Qualifications of more than 2,000 senior officials to be checked

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is to investigate more than 2,000 senior government officials to verify their qualifications, it said on Monday.

DA MP Mimmy Gondwe asked the PSC to investigate the senior managers and the circumstances surrounding their employment in the public service.

In a letter to Gondwe dated October 6, chair Somadoda Fikeni said the PSC had started the investigation and that on September 15 it had written to acting public service & administration minister Thulas Nxesi’s office for particulars “pertaining to the allegation of the 2,349 public servants that do not have the qualifications for the positions they hold”.

The PSC is still awaiting a reply.

Nxesi revealed in May that 2,412 of 9,309 senior managers in the public service did not have the qualifications reflected on the personnel and salaries management system (Persal). At the time, Nxesi said his department was monitoring Persal data updates and reminding accounting officers of the importance of maintaining this information.

Senior management staff members with proper qualifications might not have them reflected on the system.

“It is important to reiterate that the matter of the senior managers’ or other employees’ qualifications be understood within the broader context of the professionalisation of the public service efforts under way,” he said.

In another question in August, Gondwe asked how many of the 2,412 senior managers were appointed before the Public Service regulations of 2016 came into effect. The regulations introduced new qualification requirements for senior managers.

According to Persal information, 1,819 senior managers who do not meet the required qualifications were appointed before the implementation of the regulations, Nxesi replied. “Through [a] circular, departments have been instructed to update information on Persal, including the remainder of the 593 cases,” he added.

Gondwe said the DA requested the commission to determine if the appointment of the 1,819 senior managers was done in line with the Public Service regulations of 2001, which were the applicable regulations before the 2016 regulations came into effect.

“The DA maintains that if the government is serious about building a capable, effective and efficient public service administration, it has to ensure the people appointed in that administration are qualified, experienced and competent enough for the positions they occupy,” she said.