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EBIS JOURNO IN STUDY LEAVE MESS

17/08/2019 23:59:00 BY WELCOME DLAMINI

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MBABANE – Is this a classic case of the idiom ‘rules are made to be broken’?

Much against Government General Orders, Eswatini Broadcasting and Information Services (EBIS) popular broadcaster Fiona ‘Fifidope’ Russell has been studying full-time at UNESWA and also working full-time at the national radio station for almost two years now.

Russell has been studying towards a Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Eswatini, which was an upgrade on the diploma she obtained from the same institution.

Because Russell was not under government’s in-service training – neither was she seconded nor sponsored by government - she was supposed to either resign from the station in order to pursue her studies or take vacation leave.

Clause A.371 of the General Orders provides as follows: “If an officer wishes to undertake a course of training or instruction which is primarily in his own interests, and for which he has not been nominated by the government, he shall be required to do so during a period of vacation leave. Subject to the exigencies of the service, he may be permitted to use any vacation leave standing to his credit.

Vacation is defined as leave with pay granted to employees for the purpose of rest, relaxation, and attendance to personal matters.

resign his appointment

Clause A.371 continues: If an officer has insufficient leave standing to his credit to allow him to complete the course, he may, exceptionally, be permitted an additional period of leave without pay; although normally an officer will be expected to resign his appointment, or retire from the service, provided his age so allows, in such circumstance.”

However, this clause was ignored in Russell’s case as she was a student by day and a broadcaster by night; she was given the night shift at the station’s English service.

Moreover, Russell was even given international assignments, which made her to miss lectures at the university and, this publication understands, the station’s management would write a letter to the tertiary institution requesting that she be excused in order to go work outside the country.
Efforts to get comment from UNESWA’s Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) Head of Department Sibongile Mohammed failed as she did not answer her phone when called.

JMC lecturer Dr. Maxwell Mthembu, even though confirming that Russell was one of the students in the department, said he did not have the mandate to talk for the department.

“Please talk to the head of department who might have the information you need,” he said.
The international trips that Russell undertook included one to the United States of America and another to Ethiopia.

When on such assignments, officers are entitled to allowances and, according to government rates, a trip to the USA sees an officer being paid US$320 (about E4 800) and US$220 (about E3 300) a day for the Ethiopia one.

Russell confirmed that she was in violation of the Government General Orders and blamed this on total ignorance on her part and also on being allegedly ill-advised by her former supervisor.

advance and not be stagnant

She said after she joined the station in 2013, her supervisor would allegedly ask her what she was doing to upgrade herself.
“She said she wanted us to advance and not be stagnant. For two years she bothered. Then, two years ago, I decided to apply at the university after I realised that I spent most of my afternoons doing nothing, since I work at night. I was accepted and I told her.

She assured me that I would get all the necessary support. I didn’t’ know there were certain rules by government; that there were General Orders to be followed. I thought by telling my supervisor that was the end of the story. She told me that I would no longer be rotated but would work only night shifts so I could continue with my studies,” Russell alleged.

Clause A.371(2) states that an application to undertake a course in the terms of this General Order shall be made by an officer through his Head of Department to the Principal Secretary, Ministry of Public Service and Information.

supervisor was transferred

Russell said everything went on smoothly until her supervisor was transferred and she learnt that management had raised concerns that she was hiding the fact that she was studying at UNESWA.

“I approached management and told them that I was not hiding anything. I was told that procedure had not been followed in my decision to study. They also asked me if I was being sponsored by government and I said I was self-sponsored.

They then told me that government policy does not allow for an officer to pay for her own studies and that I had to apply for in-service training scholarship. I told them that I didn’t know about this,” she said.

The broadcaster said she later received a call from the human resources officer telling her that her issue had been escalated to the level of the Civil Service Commission and that there were threats to cut her salary.

She said everything was turning into a nightmare such that she was advised to approach the Ministry of Public Service for clarity, something she did.
“Indeed, I was told that the General Orders had been violated. They told me that I had been ill-advised,” she said.

in-service training scholarship
Russell said the officer who handled her matter tried to have her included under the in-service training scholarship, only to find that it was too late.
Impeccable sources within the station blamed the administration for treating Russell with kid gloves by not acting on the matter when it was brought to their attention.
“My problem is that I was ill-advised. My bosses at work are aware of this matter” she reiterated.
On being given international assignments, Russell said there was nothing she could do if her boss assigned her.
She said she was a journalist and not just a radio presenter, so she would jump at any chance given to her to showcase her journalism capabilities.
My boss sees that I am sharp and I promptly catch on things. When I am given an assignment, even locally, I give it my all.

international assignments
I was able to balance my work and studies and not once did a receive complaints from my boss that I was slacking in my job. I was able to balance the two. It is my boss who gave me the international assignments,” Russell said.
She said all her boss was trying to do was to afford broadcasters like herself the opportunity to cover international assignments, unlike previously when only reporters in the newsroom were given these assignments.
“During the previous administration, broadcasters were sidelined from international trips and we were almost redundant. The people who were important were the reporters. The reason there is so many issues with international trips is because of the money that one gets during these assignments,” she stated.
The Times SUNDAY has established that Russell is not the only broadcaster to be given international assignments of late.
Others include Sihlabani Simelane, who has been to Spain and Mozambique, and is now earmarked for another one to Japan.
Another is Bongiwe Mavuso, who also travelled to Spain recently.

totally left out
Sources, however, questioned how the attempt to spread the trips to everyone applied if some officers would be given assignments consecutively within a short space of time while others are totally left out.
The sources said there was now animosity, especially from the newsroom, where reporters felt they were being given a raw deal.
“The reporters want the broadcasters to be given even local assignments, not only the international ones,” said one of the sources.
Russell is said to have been excused from local assignments and the reason was that she was busy with studies but was always available for international assignments.
Sources said with the issue of her studying, there was violation of the rules because she was not bonded like the other employees.
They made an example of Bongani ‘Bobo’ Dlamini, who is also studying full-time at UNESWA and he signed a ‘bonding’ agreement with government that would ensure he stayed with the station after completing his studies.
The sources also wondered if it would now apply to every employee who was studying full-time to be given international assignments after permission to be excused has been sought from their tertiary institution.
Sipho Tsabedze, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, promised to carry out his own investigations on the matter to find out what happened.
“I will have to consult with the In-service Training Department to find out about this officer’s case. Once I have gathered all the facts, I will then be able to talk about it,” said the PS.
Martin Dlamini, the EBIS Director, did not respond to questions that were sent to him via WhatsApp and through text message.

granted study leave
This was after he had been called several times without him answering his mobile phone. The last call was made at 7:10pm yesterday.
Had Russell applied for an in-service training scholarship, the Government General Orders provide that she would have been granted study leave with pay to pursue her studies.
For the first 12 months while pursuing the studies, she would have been entitled to full pay and, for the next 12 months, she would have been entitled to 75 per cent of her basic salary.
A further 12 months would have seen her salary be halved and less another 25 per cent if she continued studying for a third year.
The general orders states that “the maximum period of study leave for which a salary shall be payable at the above rates shall be 48 months. Any period after the 48 months shall be considered to be leave without pay.”