Gauteng Department of Community Safety faces various lawsuits and labour disputes amounting to R93.5 million

15 March 2021

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is shocked to learn that the Gauteng Department of Community Safety is the defendant in various lawsuits and labour disputes amounting to R93 499 000.

 This information was revealed in the Department's annual report and noted by the Auditor-General (AG) for the 2019/20 financial year.

According to the annual report, the ultimate outcome of these matters cannot presently be determined and no provision for any liability that may result has been made in the statements.

 While we understand that there are situations between the employer and the employees that might result in a legal battle, however considering that this department is failing on its core mandate, it should have initiated a better way to settle labour disputes and avoid lawsuits.

 Furthermore, the AG states that the department incurred material impairments of R383.8 million as a result of the impairment of accrued departmental revenue.

In addition, the department wrote off or reversed accrued departmental revenue amounting to R10.1 million.

There are also movable tangible capital assets of R3 335 000 that are under investigation, which include machinery and equipment that could not be located during the asset’s verification process. This clearly indicates that there is no adequate and regular monitoring of the department’s assets register.

It is high time that the department starts following the rules and regulations on how public funds is spent as sent out by the provincial treasury.

The DA calls on the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko to investigate the reasons why the department is having labour disputes and lawsuits amounting to R93.5 million. The MEC should implement other methods as part of her interventions to curb labour disputes and lawsuits. 

We will also table questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to ascertain how much has been spent so far on legal fees defending labour disputes and lawsuits, and how much has been paid for cases that have been lost. We will ascertain whether the department is following proper labour legislation and Code of Conduct with regards to its employees based on the details of each case.

Issued by Michael Shackleton,DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Community Safety, 15 March 2021