Suspended officials costing taxpayer R1 million a month

SALARIES paid to suspended Department of Correctional Services officials are costing taxpayers R1 million a month.

Correctional Services Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has told MPs there were 117 officials suspended on full pay - and that some had been on suspension for more than two years.

The department's suspended boss, Xoliswa Sibeko, will face a disciplinary hearing at the end of the month, Mapisa-Nqakula told the National Assembly's correctional services committee.

But the minister warned of a "long battle" with Sibeko's lawyers, who are defending her against allegations that she rented a luxury home for R35 000 a month while an official residence was available.

MPs told the minister and her deputy, Hlengiwe Mkhize, they were concerned that so much was being spent on the salaries of officials who remained on suspension for extended periods.

Mapisa-Nqakula said the number had gone down from 142 suspended employees in April to 117 in September.

However, in KwaZulu-Natal alone, nine officials had been suspended on full pay for more than two years, Mapisa-Nqakula said.

The minister also revealed that there were eight cases that had not been finalised over a period of between a year and two years, while seven disciplinary hearings had not been concluded in a period of between seven and 12 months.

The minister said officials found guilty usually appealed, and this caused delays.

The department's chief deputy commissioner for corporate services, Alfred Tsetsane, said the responsibility for disciplinary hearings lay with regional commissioners.

He said the department was in the process of aligning units in the department so that head office would be able to deal with matters from provinces.

"Some of the cases are related to corruption, and some of them have a criminal element. Sometimes you get legal representatives delaying processes, and the unions are not available during the hearings.

"Where you get the gaps is mainly in the regions," Tsetsane said.

But ANC MP Nozibonelo Phaliso would have none of this, describing Tsetsane's explanation as "a technical answer".

"We want to urge you to look at capacity in your legal unit. There's no progress," said Phaliso. She said it was clear the department did not have the capacity to expedite the cases.

Nomakhaya Mdaka (ANC) said the duration of the suspensions was disconcerting in view of the amount paid in salaries to suspended officials.

Committee chairman Vincent Smith (ANC) said it was evident that the department was flouting its own policy on disciplinary hearings.

Sibeko's hearing would start on November 30 and last two days, Mapisa-Nqakula said.

The Star 12/11/09