The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) wants resignations of public servants facing charges declined.
Their resignations must only be accepted when disciplinary proceedings are concluded.
In this regard, the committee supports and appreciates the ground-breaking stand taken by the Minister of Social Development in refusing the resignation of the Chief Executive Officer of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) Fezile Makiwane, at a time when he is facing charges of a R11 million tender irregularity.
The practice in the civil service all along has been that when senior officials faced charges, they simply resign and it all ends there.
We have always wondered why were there no mechanisms to stop people from resigning when facing disciplinary charges.
All public service employees must serve a notice of one month before resigning; there must be no 24-hour resignation.
The committee also applauded the move by the Minister of Correctional Services to change the department’s current housing policy.
Housing in the department has been a problem for some time, with officials who get a housing subsidy getting accommodation at no cost to them, resulting in what has been termed “double-dipping”.
We support the move by the minister to change the current housing arrangement because it responds to long standing calls by Scopa that government was not economical.
Committee Chairperson Themba Godi said he was surprised by Police and Prison Civil Rights Union (POPCRU’s) reaction to the decision. “Popcru doesn’t seem interested in seeing government saving money. They seem to have sunk to ‘yellow trade unionism’.”
For enquiries contact:
Sakhile Mokoena
Tel: 021 403 2340
Cell: 082 364 3633
Issued by: Parliament of South Africa
24 February 2010
Source: Parliament of South Africa (http://www.parliament.gov.za/)
