PSP under fire
Sharon Mathala | Wednesday July 30, 2025 06:00
During the exchange, Mabeo put it to Peloetletse that there is rampant corruption within the civil service under her watch; moreover, no action is being taken.
Before Mabeo, it was MP for Maun East Goretetse Kekgonegile, who asked the top civil servant if she was aware of the many accounting officers who are either being investigated or on the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime's (DCEC) radar.
“A number of accounting officers are under investigation, but they are still at work. Please explain this,” Kekgonegile said.
Peloetletse responded that she was not aware of any accounting officers on the DCEC's radar.
“I don’t know any number of accounting officers on the DCEC's radar. I believe that if there is someone who is under investigation, the DCEC DG communicates with me. I can't hear this from the PAC floor and take any decision. For me to take any decision, I have to get it from the DG in writing, alerting me whom they are investigating and what should happen next. They inform us officially, then we can take the next steps,” she said.
Following her response, sparks flew between the PSP and Mabeo. “Have you ever been investigated by DCEC?” Mabeo asked.
“I’m not aware. I believe I would have been informed, and officers from the DCEC would have notified me,” she responded.
However, Mabeo, who asked to be given time to ‘breathe’, lashed out at the PSP, saying, “I think you should be.”
The PSP then appealed to PAC chairperson Taolo Lucas for protection, stating that she needed to be shielded from Mabeo’s verbal attacks.
An unrelenting Mabeo, however, maintained she 'should be investigated'. 'But, we will address this at the right forum,' he said.
The PAC also pressed the PSP on the ongoing issue of ghost employees within the civil service. Peloetletse acknowledged that the government had indeed identified and removed several ghost workers from the payroll.
She attributed part of the problem to the highly centralised nature of the public service, noting that decentralisation would enable closer oversight and more efficient handling of such cases at the local level.
She further stated that the government continues to address issues related to overpayments and fraudulent payroll entries. On the issue of staff morale, Peloetletse admitted that the public service continues to grapple with low employee morale. She said that whilst the government is making efforts to address concerns, there remains a significant delay in responding to issues.
“This is a big challenge, but it is not all gloom and doom. We do try, but the delays in responding as quickly as we should lead to low morale in the public service,” she said.
The committee further questioned the PSP on disparities in overtime benefits, pointing out that senior executives enjoy a 15% fixed allowance, whilst ordinary civil servants have their overtime hours drastically reduced or cut entirely.
“How is it fair that your fixed allowance equals the monthly salary of two or three junior officers? You already have a number of benefits,” Mabeo asked.
Peloetletse responded that senior management officers work long, irregular hours, and their allowances are based on that reality. She revealed that the fixed overtime allowance for senior staff had not been affected by recent austerity measures.
“It was a Cabinet directive brought by the minister responsible for the public service,” she said. When asked about her personal benefits as PSP, Peloetletse simply stated, “I reserve my comment.”
The PAC also raised concerns about long-standing acting appointments within government departments, with some officers having served in acting capacities for several years. Addressing this, Peloetletse clarified that whilst the government has frozen the creation of new positions, it is still permitted to hire for positions that were already approved in previous budgets.
“Freezing of positions does not mean the government will not be hiring at all. It means we cannot recruit for any newly created positions,” she said.