De Lille clamps down on wrongful appointments, may axe 100 employees
- 100 employees of the Department of Public Works could soon be on the chopping block
- This comes after a report found that many of them had been wrongfully appointed
- Minister Patricia de Lille has promised to take decisive action against these officials
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Minister of Public Works Patricia de Lille says that 100 employees in her department could soon be fired.
This comes after a report found widespread irregular appointments in the department.
"What was done was illegal and we are all subject to the law," De Lille said, explaining the decision to dismiss these officials.
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An investigation into appointments at the department was instituted by Thulas Nxesi, who held the position before De Lille, Briefly.co.za has gathered. The investigation found that 12 senior managers had been improperly appointed, as had 94 employees in middle management, according to The Sowetan.
In several cases, officials were appointed without following due process or proper channels.
De Lille has slammed these improper appointments on several occasions. Previously she said that the appointment of unqualified officials harmed ordinary South Africans as it led to poorer service delivery. The minister stressed that the department was seeking to place competent candidates in important positions moving forward.
"This is to show that government is very serious about service delivery," De Lille told CapeTalk in a recent interview.
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De Lille has already approached the Labour Court over some of these appointments. For example, she wants the appointment of the 12 senior managers deemed invalid and set aside.
However, she faces some opposition. The Public Service Union, which represents some of the employees that De Lille is trying to axe, says it will fight any attempts to remove its members from office unless evidence of their incompetence or poor performance can be produced.
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Source: Briefly News
