Minister of Public Service and Administration Noxolo Kiviet says it was too early to decide on action that will be taken against 2,000 senior officials who have no qualifications until an investigation has been completed.
Kiviet said appropriate action will be taken upon receipt of the report of the Public Service Commission, which is investigating the officials concerned.
She said the report of the PSC will contain recommendations and findings, which would give direction on the sanctions to be imposed on the 2,000 officials.
It was reported recently that the senior officials who had no qualifications were in several departments, at both national and provincial levels of government.
The PSC began the investigation after it was asked to probe the qualifications of the officials.
Kiviet, who was replying to a written parliamentary question from the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Mimmy Gondwe, said they will wait for the report of the PSC before talking about the action they will take against the implicated officials.
“The Public Service Commission is currently investigating the qualifications of senior managers, the findings and recommendations of which have yet to be officially reported. As such, it would be both early and premature to speculate on potential sanctions against senior managers lacking the requisite qualifications for their current roles.
“Once the investigation is complete, the findings will dictate the appropriate sanctions. Notably, some senior managers have been serving in their current positions well before the issuance of the 2017 Directive on minimum entry requirements. Their long-term experience could potentially demonstrate the acquisition of sufficient knowledge and skills necessary for their roles,” said Kiviet.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has in the past said they want to professionalise the public service and this would mean putting people with the right skills and qualifications in the right positions.
He said this was part of the shake-up of the State as they want to deliver results.
He said the time of hiring people who lack qualifications should be a thing of the past, and they want a public service that will be able to respond to the challenges of the State.
In his State of the Nation Address, Ramaphosa said one of the key elements for this would be to tighten the pre-entry requirements and that people will be appointed on merit.
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