The Department of Correctional Services has lifted a two year moratorium on filling of vacancies by advertising 380 critical vacancies today, 25 July 2010.
The advertisement of the vacancies is a first and major step towards addressing vacancies in the Department of Correctional Services following the lifiting of the moratorium instituted about two years ago to address rocketing personnel expenditure and to prevent unmanaged over expenditure emanating from essentially the implementation of the Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) for correctional officials.
Due to the OSD related budget pressures the department overspent its budget in the 2008/09 financial year by nearly half an billion rands. The 380 posts are advertised in three Sunday newspapers and on the departmental website http://www.dcs.gov.za as well as on the public Service and Administration website http://www.dpsa.gov.za.
Correctional Services National Commissioner, Mr Tom Moyane says funds for the filling of essentially supervisory, middle management and professional positions were sourced from the natural attrition of staff in the department. He said annually the Department of Correctional Services loses an average of 1 200 staff members due to terminations that include resignations, deaths or dismissals. In total Correctional Services' approved establishment has 41 500 posts and currently has a staff complement of 40 676, showing a two percent vacancy rate.
Commissioner Moyane said "the post advertisements carried in this weekend’s newspapers are just a beginning of a sustained effort to ensure that Correctional Services has appropriate human resources to deliver on its services delivery targets."Among the key senior positions to be filled are medical doctors, pyschologists, nurses and Heads of Correctional Centres. About R70 million will be used to fill these vacancies.
National Commissioner Moyane has given a directive to the management to start and complete the recruitment process within a period of two months, a real turn around considering the department’s normal average of three to six months of recruitment processes. To achieve the turnaround key elements of the recruitment will be decentralised with Regional Commissioners and Chief Deputy Commissioners being champions of the process.
The urgency to fill these vacancies was discussed at an Executive Management meeting held earlier during the week. The meeting was attended by both the Minister of Correctional Services Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as well as National Commissioner Moyane.
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Manelisi Wolela
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