R76 million wasted on Gauteng officials ‘staying at home’

Being on suspension could be a career, if this report from The Star is correct.

The information comes from the Public Service Commission (PSC) – a government watchdog established in terms of the constitution – and they are not happy.

Gauteng departments have paid a total of R75.7m on salaries of officials placed on precautionary suspension in the last seven years, the paper reported on Tuesday.

What’s more, 607 cases of financial misconduct amounting to over R1.26billion were reported in Gauteng government departments.

Financial misconduct is the broad term used in the public service to describe corruption, financial mismanagement, fraud, gross negligence, misappropriation and abuse, as well as theft.

But  back to the suspension pay…

The PSC claims Gauteng departments have not been complying with the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council’s resolution on disciplinary codes.

Disciplinary hearings must be conducted as soon as possible… and that’s where the stuff up is happening.

Since 2011 only 23% of the disciplinary hearings have been held within the prescribed period of 60 days, while 76% took place after.

And the shocking trend isn’t just exclusive to Gauteng.

Former public service and administration minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi revealed earlier this year that between April and December 2016, national government departments also splashed the cash on suspended employees.

Around R112.5m went to suspended officials, while provinces paid over R24m in the same period.

There is one solution that could speed things up: suspension without pay after the prescribed time for disciplinary proceedings is over.

But it’s not just financial misconduct contributing to money seemingly going missing.

Earlier this month, Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu revealed that irregular expenditure by government departments and state-owned entities increased to just over R45-billion in the 2016/17 financial year.