Top staff still in cold

Should have rescinded suspensions on 31 January.

- Masoka Dube

The Mpumalanga department of health has missed its deadline of bringing back eight hospital senior managers who have been on suspension for more than a year.

It is alleged that the managers' suspensions were irregular because no proper procedure was followed.

Sources say some of the managers, whose names are known to The Citizen, had been receiving their full salaries sitting at home for more than a year, while others had been away for approximately three years.

The Citizen has seen a report released by the head of department (HOD) on 21 December last year, which stated that all the suspended managers must return to work on 31 January, because the labour law and other related procedures had not been followed.

The affected hospitals include Embhuleni, Piet Retief, Standerton, Amajuba, Bethal and Ermelo, Witbank TB Hospital, Tonga and Barberton.