The Gauteng Provincial Government has defended its decision to redeploy several senior officials who were previously placed on precautionary suspension, stating that the move is in line with labour regulations and is aimed at avoiding prolonged paid suspensions.
Provincial government spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the redeployments follow the 60-day guideline outlined in the Senior Management Service Handbook and the Public Service Regulations.
“According to the guideline, if an employee is suspended as a precaution, they must be allowed back to work after 60 days, unless formal disciplinary action has already begun during that period,” Mhlanga said.
He added that the approach was intended to prevent open-ended suspensions and ensure senior managers contribute to service delivery while disciplinary processes continue.
“Precautionary suspension is an administrative measure, not a punishment. Transferring officials to different roles minimises the risk of interference with ongoing investigations while avoiding a situation where senior managers draw salaries without working,” Mhlanga said.
Among the officials redeployed is suspended health head of department Lesiba Arnold Malotana, who has been placed in a temporary senior management role at the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
Suspended Community Safety Head of Department Nontsikelelo Sisulu has been assigned to the Office of the Premier, while Mduduzi Malope, the suspended Chief Financial Officer for Community Safety, has been deployed to the Department of Environment.
Mhlanga said all three officials will continue working in their new roles while disciplinary proceedings remain underway.
However, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has criticised the move, accusing Premier Panyaza Lesufi of “playing musical chairs” with senior officials under investigation.
DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said redeploying officials facing serious allegations does not address corruption or service delivery failures.
“Moving officials who have a cloud hanging over their heads is not solving the province’s problems. It sends a message that there are no consequences for corruption,” Msimanga said.
He raised concerns about undisclosed officials who allegedly failed lifestyle audits and questioned whether those officials were among the redeployed managers.
Msimanga demanded that Lesufi publicly account for disciplinary outcomes and explain why no decisive action has been taken.
Previously, DA Gauteng spokesperson for health Madeline Hicklin said that suspensions are “completely and utterly unproductive” because officials remain on full pay for long periods, which is why the party is demanding that Lesiba Malotana be fired rather than kept on suspension.
Hicklin said the DA had submitted questions to the MEC for Health and Lesufi regarding how many officials within the Department of Health are on suspension but had received no response to date.
She added that public perception is that all political parties are soft on corruption, as maladministration often goes unpunished, particularly in the public sector.
“Corruption continues unabated and unchecked within the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, because Premier Lesufi has openly stated he is ‘not accountable to the Democratic Alliance; he is only accountable to the ANC.’
The problem is he really is accountable to the citizens of Gauteng and not to a political party. And the citizens of Gauteng need to make him pay for that statement because they are the ones who bear the brunt of the corruption that is robbing them of access to service delivery,” she said.
Hicklin said that in a healthcare setting, corruption and a lack of service delivery translate into people dying, which she described as unforgivable.
“One thing I can assure you is that the DA will never allow corrupt officials to continue in positions of authority when we get into government. Whether that is in the next local government elections and in the next national government elections.
Corrupt officials will not be rewarded; only good governance and appropriately qualified appointments will be made to ensure that citizens of Gauteng get the service delivery they deserve,” she added.
The Star