Durban — The Department of Public Works in KwaZulu-Natal is wasting taxpayers’ money on the salary of its head of department (HOD), Dr Gaster Sharpley, who is on suspension and has been under investigation since 2020 for allegedly awarding a contract deemed unnecessary to an associate of his.
At the same time, Sharpley’s associate, Quinton Williams, is suing the provincial government for more than R3 million after the Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled that the Public Works Department was wrong to suspend his questionable contract worth more than R2m per annum.
Sharpley’s suspension was announced on November 24, 2020, by then premier Sihle Zikalala to allow investigations “into a number of areas related to various governance and administrative matters in the department”.
It is not clear how much Sharpley earns per annum and how much he has been earning while sitting at home, but according to an advert issued in July 2020 for the provincial treasury’s HOD position the annual salary was more than R1.7m plus a 10% non-pensionable allowance.
A source within Public Works said Sharpley was entitled to his full salary and all allowances that go with his position because he was not fired. An attempt to contact Sharpley was unsuccessful.
Williams, who admitted to often communicating with Sharpley while he was on suspension, said: “I have 'WhatsApped' him … He says he does not want to give comment.”
The provincial government might have violated the law by suspending Sharpley without finalising his case for more than one-and-a-half years. According to the Department of Public Service and Administration’s Public Service Precautionary Suspensions Guide: “The period of precautionary suspension must be reasonable and justifiable but should not exceed 60 calendar days.
“The employee must return to work should the hearing not be concluded within 60 calendar days; however, this does not prohibit/preclude the employer from continuing with the disciplinary process nor does it render the employee immune from the allegations preferred against him/her,” the guide states.
It is understood that among the reasons for the investigation was that Sharpley had given Williams a three-year contract from 2019 to do work in his (Sharpley’s) office that the permanent staff could do.
Acting HOD Siboniso Majola said Sharpley remained on suspension with full salary payment pending the finalisation of the investigation.
“I don’t get payment for acting in this position because I made it clear that I cannot be compensated when there is someone else who gets paid (as HOD) because this is government money,” he said.
When asked why the forensic investigation was being prolonged, Majola said: “He (Sharpley) is the one who is delaying the process by introducing new issues whenever the matter is about to be heard.”
Meanwhile, according to the Service Level Agreement of 2019, William had signed up for the payment of R2.1m per annum for the duration of the three-year contract with Public Works.
However, the contract, which was due to end in January 2022, was suspended in December 2020 following the investigation instituted by Zikalala. Last year, the Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled that the Quinton Williams Consulting company should resume its work at the department, pending the final relief.
However, Williams alleged that he was prevented from returning to the office and, as a result, he is suing the department for R3m for the 14 months he could not work. Williams’s final relief case will be argued at the same court this year.
“I am not sure what the quantum would be. Obviously it would come down to money because at the end of the day I was suspended with 14 months left of my contract which is around R3m that needs to be argued,” he said.
Majola said the department would not pay for the work not done because, according to the contract, Williams, as a consultant, would only work if there was work for him.
More about this on www.falcons.org.za
Daily News