A labour relations officer at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town has been recommended for transferral after complaints of nepotism by a whistle-blower and a probe by the Public Service Commission (PSC) into corruption allegations.
The Cape Argus reports that while the hospital falls under the provincial Department of Health and Wellness, the PSC is a Chapter 10 institution mandated to provide oversight over the public service through research, investigations, inspections and advocacy.
“The matter was investigated and fully dealt with between the department’s head office and labour relations,” Health and Wellness MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said.
PSC Western Cape Commissioner Leonardo Goosen told the legislature’s standing committee on the Premier and constitutional matters that his office had received a complaint that the officer had both her children and her cousin employed at the hospital.
He said the PSC investigated the matter and found the officer had been involved in the appointment of her nephew. The officer, while recusing herself from the interview, did not completely fulfil the provisions of the Health Department’s recruitment and selection policy, which made the appointment “irregular”.
Goosen said the report recommended the officer be barred from any recruitment process at the hospital and that it was undesirable for her to remain there, given the relatives employed there, and the allegations surrounding their appointment.
Allegations of nepotism against the hospital’s acting porter supervisor in the appointment of his sons at the hospital were not, however, substantiated.
The report recommended the hospital’s human resources unit be given proper training in record-keeping and HR practices for six months.
It found personnel files and submission for appointments were in disarray, and advised strong action be taken against officials who neglected state record-keeping and control.
The whistle-blower’s allegations that service workers had worn the same uniforms for the past five years and that the staff residence was in a poor condition, with taps removed and no fumigation despite an infestation of cockroaches, were substantiated.
Cape Argus PressReader article – Allegations of nepotism at Red Cross (Open access)
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