Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Prosecutor’s FIVE YEAR sick leave
The only permanent prosecutor at Melmoth Magistrate’s Court has been on sick leave for an astounding five years. Henry Leo Mbatha, reputedly in his 40s, went off sick, initially with meningitis according to a source, in 2006. He apparently went back to work for about a month in 2009, but has not graced the court with his presence since. Mbatha is in effect blocking the appointment of a permanent prosecutor, as no one can be appointed while he holds the one and only post. And the taxpayer is left to foot the bill running well into seven figures for his paid sick leave and the cost of replacement prosecutors.
During his absence, the court - a busy facility serving the entire Mthanjaneni area and handling hundreds of cases a month - has lurched along using relief prosecutors who, in the words of magistrate SFS Ngongoma, serve there ‘sometimes a few weeks, sometimes a few days’. At a recent court day of great interest to Melmoth residents -the trial of the panga-attack accused - the chaos at the court was evident, as a relief prosecutor muddled through the day. In an interview afterwards, Ngongoma, who took up the post last September, told of the daily difficulties he faced in running an efficient court. He confirmed that he had, during his tenure, raised his concerns about the prosecution problem with his superiors, and had urged the department to resolve the long-running matter.
Approached for comment, the National Prosecuting Authority, the body tasked with supervising prosecutors, responded only with a terse: ‘The matter is being attended to’. The NPA refused to provide details of the case, including the exact dates. And we were tipped off that someone in a position of authority had imposed a blanket ban on anyone providing information to the Zululand Observer. For this reason, details remain sketchy. But the NPA admits that Mbatha went off sick in 2006. During his period of sick leave, Mbatha has been supervised by, and reports to, Senior Advocate Siziwe Mkhonza.
Approached at her office, she agreed to give us the details we needed - but then reneged on this shortly before deadline. Although a full story may cast some light on Mbatha’s particular circumstances, his case seems to make a mockery of the Public Service and Administration Department's ‘Policy on Incapacity Leave and Ill-health Retirement’ (PILIR). Cabinet approved the rollout of PILIR for the Public Service in August 2005, months before Mbatha went on sick leave. The policy was implemented in 2006/7 and has therefore been in place almost as long as Mbatha’s leave of absence. Acccording to the policy, which is available online, permanent incapacity leave may be granted ‘up to a maximum of 30 working days’.
The policy makes provision for ill-health retirement.
According to the department’s website, the objectives of PILIR are to:
* intervene and manage incapacity leave in the workplace to accommodate temporarily or permanently incapacitated employees; and
* facilitate the rehabilitation, re-skilling, realignment and retirement of temporarily or permanently incapacitated employees, where appropriate.