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File: UIF Commissioner Teboho Maruping speaking at a government engagement.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) says the prolonged suspension of senior government officials is costing taxpayers millions of rands and exposing deep failures in government’s internal labour systems.
This as UIF Commissioner Teboho Maruping remains on full pay more than a year into his latest suspension, with his disciplinary hearing still unresolved.
This was revealed by the Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosaza Meth, in a written Parliamentary reply from the DA.
DA spokesperson on Employment and Labour, Michael Bagraim, says the state is routinely suspending officials for months, even years, while paying them full salaries and failing to conclude disciplinary hearings.
He says the pattern reveals a civil service in crisis.
“It’s furthermore showing up the problems of the civil service in government where employers go ahead and suspend employees for months on end, if not years on full pay. It is disastrous. It has been revealed that government has spent millions of taxpayers’ money on endless suspensions, never getting to the disciplinary hearings and on many occasions they just bring them back to work. They appear to be either reckless or unable to run internal labour relations within our government.” -Report by Mkhokheli Bandla
