CSC RULES ON PS TSABEDZE’S RETIREMENT DATE

MBABANE – The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has ruled that Sipho Tsabedze, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, must retire from the civil service within two weeks. This decision follows an enquiry by the CSC into the principal secretary’s (PS) date of birth. Discrepancies were allegedly found between the date of birth recorded on his blue form (used for government employment) and his appraisal documents, with three different birthdates (1963, 1965 and 1967) appearing in official records.
The CSC concluded that the PS’ official retirement date is February 3, 2025.   In coming to the conclusion, the CSC cited court judgments and a circular which clearly states that the birth of date for a civil servant to be considered as that of retirement is the one that appears on the blue form. The enquiry was initiated to determine the accurate retirement date of Tsabedze, after there was a dispute in his date of birth, with him allegedly disputing the one which appears on the blue form.

Accepted

General Order A635 provides that: ‘‘An officer’s date of birth that will be accepted by government as the date of birth is the date the officer wrote on the first appointment. If an officer decides to furnish a sworn affidavit baptismal or birth certificate with the purpose of amending the original date of  birth, the Civil Service Board or principal secretary, Ministry of Public Service and Information shall not accept such certificate when determining his/her retirement.’’ To affirm this position, the commission issued Circular No.3 of 1994 which states as follows; Retirement Dates of Government Officers (title). Ministries and departments are hereby further reminded that for retirement purposes, the date that will be used is the date which was recorded when an officer joined the service. You are, therefore, requested to have copies of officers’ application forms in their personal files so that the information can be obtained in making calculations for terminal benefits.

“Affidavits as to birth certificates are no longer accepted. Even though a birth certificate obtained after an officer’s appointment is a legal document, the information they contained should not necessarily supersede information furnished earlier by a government officer, which partly or wholly formed the basis of his/her contract of employment.” Meanwhile, given the reportedly varying dates in the PS’s file, if he was born in 1963, he should have retired in 2023 as that is when he would have reached the statutory retirement age of 60.
However, with the 1965 birth year, which is reportedly in his employment file as well, he should retire this year as a person born in the aforementioned year reaches 60 in 2025. On the other hand, if the year 1963 is the precise one, his retirement should be in three years, as someone born in that particular year reaches 60 years in 2027.

Using the ruling of the CSC, which sets that Tsabedze should exit the civil service on February 3, 2023, the investigation based its findings using the year 1965 as that which the PS entered the employ of the civil service. The investigation by the CSC follows a private motion moved by Lobamba Lomdzala Constituency Member of Parliament (MP) Marwick Khumalo, on September 12, 2024, and was seconded by Mayiwane Constituency MP Sicelo Dlamini. Khumalo moved that Minister for Public Service Mabulala Maseko should engage the CSC with a view to investigating the growing and prevalent trend of public servants who resort to altering their dates of birth, either midway during their tenure of employment or towards reaching the retirement age.

Subsequently, legislators accused the PS in the Ministry of Public Service of altering his date of birth three times. They alleged that the PS had three dates of birth - 1963, 1965 and 1967. At the time, they did not mention his name, but referred to his position. The allegations were made during a House of Assembly sitting on September 23, 2024, when the MPs debated a report tabled by the Minister for Public Service, Maseko. At the time, the minister noted that the motion called for the engagement of the CSC, but the minister said it would have been proper and more effective if the motion included the Teaching Service Commission (TSC), Judiciary Service Commission (JSC) and Parliamentary Service Board because the CSC carries a portion of civil servants.

“The rot could come from all these commissions,” he said. Maseko said the way the motion was crafted limited the scope of work because there was the likelihood that from workers hired by the public service through CSC, there could be two or no workers who altered their date of birth to shift their retirement date. Maseko clarified that the function of altering a date of birth rested with the Ministry of Public Service through the PS. He said that was according to General Order 9.2.  The minister said Section 186 of the Constitution of Eswatini might state that the powers to hire and promote civil servants rested with the CSC, but there were enabling legislations, such as regulations and government standing orders, that grant the PS the power to do so.  

Mayiwane MP cited General Order 635, which states that an officer’s date of birth that would be acceptable by government as a true date of birth is the date the officer wrote on first appointment. If the office decides to furnish an affidavit with the purpose of amending the original date of birth, the CSC Board, PS and Ministry of Public Service shall not accept. The MP said the minister may try to defend this, but the writing was clear.

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