PSS TELL PAC: HIRING FREEZE STILL IN PLACE

LOBAMBA – The hiring freeze is still in place as it was never lifted.

Principal secretaries (PSs) across government ministries have told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the hiring freeze was only lifted on paper but not the operation within government, especially where the filling of vacant posts is concerned, Circular No.3 of 2018 is still in place. The PSs told the PAC that the ministries of Public Service and Finance still run the show in terms of how many posts each government ministry gets. Circular No.3 of 2018 was implemented during the 11th Parliament, after the country hit an economic slump, which, among the drivers of the financial constraints, was the huge wage bill.

Shrinking

To relieve the government purse, which was extremely shrinking at the time, the Cabinet implemented the circular, which froze hiring and promotions in the public service. Last year and early this year, the government, through the pillar ministries of the Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC), which are the Ministries of Finance and Public Service, announced at separate intervals that the hiring freeze had been unfrozen and government ministries could fill vacant posts. The supposed lifting of the ban was even welcomed by controlling officers in various government ministries, because they had lamented how service delivery was being compromised due to limited human resources on the ground. In the past week, government ministries came under fire from the PAC, which is led by Mhlangatane MP Madala Mhlanga, for underperforming in some of their responsibility areas. Some were under fire for underutilising their personnel cost budget, which is supposed to be utilised for paying wages and salaries for staff members.

The PAC chairman said during the sessions, that he was confused as to why there were still high numbers of vacant posts in government ministries, because it had been announced by the Ministry of Public Service that the hiring freeze was lifted and government ministries could fill vacant posts. Even the vice-chairman of the PAC, who also chairs the House of Assembly Public Service Portfolio Committee, attested that the hiring freeze was unfrozen. Among the PSs who were quizzed about the vacant posts and underperforming in some of their responsibility areas, included the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, as well as the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

The PS in the Ministry of Agriculture, Sydney Simelane, told the PAC that there were around 700 vacant posts in the ministry that needed to be filled. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy PS, Dorcas Dlamini, also lamented the serious limitation in human resources in the ministry and how it crippled their service delivery, which resulted in them underperforming in some responsibility areas. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security was also under fire for E195 000, which was not utilised because they could not get a waiver from Public Service.
The controlling officer in the Ministry of Agriculture told the PAC that the freeze was only lifted on paper but it was still in place.

Posts

They explained that before the ministry could hire, they still needed to apply for a waiver from the Public Service and depending on the available budget, they could be granted the posts.
The PS in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy last Wednesday also told the PAC that the hiring freeze was still in place, because posts were also granted on the available budget.
“I would not say the hiring freeze has been lifted, because we still use the same process to hire as we did before the announcement,” she said. The controlling officers mentioned that the difference was that they no longer asked for a waiver at Cabinet but the powers had been delegated to the Ministry of Public Service. The PS in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Makhosini Mndawe, told the PAC that the hiring freeze had been slightly relaxed than before, but not completely lifted as it is still in force.

Mndawe supported his response by explaining that there were still difficulties in filling vacant posts. He mentioned that under the current financial year, they were granted seven posts. He stated that there were over 40 vacant posts in the ministry, hence he believed the hiring freeze was still in place. The government officials also told the PAC that they prepared a budget to fill the posts every year, only to find that they were not granted the authority, because the Ministry of Public Service considered priorities. They explained that the financial year might come to an end without being granted the authority to hire.

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