The Gauteng Department of Health has taken the decision to pay 552 internship and community service employees, four days ahead of payment date of 4 February 2019.
The development followed the realisation of a possible delay in salary payments of statutory appointments.
Department Head Dr Mkhululi Lukhele said in a statement he had sent out a communication informing hospitals’ CEOs of the delay in salary payments to alleviate panic among affected employees.
“Salaries can only be processed after posts creation which must be preceded by endorsement by Provincial Treasury. This process happened in January. The endorsement is part of GPG checks and balances to ensure that the department spends within allocated budget and the process is necessary for accountability purposes.”
Lukhele said in order to address outstanding payments due to the late submission of professional registration documents, another run is scheduled for Monday the 4th of February and it’s expected to pay out on the 7th of February 2019.
He said a team is working around the clock to prepare for this next run.
The department said it always gets a large proportion of these interns and community service doctors who are required to complete this training as it’s a statutory requirement to qualify for the profession.
“Currently the department has a total number of 1 528 trainees, however, 1 378 is the initial number that was allocated to the department. An additional 150 was allocated to ensure that all students in need of internship are provided an opportunity to complete their studies,” the department said.
Lukhele expressed regret over the inconveniences which he said were caused by the mishap.
“We are prepared to do all in our power to ensure that it never happens again,” said Lukhele. – SAnews.gov.za
