Disciplinary cases in Public Service; DPSA & Public Service Commission; Free State Progress Report, with Minister

Meeting report

Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA)
Mr Willie Vukela, Acting Director General, DPSA, took the Committee through the presentation on the average number of days taken to resolve disciplinary cases in the Department. 

On Regulatory Framework, Section three of the Public Service Act gives powers to maintain sound labour relations and to ensure that the public service is disciplined. The period upon which the disciplinary processes should be finalised is governed by Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) Resolution one of 2003 for employees within the bargaining unit (levels 1 -12) and Chapter seven of the SMS Handbook for SMS members. In terms of the enabling clauses a disciplinary hearing should be completed within 60 days and where there are appeals within 90 days in instances where officials are on precautionary suspension.

Discipline trends in the public service has revealed that it takes too long to finalise disciplinary cases which is contrary to the enabling prescripts. According to the latest PERSAL report ending 31 December 2017 the average number of days it takes departments to finalise cases is 95 days. As at 31 December 2017, the number of days taken to resolve disciplinary cases by national and provincial departments was 95 days. This is an increase compared to the 2016/17 financial year, when the average number was 86 days, and a decrease compared to the 2015/16 financial year when it was 142 days. This fluctuation is a cause for concern and needs to be managed. In determining the root cause of the problem, a coordinated approach was initiated. This coordinated approach included National Treasury, DPSA, the Public Service Commission and the Office of the Auditor General.

Challenges

• The diverse nature of cases and the legal intricacies involved sometimes make it impossible to set a definitive target date for the completion of disciplinary cases.
• In matters that involve criminal prosecutions bail conditions that prohibit the employee from contact with witnesses sometimes hampers the conclusion of cases.
• The issues are further complicated by the lack of interaction between the bureaucracy and the prosecution to deal with the matters.
• Lack of safety measures for key witnesses in fraud and corruption related cases which also involve outside suppliers (high profile cases).

As a way forward, Labour Relations practitioners at an appropriate level should be appointed to head labour relations in departments. Improve cooperation between departments at all levels with regards to the release of officials to investigate, initiate and chair disciplinary hearings. Forum of SA Directors General (FOSAD) to find ways to minimise the physical threats posed to witnesses in fraud and corruption cases. The speedy establishment of the Technical Assistance Unit in terms of the Public Administration Management Act to deal with corruption cases. Wherever possible, Executive Authorities to alert the Minister of Public Service and Administration (MPSA) of any gaps in our and discipline management frameworks. Improve cooperation between the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the public service where matters are of a criminal nature to enable the speeding up of disciplinary cases.

Discussion
Mr S Motau (DA) said when an employee has committed a transgression and is confronted with evidence and later found guilty, he/she should not get paid suspension. The Department should try to combat the intimidation of other employees. The transgressors should be taken out of the system and be dealt with without fear or favour.

A Member asked whether the information is unreliable because the person capturing the data is not trained to do so or is it because of an inherent flaw in the system?

Ms Z Jongbloed (DA) asked the Minister whether the R5 billion that was taken had been returned. On the presentation, she asked what the consequences are for departments who do not complete disciplinary hearings in 60 days. She also asked what kind of transgressions the employees commit.

Mr D Khosa (ANC) asked how the Department trains and empowers employees to minimise the possibility of disciplinary hearings.

Mr M Ntombela (ANC) raised concern that the situation had become out of hand to the extent that National Treasury had to be called.

The Minister of Public Service and Administration, Ms Ayanda Dlodlo, responded that a trends analysis needs to be done to determine if people have the necessary skills for the jobs that they do.  Sometimes people are suspended without the authorities applying their minds into the suspension. Suspension should be the last resort; however, it is the easiest. Sometimes mediation is the best solution.

Mr Vukela answered that the MSG in its induction programme, trains the employees and empowers them so that they are well equipped with the skills they need to do they jobs.

Public Service Commission (PSC)
Ms Sellinah Nkosi, Commissioner, PSC, took the Committee through the presentation on financial misconduct. The Legislative Framework on misconduct stipulates that in terms of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (PFMA) read in conjunction with regulation 4.3.1 of the Treasury Regulations, 2002, accounting officers of departments are required to report on the outcome of completed disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct, to the executive authority, the DPSA and the PSC. Given the Constitutional mandate of the PSC, it monitors and evaluates amongst others how departments are managing financial misconduct.

The total number of finalised cases on national level is 758, for Gauteng 87, Kwa Zulu Natal 66, Western Cape 64, Limpopo 45, Free State 36, Mpumalanga 36, the Eastern Cape 27, Northern Cape 21 and Northwest 10.

