Question NW3691 to the Minister of Social Development
16 November 2023 - NW3691
Arries, Ms LH to ask the Minister of Social Development
(1)By what date is it envisaged that the current vacant positions of senior managers in her department will be filled; (2) whether there are any persons acting in the vacant senior positions; if not, why not; if so, what are the reasons that the positions have not been filled with full-time staff immediately when they became vacant?
Reply:
1. The Department envisages to fill these key Management positions by 31 March 2024.
The Department of Social Development has twenty-two (22) vacant posts in the Senior Management Service (SMS) level.
There are six senior management posts that are at various stages of the recruitment and selection processes – advertising, screening, shortlisting, interviews, and appointments.
The remaining sixteen (16) SMS positions are being considered in line with the re-alignment of the organization structure, cost containment measures and availability of budget.
2. The Department of Social Development has appointed officials to act in various vacant and funded SMS posts.
There are various reasons for not filling the posts immediately when they became vacant, and these include the cost containment measures, the continued reduction of the compensation budget, the funding of the wage agreement from departmental budgets, and the recent DPSA directive on the filling of posts.