HR Pulse

Maladministration at SACSSP

NEHAWU representing more than 10 000 registered social service professionals including social workers, social auxiliary workers, child and youth care workers and majority of employees within the SACSSP has discovered shocking reports of maladministration within SACSSP.

The report includes matters such as: ·Increment of annual registration fees for Social Workers to R400 without approval of the Council; · Mismanagement of registration funds; · A norm of governing the SACSSP without audited financial statements since year 2011; ·The SACSSP operating with an improperly constituted Council, which has severe legal, sectoral, professional and financial implications; ·Contravening of the HR policy, finance policy and legislative prescripts, which left workers in dire conditions of service for more than a decade. Central to our concerns are the serious acts of misconduct, including gross dishonesty and fraud leveled against the registrar of the SACSSP Ms. Iveda Smith.

The registrar’s improper conduct includes, but not limited to: increasing her own salary without Council approval and transfer of Council monies to a friend’s personal account and later cashing it for personal gain, appointment of her son to oversee the IT operations for the council without disclosing conflict of interest and appointing service providers some of which are family members of Council members to do work on behalf of the Council, without following procurement processes. Nehawu are not doubtful that the Registrar has broken her oath of office as per the Social Service Professions Act and has brought the Social Services Sector and the SACSSP into disrepute.

Intentionally or unintentionally, the delay by the National Department of Social Development to withdraw the Registrar as per the disciplinary hearing report and allowing her to preside over Council mandates, functions, objects and rules is: ·An indictment on the Social Service Professions Act and the Policy Guidelines for Course of Conduct, Code of Ethics and Rules for Social Workers; and ·Prejudice to the integrity of legislative prescripts.

The conduct by the Registrar is a classical example of so called “cadres” who turn into self-serving creatures, become law unto themselves and betray the trust of those who rely on public institutions for service delivery. Failure of the outgoing Council and the National Department of Social Development to put monitoring and evaluation controls in place to prevent and detect the reported matters is worrisome. It appears that the SACSSP never bothered to subscribe to good governance principles. We call upon to the Minister: Department of Social Development to act decisively on the reported matters and to inform the Registrar of the outcome of the conducted disciplinary hearing as outlined in the chairperson’s report in order to save the Council from further embarrassment.

Nehawu will use their strength of 10 000 members and embark on a national campaign to defend and rescue the good image of the SACSSP or at least what is left of it. The campaign will include demonstrations and exploring of legal avenues to press criminal charges against those involved in looting and failing to protect the SACSSP monies. They call upon all their members to “RALLY” behind the NEHAWU clean-up campaign to protect the integrity of the SACSSP and their respective professions.

Source: NEHAWU