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In a reply to a DA parliamentary question the Minister of Labour, Mildred Oliphant, confirms that the Ministry’s Chief Director of Legal Services, Advocate N. Pasha, has been under suspension for the past three years - at the expense of the taxpayer.
 
The Minister’s reply sheds no light on what charges Advocate Pasha faces, nor does it provide any reasons as to why an investigation has taken three years to complete.

It also fails to answer when the “on-going” disciplinary hearing is likely to be completed.

 
In her reply, the Minister seems to have chosen not to provide answers as to how much Advocate Pasha’s suspension from service has cost ordinary taxpayers.
 
   
Using the Department of Labour’s annual reports over the last three years, it is estimated that Advocate Pasha could have conservatively accumulated almost R 1 .7 million in wages by merely sitting at home.
   
The time has now come for the Public Service Commission to explain to the public what is going on here. One individual cannot simply sit at home and be paid by government for an indefinite period of time without any consequences.
  
I will write to the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission, Mr Ben Mthembu, so that the commission may brief Parliament on this matter.