Clean audit, but staffing crisis hits Mpumalanga Legislature
Behind Mpumalanga’s clean audit is a worrying reality: almost a quarter of posts are vacant and key senior roles have been unfilled for years.
The Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature (MPL) has achieved a clean audit, but a new oversight report reveals a deepening staffing crisis, raising questions about governance and institutional capacity.
According to the MPL’s 2024/25 annual report, only 226 of 296 positions are filled, a vacancy rate of 23.6%. The legislature underspent its budget by R25m, largely due to these unfilled posts.
The report confirms that no senior management service posts were filled during the financial year, despite key vacancies dating back several years.
These include senior roles in information and communication technology (vacant since 2023), planning, performance monitoring and evaluation (vacant since 2022), supply chain management (vacant since 2023) and legal services.
Appointments delayed
The MPL said appointments have been delayed pending the finalisation of an organisational structure review, a process that has already cost around R4.9m but remains incomplete.
The committee itself acknowledged the contradiction between perfect performance outcomes and persistent staffing shortages, warning that vacancies – particularly at senior level – could affect long-term governance.
In 2022, Werner Weber of the Freedom Front Plus warned that widespread vacancies in senior government positions pointed to systemic dysfunction in the province’s administration.
Gaps and Challenges
Subsequent statements by Weber also highlighted broader shortages of skilled personnel and senior managers across the province, linking these gaps to governance and service delivery challenges.
The latest report further found that the legislature is non-compliant with the Employment Equity Act, with:
• No persons with disabilities employed during the reporting period
• Continued imbalances in race and gender representation at senior and top management levels
Consultation ongoing
An Employment Equity Plan has been developed but is still in the consultation phase.
The committee recommended that:
• All vacant funded posts be filled by March 31, 2026
• The organisational structure review be finalised urgently
• Measures be implemented to ensure compliance with employment equity legislation.
The MPL has also been instructed to submit a progress report by February 2026, followed by quarterly updates.
Questions sent to both opposition parties and the Office of the Premier remains unanswered at the time of publication.
