In at least two of the cases, competent police members were not even shortlisted, while candidates who did not meet the minimum requirements did appear on shortlists. (Photo: Tania Heyns/Maroela Media)
Two separate cases in the Western Cape have revealed serious irregularities in the police’s promotion processes and raised questions about accountability, incompetent panels and millions of rand lost to the state due to unfair labor practices.
In both cases, competent police members were not even shortlisted for promotion, while candidates who did not meet the minimum requirements did appear on shortlists.
Ronél Stander, network organizer in the public sector at Solidarity, says that in one case a panel member admitted during arbitration that most of the candidates on the short list should have been disqualified from the outset due to incomplete or faulty applications, late submission and insufficient experience.
In the meantime, Solidarity has for Lt. Gen. (adv.) Thembisile Patekile, Western Cape police chief, approached about the recurring mistakes by assessment panels. Stander says that so far there has been no attempt by the commissioner to solve the problem.
“He simply ignored our inquiries,” she says.
The first case concerns Capt. Heinrich Schoultz, who at the time served as adjutant officer in Mossel Bay and had already acted as commander several times. When the commander position was advertised in 2020, he applied and met all the requirements. He was not shortlisted.
“During arbitration, it became clear that the shortlisting process was fundamentally flawed and that there were serious administrative problems, including incomplete documents, no complete record of proceedings, inadequate declarations about conflicts of interest and no clear motivation for shortlisting decisions,” says Stander.
(Photo: SAPS/ Facebook)
According to Stander, documents that should have explained the promotion decision were later unavailable.
The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (KVBA) finally ruled that the police were guilty of unfair labor practice. Schoultz was awarded more than R208 000 in compensation and was retroactively promoted.
In a second case, Lt. Col. David Malong was also not shortlisted for a higher position, despite the fact that he met the requirements. The CCMA found that the panel’s decision was irrational and that the applications were not properly evaluated.
“Important documents about the shortlisting process could not be provided by the police and some criteria were only added later, or were never properly recorded,” says Stander.
“The result is that the state has to pay compensation again because the promotion process could not pass legal and administrative testing.”
Solidarity has meanwhile started an investigation to determine how much of taxpayers’ money has been lost over the years due to misconduct, incompetence and faulty promotion processes in the police. According to the organization, the problem is probably systemic and not limited to a few cases. The cases also raise serious questions about accountability in the police service. Stander says important questions remain unanswered.
“Who is held responsible when promotion panels do not do their job, how many similar cases exist and what is the total financial cost to the state?”
According to Solidarity, the consequences do not only affect the state treasury.
“When competent officers are overlooked, it weakens morale, leadership and ultimately service delivery and public safety,” says Stander.