Cape Town – Acting Public Service and Administration Minister Thulas Nxesi said his department could not put measures in place to prevent public servants from applying for and receiving any grants that they are not entitled to.
Nxesi was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Mimmy Gondwe, who asked about interventions the department has put in place to prevent public servants from unlawfully applying for and receiving any social grants.
In his written response, Nxesi said the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) did not have a mandate over the management of any grants.
He said the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) and other grant-providing government institutions manage grants through the use of systems that run independently from that of the DPSA.
“The DPSA, therefore, has no mandate to interfere in the operations of any grant-providing government institutions and 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.
However, Nxesi said after discovering that there were public servants who were applying for and receiving grants, DPSA offered assistance to Sassa to identify applicants who were public service employees by comparing the applicants 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 also said the DPSA, through its Technical Assistance Unit, has compiled a list of public servants who were suspected to have applied and received grants for investigation through the Fusion Centre.
The Fusion Centre is a government co-ordination body that involves the police, the National Prosecuting Authority, Financial Intelligence Centre and departments dealing with criminal cases warranting departmental disciplinary action.
“These initiatives serve to discourage and punishes unethical behaviour among public servants,” he added.
Cape Times