Question NW1635 to the Minister of Public Service and Administration

Reply:

(a) As at 25 May 2023, the specified employee has been on suspension for approximately 654 working days owing to: 1) delays imposed by the employee in respect to disciplinary process, which was kickstarted within the prescribed 60 days period, and 2) the passing away of the chairperson of the disciplinary committee.

(b)(i) The employee is alleged to have committed serious misconduct (29 charges) including several allegations of prejudicing the administration of the department, failing to carry out lawful instructions, abuse, insolence and gross insubordination. The prolonged suspension is as a result of the protracted processes and applications that had to be dealt with within this process in different forum. To expedite the matter, the Director-General: DPSA, as the disciplining authority, has referred the matter to the GPSSBC as a hearing under section 188A(11) of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 triggered by the passing of the Chairperson of the disciplinary process, amongst others.

(ii) A professional public service starts with holding senior officials accountable to the highest standards of behaviour, decorum and ethics. The DPSA, as the leader of the charge to build a professional, ethical and capable State and the custodian of ensuring that the public service adheres to these enshrined Constitutional principles, must itself live and achieve this goal. Employees within the DPSA have a higher responsibility to act in a manner becoming of these aspirations. The employee in this instance has fundamentally failed in his/her responsibilities and was suspended as his/her continued presence in the workplace would jeopardise the current disciplinary processes, interfere with witnesses and actively undermine the administration of the department to the extent that key work of the department and public service at large would be hamstrung.

(c ) The employee is suspended on full pay, as per section 188A of the Labour Relations Act, read with the Disciplinary Code and Procedures contained in Chapter 7 of the Senior Management Services Handbook. Despite the delays not being at the instance of the Department, the Department is obliged to continue to pay the employee as there is no authority for an unpaid suspension. The DPSA is reviewing the relevant disciplinary codes to ensure that matters such as these are not a phenomenon that plagues the public service. The employees’ rights to fair labour practices must be balanced against the State's ability to hold public servants accountable for their conduct or misconduct. The Department is not in a position to share further details as the case is ongoing.

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