Question NW1842 to the Minister of Public Service and Administration
14 June 2022 - NW1842
Gondwe, Dr M to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration
(1)Whether his department intends to require that public servants spend a minimum number of years in a position before they can be considered for and/or qualify for a promotion (details furnished); if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) What number of (a) directors-general and (b) heads of departments are currently acting without having the requisite experience of over six years in a senior management position within the Public Service?
Reply:
(1) Recruitment and Selection in the Public Service under the Public Service Act, 1994, is based on an open employment system where persons apply and compete for positions. Persons already employed in the Public Service need to also apply for higher posts in the event that they wish to progress in the service and compete for such posts, promotion is not automatic. When a post is created it is subjected to a job evaluation process where the inherent requirements of the job is determiner, this includes educations qualifications, technical experience and managerial/supervisory experience (where such is required) and any other requirement which could be professional registration etc. The Job evaluation determines the salary grading for a post.
(2) Section 32(2) of the Public Service Act, 1994 makes provision for an appointment to act which is the prerogative of the relevant Executive Authority. Regulation 63(2) of the Public Service Regulations, 2016 states that, an employee directed to act in another post in terms of section 32(2) should have the necessary competency for the post to which he or she is appointed to act. Competency means the combination of knowledge, skills, behaviour and aptitude that a person can apply in the work environment, which indicates a person’s ability to meet the requirements of a specific post. Therefore the requirement to act is based on the competency of a person appointed not whether she or he meets the inherent requirements in terms of years of experience. An acting person is not the incumbent of the post, she or he is appointed in the short term for purposes of business continuity for that work environment. For that reason there is no monitoring for purposes of acting and meeting experience requirements and it is not a prescriptive requirement to meet the inherent requirements of the job as determined through the job evaluation process.
End