A government employee verification exercise aimed at identifying ghost workers and checking staff details against payroll records left hundreds of KZN school employees queuing for hours, with some having to leave examination duties to comply, reports The Witness.

Teachers, principals and general workers gathered at the Old Mutual building in Langalibalele Street, Pietermaritzburg, this week. Some arrived as early as 06:00 on Friday (October 30) to complete the process.

Employees said their circuit managers had instructed them to undergo the mandatory verification between Wednesday and Friday.

System error flags green ID books

KZN Department of Education acting spokesperson Nonkululeko Ngcobo said National Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) were conducting the exercise through random sampling.

She said selected employees received a barcode on their payslips, which they had to scan and follow to complete the verification.

“The sampled employees had a barcode on their payslip that they needed to scan and follow instructions for verification. It’s an ongoing process of verifying employee status against the payroll. This assists in identifying any irregularities.

“The report generated by DPSA provided names of employees who had not verified. It was established that employees who verified through the barcode using green ID books appeared as not verified.”

Ngcobo said National Treasury had instructed government departments, through the Office of the Premier, to conduct physical verification in the province to help employees comply with the process before the October 31 deadline.

In a message circulated to schools, the uMgungundlovu District said it had an urgent responsibility to verify employees flagged in a sample identified by National Treasury.

“Heads of sub-directorates and circuit managers are requested to notify employees to avail themselves for verification. This verification is crucial as it is mandated by National Treasury. Employees will be attended to as they come and must bring their ID document/smart card.”

Long queues disrupt examination duties

Some employees travelled from as far as Richmond and Howick to complete the process.

Staff who arrived on Friday morning said they had come early after hearing that colleagues had queued from 10:00 until 18:00 the previous day, despite the verification taking about five minutes per person.

A teacher from the Northern Areas, who has been in the profession for 17 years, said it was the first time she had been asked to participate in the process, which she understood was intended to identify ghost workers.

“I stood in the queue from 06:00 to 10:00 and we got here early as we heard other colleagues had stood till 18:00 on Thursday,” she said.

“There should have been a better way to conduct this process.”

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A teacher with 40 years of experience at a Pietermaritzburg high school said the exercise had disrupted examination duties, forcing the school to arrange for a relief teacher.

“I was supposed to be on duty as we have matrics writing exams but a relief teacher was brought in as I had to come and verify, as we were told that our salaries won’t be paid if we don’t complete the process,” the teacher said.

Unions slam unacceptable conditions

National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) chief executive officer Thirona Moodley criticised the way the exercise had been managed, saying it had caused unnecessary hardship for public service employees and disrupted schools during the National Senior Certificate examination period.

“While Naptosa recognises the importance of accurate personnel records, this cannot justify the unacceptable conditions teachers were forced to endure during the two-day exercise.

“Teachers queued for hours, in some cases until late into the evening, without chairs or ablution facilities. In Pietermaritzburg, teachers were required to climb seven flights of stairs, only to find that just four clerks were available to assist them.

“These conditions were particularly difficult for employees with health or physical challenges,” Moodley said.

South African Democratic Teachers’ Union Pietermaritzburg chairperson Vishnu Naidoo acknowledged the difficulties employees had experienced but said those identified for verification still needed to complete the process.

“While we acknowledge that the current situation is not conducive to a smooth process, we must remain committed to ensuring that all members who have been identified are successfully verified,” Naidoo said.

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