Durban – The Department of Social Development’s Richards Bay office has no electricity because it was disconnected over non-payment of outstanding bills totaling R4 million.
Upset by the situation, the Public Servants Association (PSA) on Friday said it was “disturbed by the failure of the department and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to pay their electricity account.
As a result, the department’s Richards Bay office was disconnected by King Cetshwayo District Municipality.
The PSA, said it was alerted to the situation after a member in the Richards Bay area began experiencing immense difficulty in performing their duties.
“They advised the PSA that they had their electricity supply disconnected as they had failed to pay their electricity account,” said the PSA.
“This is outrageous and the PSA demands that answers be provided, and consequence management be applied. Employees cannot perform their duties let alone serve the public.”
The PSA said it was aware that the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, indicated that Cabinet had decided on the establishment of a special unit to investigate cases of late or non-payment of bills within 30 days.
“Given the non-payment of the electricity bills of the mentioned departments, it is evident that these departments did not monitor their payment processes effectively,” said the PSA.
“The Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) is clear that payment of accounts must be done within 30 days, and those who are ignoring this, are simply guilty of misconduct.
“It is clear that what was lacking was accountability from the director generals in government and the REM of SASSA, yet they received bonuses at the end of every year.”
