The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) has no measures in place to stop public servants from applying for any of South Africa’s social grants.
This is according to Acting Minister Thulas Nxesi, who made the revelation in a written parliamentary reply published this week.
Nxesi was responding to DA MP Mimmy Gondwe who had asked, “What measures and/or interventions has [Nxesi’s] department put in place to prevent public servants from unlawfully (a) applying for and/or (b) receiving any grant that they are not entitled to apply for and/or receive?”
‘No mandate’
In his reply, Nxesi said the DPSA has no mandate over the management of grants. He added that the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and other institutions manage grants through systems that run independently of DPSA.
“The DPSA therefore has no mandate to interfere in the operations of any grant-providing government institutions, has no access to their systems, and therefore cannot put measures in place to prevent public servants from applying for and receiving any grants that they are not entitled to,” the Minister said.
News of public servants applying for – and receiving – the R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of them were SASSA and provincial Social Development employees, SASSA revealed in August last year.
Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu further revealed that more than 40,000 public servants had applied for the grant, with about 241 eventually being paid.
Use of PERSAL
However, Nxesi said the DPSA has helped SASSA to identify applicants who are public servants by comparing them against the Personnel Salary System (PERSAL).
“This allows SASSA to identify if applicants are public service employees, which enables them to block such applicants,” Nxesi explained.
“The DPSA, through the Technical Assistance Unit, has also compiled the list of public servants that are suspected to have applied and received grants that they were not entitled to, for investigation through the Fusion Centre.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa established the Fusion Centre in response to widespread corruption surrounding the procurement of COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE). It is a government coordination body that involves the SA Police Service, the National Prosecuting Authority, Financial Intelligence Centre and other departments. It coordinates criminal and disciplinary processes.
“These initiatives serve to discourage and punish unethical behaviour amongst public servants,” the Minister concluded.