7 February 2007
The Department of Labour was putting its house in order following successive
qualified reports by the Auditor-General over the past few years,
Director-General Vanguard Mkosana told Parliament today (Tuesday, 6 February
2007).
Addressing the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on various
issues within the department, Doctor Mkosana explained the perceived
irregularities on some of the issues, including the high staff turn-over, which
he said was due to the rampant poaching of highly skilled officials.
Doctor Mkosana said while the trend remained a negative factor, it had not
really affected the way inspections were being conducted but that mechanisms
put in place had ensured more improvements.
"There is a remarkable change for the better in as far as inspections are
concerned. There has been an increase from 53 000 to 213 000 inspections
conducted by the same number of officials over the last three years, and this
can be attributed to the empowerment of inspectors with, among others,
necessary tools of trade such as sufficient vehicles instead of having to
share," he said.
Regarding the vacancy rate in the department, the Director-General said the
1 009 vacancy figure that had prompted disclaimers from the Auditor General had
in fact, not always been the true reflection as it included employees on
internships, while the actual figure stood at 400.
He told the Scopa panel that the department had managed to put in place
mechanisms through which employee replacements are done swiftly.
"At present we are keeping the vacancy rate at six percent � which is a
universally accepted norm � and we are certain that our recruitment processes
bring us the best candidates for the jobs," he said.
Explaining complaints about alleged irregularities in the awarding of
performance bonuses to some senior officials, Doctor Mkosana explained that the
confusion had occurred when three officials were paid their bonuses in the year
following the one they had actually been assessed.
He conceded that the record keeping had been flawed, but added that the
records in question were duly submitted to the Public Accounts Committee as
soon as they were recovered in that same financial year.
"Top managers forfeited their bonuses as a result. The picture has now
qualitatively changed since then. This has opened our eyes and we are working
on corrective measures to ensure this does not occur again," he said.
Enquiries:
Zolisa Sigabi
Spokesperson
Ministry of Labour
Tel: (012) 392 9635
Cell: 082 906 3878
E-mail: Zolisa.sigabi@labour.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Labour
7 February 2007
