Pretoria – The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development says it has taken “decisive action in maintaining the integrity of its operations” by dismissing 27 officials for various forms of misconduct.
“These dismissals are part of 81 appeal matters recorded by the Department, which include 55 dismissals, 25 suspensions and one warning,” the department said Tuesday, (27 August 2024).
“These appeals were lodged by officials who were found guilty of serious misconduct.
“To date, the Department has successfully finalised 31 of these appeals.
“This includes upholding 27 dismissals and reducing sanction in four cases.”
The department said the misconduct in question included fraud, theft, sexual harassment, absenteeism, abuse of state vehicles, and insubordination.
The department said it remains resolute in its commitment to finalise all appeals lodged with the Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Thembi Simelane.
In another development, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on Tuesday called for the resignation of the Justice Minister Simelane following reports of suspected links to VBS looting.
In 2016, while she was Polokwane mayor Simelane reportedly received a loan of more than R500 000 from a company that allegedly looted funds from the now-defunct VBS.
The company reportedly brokered unlawful investments of R349 million into VBS Mutual Bank by the Polokwane Municipality, while Simelane was mayor.
However, the justice minister has rejected any suggestions of wrongdoing.
The EFF said: “Minister Simelane’s attempts to dismiss her actions as a legitimate commercial transaction are nothing but a flimsy cover-up.
“Her failure to adequately address the conflict of interest, her role in facilitating these illegal investments, and her subsequent attempts to downplay her involvement are indicative of someone who cannot be trusted with the responsibility of overseeing justice in our nation”.
On Monday ActionSA said it referred the matter to the Public Protector to urgently probe the matter focusing on a possible violation of the Executive Members’ Ethics Act.
