DA welcomes Minister Mchunu’s commitment to take action against government officials doing business with the State

The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes Public Service and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu’s commitment to take action against the 1 544 public service employees who are conducting business with the State. The DA has for years put pressure on the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) to investigate these incidents.

Not only is it morally bankrupt for public service employees to conduct business with the State, it is also a serious criminal offence, and those implicated should be held accountable according prescripts of the law.

In a reply to a DA parliamentary question, Minister Mchunu confirmed that of these 1 544 public service employees doing business with the State, 1 111 were from provincial departments and 433 from national departments.

The parliamentary reply also revealed that 309 senior governmental management officials at both provincial and national government departments have not adhered to Regulations 18 (1) and (2) of the Public Service Regulations 2016 by failing to disclose their financial interests annually by 30 April 2020.

Minister Mchunu disclosed that of the 309 senior managers who were guilty of not adhering to the requirements of the Public Service Regulations, 243 worked in national departments, 14 in national government components and 52 within the provincial departments.

It is worrisome that senior managers that should be setting an example within the departments simply treat these requirements with contempt. We call on the relevant departments to ensure that those individuals are held accountable, as they are not above the Public Service Regulations.

The duty of a public servant is to care for the welfare of our communities and to ensure that services are delivered to the public – it is not to defraud the state and self-enrichment. The DA will continue to push for the public service be beyond approach so that we can build a capable state that protects the public purse and guarantees services to citizens.

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