Public officials in dire straits

Civil servants are in over their heads.

Even those in the country's economic engine room are in trouble.

A report presented by the Gauteng department of finance to the province's finance portfolio committee yesterday shows that most officials:

• are drowning in debt, with garnishee orders averaging six per employee;
• suffer from high levels of stress and depression;
• have a high mortality rate; and
• are often absent from work on Mondays and Tuesdays on unscheduled sick leave.

This as the province pays R42-billion a year in salaries to its nearly 182000 employees.

The problem stretches beyond provincial officials. Most of the country's 278 municipalities battle to function, with officials that can't do their jobs, according to another report released by the auditor-general yesterday.

Key officials who do not have the necessary competence, coupled with vacancies in vital positions, hamper the ability of 73% of the municipalities to deliver services, the report shows.

Chief financial officers, municipal managers and supply-chain managers are in short supply.

As many as 71% of the entities audited were dependent on consultants to assist with financial reporting.

"This help comes at a cost," said auditor-general Terence Nombembe at a briefing yesterday.

Outsourced services cost more than R378-million last year, up from R295-million in 2010/2011. And the total was even higher because this amount excluded the spending on consultants by treasuries and departments of cooperative governance, according to the report.

With only 17 municipalities and municipal entities obtaining clean audits last year - the same as in 2010/2011 - Nombembe referred to the general state of governance in local government as "stagnant".

Many officials realised they did not "have what it takes" to produce financial statements required of local government, but only acted close to deadlines by calling in consulting firms, said Nombembe.

"The AG's report shows that the progress towards clean audits has been slow, with the number of clean audits remaining at the same low level of 5% for the past three years, and the overall audit outcomes regressed, as 41 auditees improved, but 50 auditees regressed," his office said.

There had been slow progress in getting qualified personnel in the right positions. The deputy minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Andre Nel, said yesterday that "steps have been taken to professionalise local government".

His department hoped soon to promulgate legislation that would stipulate minimum requirements for municipal managers and other office-bearers.

But training is not the only problem. High debt levels from lavish lifestyles have put many civil servants under pressure.

The report by Gauteng's officials reveals that debt is a major problem, with administered garnishee orders averaging six per employee.

The garnishee orders have increased from R46-million in the 2010/2011 financial year, to R54-million in 2011/2012 and R55-million in 2012/2013. The report says increasing absenteeism or unscheduled sick leave had cost the province R1.2-million between 2010 and June this year.

Scientific research presented showed that the most vulnerable were employees in lower salary levels.

They are also generally less qualified, more vulnerable to HIV/Aids and more likely to be conspicuous consumers living far beyond their economic means.