A total of 1150 disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct were completed for the 2016/2017 financial year. 22 out of the 46 national departments and 56 out of the 113 provincial departments submitted a “nil return”. A “nil return” means that the department reported that no financial misconduct cases were completed in the 2016/2017 financial year.  

The types of financial misconduct reported are unauthorised expenditure, corruption, fraud, gross negligence, irregular expenditure, theft, wasteful and fruitless expenditure, misappropriation and abuse.

National and provincial departments reported that the total amount of money involved in completed disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct for the 2016/2017 financial year was R524 353 075.76. National departments reported an amount of R246 025 219.68 (46.9%) and Provincial departments reported an amount of R278 327 856.08 (53.1%). The Department of Human Settlements: Gauteng Province reported the highest amount comprising R171 541 909.88 (32.7%) of the total amount reported by national and provincial departments. The national Department of Public Works reported the highest amount comprising R101 583 063.56 (41.3%) of the total amount reported by all national departments.

Gauteng Province reported the highest amount comprising of R198 312 821.19 (71.3%) of the total amount reported by all provinces.

Of the total amount (R524 353 075.76) involved in completed disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct:

An amount of R11 352 329.61 (2.2%) was recovered from employees found guilty.

An amount of R243 839 238.51 (46.5%) was considered as “no loss to the State” because the State did not suffer any loss e.g. an item procured or service provided might not have been procured economically.

An amount of R269 161 507.64 (51.3%) was not recovered at the time departments reported the outcome of the cases to the PSC

The trends analysis shows that in the 2016/2017 financial year, the number of completed disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct has increased by 512 (80.3%) in comparison to the 2015/2016 financial year i.e. from 638 to 1150 and this was the highest in the four financial years. (2013/2014 to 2016/2017).

In comparison to the 2015/2016 financial year, there has been a drastic increase in the number of SMS members (salary levels 13-16) charged with financial misconduct in the 2016/2017 financial year i.e. 32 (2015/2016) to 297 (2016/2017). An increase in the number of SMS members (297) found guilty of financial misconduct is a worrying concern as SMS members are required to play a critical role in the promotion and maintenance of sound financial management in the Public Service.

There has been a decrease of 77 cases in respect of employees charged with financial misconduct at salary levels 1-8 i.e. from 469 in the 2015/2016 financial year to 392 in the 2016/2017 financial year. This could be ascribed to, for example lack of induction of lower level employees on policies and procedures, lower level employees being the first point of contact with service providers in respect of procurement.

Reports submitted by departments show that there are inconsistencies in the sanctions imposed for cases of a similar nature. Although not assessing the merits of the cases, e.g. an employee was found guilty of theft amounting to R5205.00 and the sanction imposed was a written warning, whilst an employee in the same Department found guilty of theft amounting to R1088.00 was issued with a sanction of suspension without pay.

In comparison to the 2015/2016 financial year there has been in the 2016/2017:

• an increase in the number of completed disciplinary proceedings.
• a drastic increase in the number of SMS members charged with financial misconduct.
• a decrease in the number of employees found guilty of financial misconduct.
• an increase in criminal proceedings instituted.
• an increase in the amount of money involved in completed disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct.

Financial misconduct prevails at all levels of the Public Service. However, the highest number of completed disciplinary proceedings were at salary levels one to eight.

Some of the reasons provided by departments for the non-finalisation of disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct were: awaiting approval of the sanction by the presiding officer, awaiting the outcome of an appeal, disciplinary hearing in progress etc.

Whilst there is still room for improvement, there has been an overall increase in the completion of disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct in the 2016/2017 financial year in that 1150 disciplinary proceedings on financial misconduct has been completed and 574 were not completed.

Discussion
A member asked whether the presentation reflected the misconduct and questioned the reliability of the information. The presentation shows a lot of written warnings for people who abuse the state’s money. The transgressors should be charged no matter the amount. The Auditor General stated that the amount for wasteful expenditure is roughly R20 or R30 million per year. However, the presentation shows that about R 4 million was recovered. Why is such a small amount recovered because this reflects a loss for the country.

Mr Motau referred to slide 27 and said advising someone will not work if that person is not sanctioned properly.

A Member referred to the cases that were not completed. Do they get carried over to the following financial? What recommendations does the department give to reduce wastage? Referring to slide 21, what is reason for the inconsistencies shown there?

Ms Jongbloed asked whether the Department makes use of external experts to assist. Further, does the Department make means to recover the money or is it written off; and who manages the PERSAL system?

Ms D van der Walt (DA) asked whether the person who wasted R22 million is being investigated.

Mr Khosa asked what the impact of not managing cases is. The sanctions are inconsistent.

Mr Ntombela asked why there is a high rate of misconduct on national level because it should be leading by example.  How often do public officials attend workshops?

