Question NW3935 to the Minister of Public Service and Administration

Reply:

1. The following table shows the breakdown of (a) positions and (b) salary levels of the 281 public servants who were identified as serving as councillors of municipal councils:

a) Position	b) Salary levels	Total #
Cleaner	02	4
General Assistant School	02	1
Child and Youth Care Worker Grade1	03	1
NA1 Nursing Assistant Grade 1	03	1
General Assistant	03	1
Road worker	03	2
Security guard Grade II	03	1
Security officer	03	6
Sports coordinator	03	2
Court interpreter	Not pacified	1
Intern	Not specified	1
ECD Practitioner - Public School	Not specified	1
Driver/Messenger: Circuit Management	04	1
Foreman: Ground services	04	1
NA2 Nursing Assistant Grade 2	04	1
Nutrition Advisor	04	1
Teacher	04	1
Clerk	05	1
Emergency Care Officer Grade 2	05	1
Forensic Pathology Officer Grade 1	05	1
Accounting clerk	05	1
Administration clerk	05	5
CB1Security Officer Grade 3	05	1
General Administration Clerk	05	1
Personnel Officer Grade 1 Senior	05	1
Provisioning Administration Clerk Senior	05	1
Senior Administration Clerk Grade II	05	7
Senior Personnel Officer Grade II	05	1
SN1 Staff Nurse Grade	05	2
CB 1 Security Officer Grade 1	06	1
Community Development Worker	06	1
Emergency Care Officer Grade 4	06	3
Lecturer	06	2
Malaria Surveillance Supervisor	06	1
Provisioning Administration Clerk Grade III Senior	06	1
Security Officer II Senior	06	1
Senior Administration Clerk	06	1
Teacher	06	8
CB1 3 Security Officer	07	1
Chief Admin Clerk Grade 1	07	1
Cultural Officer	07	1
Labour Relations Officer	07	1
Lecturer	07	2
Logistic Support Officer	07	1
PNA2 Professional Nurse Grade 1	07	4
Secretary Chief: MEC Support	07v	1
Supply Chain Management Practitioner	07	1
Social Worker Grade 1	07	2
Teacher	07	42
Asset Officer	08	1
CD A6 Community Development Practitioner Grade 3	08	1
Departmental Head	08	17
Employment Services Practitioner 2	08	1
Local Co-ordinator	08	1
Personnel Officer: Chief	08	1
Principal Road Safety Officer	08	1
Project Officer IASP Environment Management	08	1
Provincial Inspector Senior	08	1
Registration Clerk	08	1
Teacher	08	18
CB1 3 Security Officer Grade 1	08	2
Departmental Head	09	4
Deputy Principal	09	7
Director: Administration Assistant	09	1
Director: Assistant Gender (Siyanda)	09	1
Education Specialist Senior (FETI)	09	1
Principal P2	09	23
SW A8 Social Work Supervisor Grade	09	1
Teacher	09	4
Education Specialist (Office Based)	10	1
Education Specialist Deputy Chief (Office Based)	10	2
Education Specialist Senior (Office Based)	10	1
PNB3 Operational Manager Nursing (Speciality Unit)	10	1
Principal 2	10	11
Principal 3	10	17
Teacher Master	10	1
Deputy Director: HEST & HPM	11	1
Deputy Director: Parliamentary	11	1
Director: Administration Deputy	11	1
Portfolio Co-ordinator	11	1
Principal P3	11	3
Principal P4	11	4
Dentist Grade 3	12	1
Deputy Director	12	1
Deputy Director: Administration	12	1
Manager Information Services	12	1
Principal P4	12	2
Director: Logistics and Asset Management	13	1
Part-Time Teacher	Not specified	15
TOTAL		281

(2) (a)The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) has written letters to departments with public servants employed as municipal councillors (b) in September 2022. These departments were requested to provide information by 14 October 2022 to the DPSA, through a standard reporting template, indicating the public servants in their employ who serve as municipal councillors.

(3) The DPSA has not established the number of identified public servants elected as full-time councillors who resigned from the Public Service with effect from the date immediately before assuming the position of municipal councillor. The reporting template that was shared with the affected departments did not include a request for this information.

(4) Only three departments with employees elected as municipal councillors provided information to the DPSA by the due date of 14 October 2022. The Department of Correctional Services and Gauteng Department of Human Settlements provided a nil report and the Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs disclosed that two employees requested permission before assuming the position of part-time municipal councillor. One of the employees passed on.

The DPSA is monitoring all the implicated departments. The Department of Correctional Services and Gauteng Department of Human Settlements were given name lists to verify their nil reports and name lists were also shared with the following departments: Free State Department of Education, and KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

The DPSA will make follow-ups with all the affected departments which have not yet provided information to the DPSA by the due date of 14 December 2022.

(5) (a) The DPSA cannot take disciplinary steps against the employees of other departments, but its own. Discipline management is a decentralised process and accordingly, each department has the responsibility to discipline its own employees. However, all relevant information was shared with the Accounting Officers of the identified employees, so that the departments can institute disciplinary action against their employees and report progress to the DPSA. The DPSA will monitor the situation and report on progress.

(b) The DPSA cannot take steps to recover the remuneration received by public servants from other departments who failed to comply with applicable legal prescripts. Disciplinary processes are invoked in terms of the provisions of the Disciplinary Code, Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council Resolution 1 of 2003. This Code does not provide for a sanction such as the recovery of monies or for punitive fines. The recovery of money can therefore only be done when departments are using permitting prescripts outside the Discipline Management process, such as to litigate.

End