Stocktaking as Dukwana looks to fill vacant jobs in government and municipalities

Staff reporter

Bloemfontein – The Premier of Free State, Mxolisi Dukwana will today meet with the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), Public Protector (PP), Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (DPCI) known as Hawks in what many say is to get an update from these institutions.

According to the leaked agenda, the meeting starts at 09h00 and the abovementioned institutions will make their presentations followed by presentation by Dr Phera on suspensions and disciplinary hearing of more than a year.

This is a thorny issue as Public Service Commission’s National Commissioner, Anele Gxoyiya has raised concerns over suspensions as they threaten service delivery.

“Precautionary suspension does not amount to a breach of the employment contract by the employer, because the employee remains on full pay, although prevented by the employer from performing the duties that would normally be required of the employee,” Commissioner Gxoyiya said.

Commissioner Gxoyia says suspension with full pay should only be considered as a last resort and if it is not possible for the employer to precautionary transfer an employee during the investigation.  

Reports from the DPSA showed that the total costs of precautionary suspensions at national and provincial departments amounted to R25 million during the 2021/2022 financial year.

According to Gxoyiya, the scale of the problem needs government to put in place robust measures to reduce the pending cost of suspensions to taxpayers.

“In fact, receiving salaries while absent from duty is in violation of the rule of no work no pay. The PSC noted that deep rooted and systemic corruption do not exist in a vacuum.

“Suspensions trends showed that they have flourished due to institutional failures in State systems and accountability as well as failures to achieve visible consequences for corrupt activities,” he said.

The other items are filling of HOD and Municipal Managers positions and the presentations will be done by Dr Phera and COGTA HoD, Sugar Ramakarane respectively.

There are currently three vacant HoD positions at Social Development with Advocate TJ Phahlo acting, Police, Roads and Transport with Masego Tshabalala acting and Sport, Arts, Culture with Mokete Duma acting.

Number of the newly elected Provincial Executive Comittee are rumored to be eyeing the vacant HoD positions and the challenge according to sources is for these posts to be re-advertised the Premier who has a prerogative to appoint, will have to show cause as to why the interviewed candidates are not fit to be appointed.

What is missing from the agenda is how the FSPG is going to deal with irregular appointments as Public Service Regulations give clear guidelines and among those appointments it is the office of the Premier.

Also, how the FSPG is handling 94 senior managers who do not have required qualifications as reported by former acting Minister of Public Service and Administration, Thulas Nxesi.

How Dukwana deals with the above will be very interesting considering the ANC gave its deployees a task to create 50 000 jobs and Municipal Managers and HoDs were invited to the ANC Lekgotla giving a strong indication that they are meritocratic-ally deployeed.

Out of 21 municipalities, 11 are dysfunctional with 44 criminal cases in the balance.

Mxolisi Dukwana, Free State Premier did not respond to our questions over the decision of his party to absorb politically linked contracts beyond their expiry bloating the government budget without adverts.

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