One government employee has received a salary for 5 years while suspended

South Africa’s Minister of Public Service and Administration, Mzamo Buthelezi, revealed that 471 public servants are on paid suspensions and that one received a salary for 5 years.

The minister provided this information as part of a parliamentary question and answer session last month.

Member of Parliament Sixolisa Gcilishe asked the minister what number of public servants were currently on paid suspension.

She also asked the minister what the longest period a public servant spent on paid suspension was in the 2023-24 financial year.

Buthelezi responded, saying that as of the end of July 2024, 288 public servants from national departments and 183 from provincial departments were on paid suspension.

He added that 54 public servants from national and provincial departments were suspended for longer than one year.

Cases where a public servant has been on paid suspensions for longer than 3 years were recorded by:

• The Department of Defence (5 years)
• The Department of Higher Education and Training (4 years)
• The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) (3 years).
• The Gauteng Province Department of Economic Development (4 years)
• Human Settlements (4 years)
• The Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Education (4 years)

“The longest period a public servant has spent while on paid suspension in the 2023-24 financial year is 5 years,” Buthelezi added.

Of the 54 government employees on suspension, 17 were from the education sector, and eight were from the NPA.

Buthelezi explained that the cases where employees have been on paid suspensions for longer than a year are complex and could not be finalised within the prescribed period.

In the education sector, cases involving teachers committing sexual transgressions against learners are referred to the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC).

“The ELRC indicated it has a backlog of cases, which impacts the finalisation of cases,” Buthelezi said.

Some of the cases in the NPA involve allegations of corruption, fraud and financial investigations, and prosecutors cannot be considered for precautionary transfers.

Some of the cases in the NPA were delayed due to attempts to interdict the disciplinary process and by challenging suspensions.

The table below shows the cases where public servants have been on paid suspensions for longer than a year.