The Chairperson said that the Department should respond in writing to elaborate questions.

Minister Dlodlo responded that all departments are evaluated by the AG. All departments will be monitored to apply standard sanctions for standard transgressions. This needs to be worked on a single reporting template which will consolidate everything. Further, the Committee has the right to call the departments that underperform before it to account. Directives will be issued which will help to curb the issue of corruption. The concept of a suspended suspension is questionable. What kind of sanction is that?

The Commissioner responded that the PFMA instructs accounting officers to report on the outcome so the Department comes in at the end of the process. The Department gets reports of the cases that Department themselves have finalised. Discipline in a management issue and DPSA must communicate with the departments. PSC makes an analysis and makes recommendations.

Free State
Ms Hellen Kekana, Deputy Director General, Office of the Premier Free State, took the Committee through the presentation. The Committee undertook an oversight visit in the Free State From 26-29 June 2017. The Committee met with the Office of the Premier, DPME, DPSA and PPSC to receive reports on the provincial Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT), Service Delivery Improvement Plans and a report from PSC. Based on the findings and recommendations of the Committee, the office of the Premier in collaboration with other stakeholders, developed an action plan to monitor progress.

Findings from Universitas Academic Hospital show that patients queued for three to seven hours before acquiring health services. It was recommended that the queue management strategy should be developed to manage time taken by patients to receive services.

The shortage of staff in hospitals impacts on the quality of the healthcare services. The Committee recommended that the Department of Health develop a recruitment strategy to fill funded critical vacancies in all hospitals. The institution appointed 29 professional nurses, 12 staff nurses and 22 nursing assistants by the end of 2017.  Approval has been granted for filling of medical and nursing personnel critical posts.

The response of ambulances took too long the Committee recommended that a system be put into place to monitor the response time of ambulances and improve the response time where it is not acceptable. Progress has been made because the response time of ambulances is monitored by a transport coordinator and currently the response time 30-60 minutes for discharges and transfers. Further, all challenges are escalated to District EMS Management Services.

At Pelonomi hospital, patients have also been queueing for three to seven hours. Three queue marshals are available to manage queues in Casualty and OPD. There is continuous monitoring of waiting time in place.

The response time of ambulances took too long but now the response time for turnaround time for ambulances is in place and monitored by EMS and hospital personnel.

On the Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT), it was discovered that most provincial departments were complying in terms of the implementation of the guidelines for planning of implementation programmes. Through coordination by the Office of the Premier, the DPME and National School of Government (NSG) arranged a three-day training session on the guidelines for the planning of Implementation Programmes. The training was scheduled from 13-15 February 2018 for the Departments of Health, Education, Social Development and Human Settlements at this stage. At least one senior manager from the said departments was nominated by the respective HOD’s to participate in the training. Also, two officials from the Free State Training Academy were nominated to participate in the dedicated for trainers in the training academies from 20-22 February 2018.

On 30-day payments, the office of the Premier is often inundated with complaints from service providers that despite supplying the goods in accordance with orders and rendering services satisfactory, some departments and municipalities are not affecting payments within 30 days from receipt of an invoice. In August the Premier established a contact centre under the Provincial Monitoring and Evaluation branch to deal with non-payments of service providers within 30 days.

Once a complaint is written, accompanied by the relevant documentation, has been received by the office of the premier, it is forwarded to the relevant department or municipality. The responsible officials follow up with departments and municipalities on outstanding payments and provide feedback to the service provider until the case is resolved.

All role players took note of the findings and recommendations made by the Committee. The office will continue to monitor progress to ensure that recommendations are implemented and the key focus will be those targets that could not be achieved.

Discussion
Mr Ntombela stated that the Free State ambulance has the tendency of interrogating the caller. It is a serious concern.

Mr Khosa said the ambulances have always been monitored by EMS. Do the ambulances arrive at the scene with equipment because that is what is needed as a turnaround strategy. Further in hospitals, patients should not be in a queue for five to six hours. Queue marshals are not useful if there Is a shortage of nurses. Patients should not have to sleep in long queues.

Ms van der Walt stated that the Free State has an electricity crisis; how are hospitals affected by this?

A Member thanked the Department for the presentation. Many small businesses suffer because they do not get paid. Do you apologise to them and is the Department coordinating sign-language interpretation?

Mr Motau congratulated the Department for its improvement with the audit outcome.

The MEC answered that the first ambulance goes to assess the situation. Sometimes a smaller car goes to the scene first and if need be an ambulance will be called which usually has all the equipment.

Electricity is a serious matter and so is water. All hospitals have generator backups which can run for eight hours. However, Eskom can shut the power down for up to twenty hours and that is problematic.

Some questions will be responded to in writing.