Suspended public service employee earns R4.4 million in 3 years while sitting at home

20 October 2023

A written response to a DA parliamentary question by the Department of Public Service and Administration has revealed that South African taxpayers have paid close to R70 million in salaries to 417 public service employees who are currently sitting at home on suspension with pay in both national and provincial government departments.

An employee in the Department of Public Service and Administration, who has been on suspension for 2 years and 7 months – and counting, has earned R4,4 million while sitting at home. At a provincial level, an employee in the Free State Department of Human Settlements, who has been on suspension for 2 years and 8 months, has pocketed R3,6 million.

This terrible state of affairs is a grave indictment on the deficient disciplinary management system in the public service. While the country’s labour laws guarantee the rights of all employees to fair disciplinary hearings, the failure by the public service to timeously conclude disciplinary cases is testament to a system in need of serious reform. Prolonged suspensions affect service delivery as government departments are forced to shoulder the extra workload of an employee on suspension.

Of particular concern in the data presented in the written reply is that, 42 public service employees – who occupy senior management positions and earn over R1 million rand per year, are sitting at home while getting paid to do nothing. This class of millionaire managers in the public service has not only become a significant cost item on the public sector wage bill, they have transitioned to multi-millionaire freeloaders enjoying semi-retirement at taxpayers’ expense.

The National Framework Towards the Professionalisation of the Public Sector will remain an idealistic vision unless urgent steps are taken to address the administrative deficiencies that continue to waste taxpayers’ money with no corresponding improvement in service delivery.

The Public Service Commission is now duty bound to intervene and review the disciplinary management system in the public service and make recommendations towards its effective reform.

It is completely unacceptable to expect taxpayers, who are going through the worst cost of living crisis in recent times, to fund the millionaire lifestyles of public service employees while they sit at home idling.

The DA calls on the Minister of Public Service and Administration, Noxolo Kiviet, to urgently present a clear plan on how she intends to address the broken discipline management system in the public service and stop the prevailing culture where suspended employees continue to be paid millions for being idle.

Issued by Mimmy Gondwe, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration, 20 October 2023