova was concerned that most of this care work was unpaid. “We need to make care work count by paying women for this indispensable service to society,” she said.
She emphasised that women in Eswatini needed to be empowered proportionally to the socio-economic contribution they could make to the country’s progress. She lamented the fact that women and girls continued to face persistent structural constraints. With the national elections taking place