INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS
Minister of Public Service and Administration, Lindiwe Sisulu. Picture: Phill Magakoe
Durban – Schools and hospitals could soon be the target of unannounced inspections to address high absenteeism and the attitudes of nurses if Public Service and Administration Minister Lindiwe Sisulu gets her way.
Sisulu wants the inspections to address high teacher absenteeism, long waiting periods in state hospitals and the negative attitudes of some nurses.
The move is likely to raise the ire of the SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu), which is openly opposed to the concept of school inspectors, who were removed from the education system in 1994.
The union has made it clear in the past that it will oppose any move to bring back inspectors.
Sisulu made the announcement at the Public Service Commission’s national conference in Cape Town on Thursday.
The conference forms part of the commission’s centenary celebrations.
Sisulu said the commission had already conducted various “assessments” to measure departments’ performance “against the principles of the Batho Pele White Paper”.
In addition, the commission, in collaboration with the portfolio committee on public service and administration, had also conducted “announced and unannounced” inspections at “key service delivery sites”.
“I would like to suggest that we should target education and schools because this is an area that we in the ruling party have declared as an apex priority, and reading the statistics from the HSRC (Human Sciences Research Council) that relate to absenteeism of teachers is very worrying.
“We request you consider these unannounced inspections in key areas.”
She said state hospitals also needed urgent intervention.
“Second place would be our hospitals.
“The waiting time in our hospitals is completely unacceptable. It is not just the waiting time, it is the attitudes of our nurses. And the whole ethos of a caring society is very central in the constitution,” said Sisulu.
Sisulu said that since taking over the department last year she had instructed officials to implement improvements in various departments.
She also touched on troubled Limpopo, saying the province was slowly turning the tide and witnessing the benefits of state intervention.
She said through the state’s intervention all “ghost employees” had been removed from the provincial payroll system.
The state had also finalised 47 charge sheets against employees for various allegations.
In December 2011, five provincial departments were placed under administration because of allegations of corruption and gross violation of the Public Finance Management Act.
Former Limpopo premier Cassel Mathale said in a statement after his sacking that contrary to reports, he and the provincial government had acted against corruption and had not interfered with investigations.
The Mercury
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