Dr Sifiso Maseko, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party’s new secretary-general, has raked in millions while sitting at home, after he was suspended with full pay by the Gauteng Department of Health (GDH) over two years ago.
Maseko, along with eight other government officials, were suspended between 25 January 2022 and 1 February 2022, after a recommendation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report.
SIU recommendations
The SIU probed irregular procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) by the GDH during the National State of Disaster from various service providers.
The SIU recommended that disciplinary and criminal action be taken against three GDH officials, which include Maseko (who went by the name Goodhope, not Sifiso, at GDH), and six officials from the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID).
Charged and suspended, with full pay
Disciplinary charges against Maseko and the others were brought, over the flouting of procurement and contractor appointment regulations.
This was in relation to the AngloGold Ashanti Hospital refurbishment project in the West Rand, where the Gauteng government spent over R588 million, instead of the initially budgeted R50 million.
Maseko – the head of infrastructure development at GDH – and the others were then suspended but their disciplinary hearings are yet to conclude, meaning the MK Party chief has collected an approximate gross of R120,000 per month, for 36 months to date, without doing any work for the GDH. That amounts to over R4.3 million, conservatively tallied.
This was calculated at a provincial chief director’s package of around R1,436,022 per year, according to a senior HR official in government.
The practice of suspension, with full pay, has weighed heavily on taxpayers in recent years. In October 2023, The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) said there were 417 government officials on suspension with full pay, earning over R128 million with no work done.
This was up from 2022, when DPSA put the number of government officials sitting at home at 305.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s spokesperson, Vuyo Mhaga, confirmed the officials’ suspensions on full pay.
“The regulatory framework provides for the precautionary suspension of full pay pending the outcome of the hearing,” Mhaga told The South African.
Fortunately for taxpayers, he revealed that Maseko and the others’ disciplinary hearing was nearing finality.
“The hearing is in the last phase which requires parties to conclude on written submissions [arguments followed by an opportunity to refute arguments and finally the right to reply to new arguments], which commenced on 5 August 2024 and is anticipated to be concluded on 25 September 2024,” Mhaga said.
The chair of the disciplinary hearing will then issue a verdict, he added. While proceedings continue, Mhaga said GDH had already referred the case to law-enforcement authorities.
The report that triggered these suspensions came after the SIU was directed, under Proclamation R23 of 2020, by President Cyril Ramaphosa to probe allegations of corruption made by state institutions concerning PPE procurement and the conduct of state employees.
Sifiso Maseko, MK Party CEO
The secretary-general position in the MK Party, akin to other political parties, was described as the “chief executive officer of the organisation” during last Wednesday’s press conference, where leader and founder Jacob Zuma paraded the party’s top leadership.
Maseko is the MK Party’s fourth secretary-general since the organisation’s launch on 16 December 2023, coming after Arthur Zwane, Sihle Ngubane and Thanduxolo “Gorbachev” Dyodo.
Maseko is a qualified medical doctor, having obtained his MBChB degree from the University of Natal in 1994, according to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).
After a period in private practice, it seems he joined the public service. For a stint, he was deputy CEO of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
He was later appointed acting CEO of Africa’s largest hospital, which lasted until he was “caught up in allegations of corruption and maladministration, leading to his departure”.
After the Baragwanath hospital spell, he was moved to the GDH as head of infrastructure in 2019, reportedly facilitated by then-Gauteng Health MEC Dr Bandile Masuku, until he was suspended in early 2022.
The South African asked MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela if they were aware of Maseko’s issues at the Gauteng Department of Health, and what view the party took in light of the its secretary-general being linked to allegations of financial misconduct. No response was received.
Maseko’s boss tumbles
Masuku, ironically, would be fired as health MEC in October 2020, 17 months into his tenure, by then-premier David Makhura.
He was dismissed after the SIU fingered him in Covid-19 tender irregularities and recommended that he be disciplined.
“There are issues before me as the head of the provincial government based on the SIU report that I must act on and it is on that basis that I have decided to discharge MEC Masuku as the MEC responsible for health in our province,” Makhura said at the time.
The South African asked MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela if they were aware of Maseko’s issues at the Gauteng Department of Health and what view does the party took in light of its secretary-general being linked to allegations of financial impropriety. No response was received.
Should Maseko and other suspended officials get their full pay? How about half?
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