Jan de Villiers (Foto: @GovernanceClus1/X()
“Not only does this place an additional burden on an already financially strained state, but these prolonged suspensions indicate serious weaknesses in disciplinary and consequence management.”
This is what Jan de Villiers, chairman of the parliamentary portfolio committee on public service and administration, said regarding media reports about hundreds of civil servants who are still suspended with full pay and who cost the state approximately R800 million per year.
Sunday Times reported that more than 670 civil servants from the national and provincial administrations have been suspended with full pay.
De Villiers said the latest reports reinforce the committee’s long-standing concern that the public service cannot continue with a system that weakens accountability processes while taxpayers bear the costs.
“These prolonged suspensions raise questions about governance, enforcement and the civil service’s ability to manage its disciplinary system.
“The committee will request the minister of public service and administration to inform the committee about the reasons why disciplinary cases remain unresolved outside the prescribed time frames and the corrective steps the department is taking.”
The minister and his department will also be requested to provide statistics on the number of civil servants currently suspended and their cost to the state. The committee will also request an update on the implementation and effectiveness of the central register for disciplinary management.
De Villiers said that the prolonged suspensions must also be considered together with all the concerns raised by the committee about the integrity of the public service’s payroll, especially regarding the phenomenon of ghost workers. “All these issues add up and contribute to the swelling of the public sector wage bill.
“Whether it’s ghost workers, long-term suspensions with full pay or unresolved disciplinary cases, these are systemic weaknesses with a real impact, as much-needed funds are diverted from critical services.”
De Villiers said that building a capable and ethical state requires a professional public service in which discipline is applied fairly, consistently and without delay.
“Civil servants must be protected from unfair processes, but the state must also ensure that misconduct is dealt with decisively and that public funds are not wasted through avoidable administrative failures.”