Suspended EMPD deputy chief Julius Mkhwanazi remains on the City of Ekurhuleni’s payroll while disciplinary and criminal proceedings continue.
Image: Oupa Mokoena/ ANA Studio
Prolonged suspensions of hundreds of public servants with full pay are costing the state about R800 million a year, with the spotlight now on suspended Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) Deputy Chief of Police Julius Mkhwanazi, who has been paid more than R1.2 million while awaiting the outcome of his disciplinary hearing.
Earlier this year, Jan de Villiers, the chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, said prolonged disciplinary processes 'not only place an additional burden on an already financially stretched state, but point to serious weaknesses in discipline management and consequence management'.
The committee warned that these were systemic weaknesses with a real-life impact, as much-needed funds are diverted from critical services
Mkhwanazi, who has been arrested five times, has been suspended since November 11 last year and remains on the City of Ekurhuleni’s payroll, while awaiting the outcome of his disciplinary hearing and facing multiple criminal charges, including recent allegations tied to the blue-light saga.
He allegedly unlawfully registered vehicles from Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala’s security company into the municipal fleet and fitted them with unauthorised emergency blue lights.
The amount of R1 272 211 (total cost of the suspension to date, including salary, benefits, and any other additional expenses) was disclosed in response to a recent question to Gauteng Infrastructure Development and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Jacob Mamabolo.
In recent years, eThekwini Ward 101 councillor Mzimuni Ngiba earned about R1 million while sitting in jail for allegedly killing ANC candidate Siyabonga Mkhize before the 2021 local government elections. The process of stopping Ngiba’s salary could not start until he stopped sending leave of absence notices.
Ngiba and four others are still on trial for the alleged murder.
University of KwaZulu-Natal Graduate School of Business and Leadership public governance specialist Professor Purshottama Sivanarain Reddy said the law makes it mandatory for public servants who have been suspended to receive their full pay, irrespective of the charges levelled against them.
“The delays in finalising these charges could be due to ongoing investigations and systemic delays; the suspended officials deliberately delaying the hearings, thereby enabling them to continue receiving their salaries; and a lack of consequence management in holding the chairpersons of the disciplinary hearings committee accountable for finalising the hearings,” Reddy explained.
“Perhaps more pressure needs to be applied to the law enforcement agencies investigating the matter externally, as well as to internal structures and individuals, to expedite the matter so that it can be finalised and appropriate action taken against the individuals in question. In the absence of this firm and decisive action, there will be a strain on public resources, both financial and human, and a question mark over the public sector’s modus operandi.”
Political commentator Rebone Tau emphasised that South Africa’s collective bargaining regulations and the constitutional right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty play a role in the process, making this a central legislative issue.
“We might have to review some of the laws,” Tau said.
He added that Section 188 of the Labour Relations Act (66 of 1995) read with the Disciplinary Procedure Collective Agreement enforced through the South African Local Government Bargaining Council, and Section 188 (1)(b) provides: “A dismissal that is not automatically unfair is unfair if the employer fails to prove that the dismissal was effected in accordance with a fair procedure.”
Tau said reactive investigations undermine good governance and should not be tolerated. However, disciplinary actions should not be rushed at the expense of procedural fairness.
“Furthermore, there is a need to review our labour laws regime and policies to enable the disciplinary process to be promptly implemented, especially in cases of employees’ dilatory conduct during disciplinary proceedings,” Tau added.
Wits public management Professor William Gumede said disciplinary procedures take too long in the public service compared to, for example, the private sector.
To ensure fairness, he proposed a three-month cutoff for paid suspensions, with full back pay provided only if employees are cleared.
Gumede said that paying officials is both a result of labour law protections and a failure of internal disciplinary policy.
“It’s both, but I would lean more on the failure of the internal processes in the public service. What we need to do is fix the internal disciplinary processes in the public service because it has actually collapsed. It has failed.
“The internal processes are not working effectively, but then there’s the other issue: our labour legislation is very, very tight. We really need to introduce processes in state-owned companies, municipalities and government that speed up the labour disciplinary processes,” Gumede said.
