Note to Editors: Please find a soundbite in English from DA MPL, Alan Fuchs here.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s government’s failure to properly manage officials’ leave is costing taxpayers R1.3 billion for capped leave and 1.5 billion for sick leave.
This weakness is negatively impacting cash flow as well as service delivery to the residents of Gauteng.
This continues to happen at a time when residents are paying more for service delivery and receiving less. It is a disgrace that the Lesufi administration’s lack of oversight is allowing staff leave liabilities and absence costs to grow.
The recent presentation by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to the Gauteng Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) has exposed serious weaknesses in the provincial government’s financial control and management oversight. The presentation presented results from a study which examined leave records from the public service’s human resource systems between 2020 and 2023.
Capped leave is defined as leave that employees did not take, which has built up over time to the maximum allowed and now sits on the state’s books as a future payout liability. In Gauteng, that liability stood at more than R1.3 billion by December 2023. The PSC warns that this cost keeps rising as salaries increase and employees are promoted to higher positions. The problem does not stay where it is. It gets worse when the government fails to act.
The sick leave figures are also troubling. In 2023 alone, sick leave in Gauteng cost almost R1.5 billion. The PSC recommends annual audits of sick leave records and stricter checks on medical certificates to detect excessive use and possible misuse. This is a result of weak supervision, poor control and far too little consequence management.
The PSC further warns that long periods of absence place a strain on other staff and undermine business continuity. The public therefore pays twice, first through the financial cost, and then through weaker service delivery in departments that are already under pressure.
A Democratic Alliance (DA) led Gauteng provincial government would enforce leave management and implement consequence management. This would ensure the well-being of staff as well as the desired level of service delivery to residents. Furthermore, where it is suspected that sick leave is being abused, we would immediately conduct an audit to determine any malfeasance.
Only the DA can fix Gauteng and restore the credible oversight this province so urgently needs.