A REPORT detailing the progress made by the City Integrity and Investigations Unit in addressing the backlog of disciplinary cases was discussed at a meeting of the Executive Committee on 3 December.
The report outlined the number of disciplinary cases that have been finalised in the past month. The cases emanated from investigations and reports by the City Integrity and Investigations Unit which was previously reported to Council on 31 October.
It was revealed that a project team is implementing a plan approved by Council in October, which includes the City Manager’s directive to senior management confirming the project, the nomination of recommended presiding officers and employer representatives for each case to relevant deputy city managers and unit heads for signoff. Another activity being undertaken is the compilation of a report in respect of the discipline of Section 56 Senior Managers.
The report noted that the approved plan requires monitoring and progress reporting by the team every two months.
Cases have been categorised in terms of the Disciplinary Procedure Collective Agreement which provides that less serious allegations, which would normally warrant a written warning, can be dealt with via informal hearings. Allegations that are more serious must be dealt with via formal hearings.
READ RELATED: City of Durban tackles backlog of disciplinary cases
According to the report, the backlog of formal hearing cases as at 31 October was 236 with 24 cases resolved by 28 November. There are still 212 formal hearings to be resolved.
The backlog of informal hearings as at 31 October was 100 with 12 resolved by 28 November. There are still 88 informal hearings to be resolved.
This equates to 36 cases being resolved by 28 November. Some 300 cases still need to be resolved.
City Manager Sipho Nzuza said he would be compiling an action plan to speedily resolve the outstanding matters which would include specific targets and deadlines of cases to be resolved.
He said the City was working to address the matter, with a further 47 cases being addressed currently.
“Also, some of these matters are very old and go back years. We are dealing with this backlog and I ask for time to draw up a plan to effectively address it,” he said.
EThekwini Deputy Mayor Councillor Belinda Scott, who was chairing the meeting, said there could be a number of reasons for the delay.
“If there is criminal action attached to the disciplinary case, you may be asked for the criminal case to be finalised before disciplinary action is taken as it may be linked to a forensic investigation.”
Scott also requested a detailed report, breaking down the disciplinary process to provide a more accurate picture of the process, to be presented to the Executive Committee.
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