GEORGE NEWS - The deputy director of corporate services at George Municipality, Theo Roodman, and a manager of human resources, a subdivision of corporate services, have been suspended. Roodman's suspension follows an investigation into the implementation of the job evaluation system (Task) at the department of human resources, as well as appointments made in this directorate.
George Council ordered the municipal public accounts committee (Mpac) to launch the investigation back in September 2017, after the PBI's Virgill Gericke submitted a motion in this regard (Council 27 September 2017). An amended version by DA councillor Jacqulique von Brandis was accepted by Council. The investigation was concluded by a Cape Town law firm and served as a confidential report at a council meeting on 31 January.
The spotlight is on the implementation of Task and staff appointments made within the corporate services department. The law firm recommended that the recruitment and selection policy of the municipality be reviewed and revised in line with the amended Systems Act. They recommend that disciplinary steps be considered against the director or municipal manager, should a review of all HR staff files prove that certain steps were manipulated to benefit individuals through Task evaluations or re-evaluations.
A further recommendation was made that a similar investigation be done in the other directorates. According to the report, several appointments of staff members are not in line with the current municipal organogram, while others lack proper administrative backing such as a signed employment contract or a clear job description.
Virgill Gericke of the PBI.
Gericke previously said he was approached by many employees complaining about the department's approach to the implementation of these policies, and that many of the appointments were done internally.
"In some instances, when the general public applies for employment at the municipality, the position had been filled internally without notifying the public. And yet the advertisements were placed in newspapers," he said.
"Many employees, working for a very long period within the organisation, are not being considered for a promotion or elevation to the next level. This is influencing the career opportunities of employees very negatively, affecting their livelihoods and retirement benefits adversely."
Several attempts to obtain comment from Roodman proved unsuccessful. The municipality declined to comment.
Read a related article: Spotlight on job division's doing
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