Public servants encouraged to work remotely
Public Service and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu has encouraged his department's employees to work from home where possible.
He made the announcement during a media briefing in Pretoria on Friday.
"While it is clear that as the different alert levels are implemented, not all Public Service employees in all departments are able to return to work immediately.
"Directors-General (DGs) and Heads of Departments (HoDs) should ensure that employees with co-morbidities or underlying illnesses, as far as is possible, remain at home or/and work remotely until the pandemic has passed as they remain vulnerable to contracting the virus."
He also encouraged employees with no disabilities and underlying illness to follow the same approach. However, they'd have follow the rules outlined in Circular 15 of 2020.
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"Departments are urged to strengthen such capabilities by ensuring that employees have necessary resources for remote working and are productively utilised.
"It must also be clarified that although employees may be working remotely, they may also be required from time to time to attend the workplace, to among others, receive instructions, documentation, access office infrastructure and to submit completed tasks."
Just over 500 public servants have been infected with the coronavirus.
He says this highlights the challenges government continues to face, such as the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).
Mchunu says there's an ongoing assessment of government's capabilities during the fight against COVID-19.
"The current position we find ourselves in, will test the capability of the state to the maximum. We are hard at work doing an overall interrogation of the current capabilities of the State in a number of areas to assess, adjust and adapt our operations for the future to deliver optimal services during this pandemic."
Check out the full speech here.
