The governmentis being asked to explain sweeping administrative changes to the Government Employees Motor Vehicle and Residential Property Advance Scheme (GEMVAS). This follows allegations that public servants were not properly consulted and fears that the scheme could ultimately be handed to private entities.
The issue has been thrust into the spotlight by Kanye West MP Victor Phologolo who is demanding clarity from the Minister of Finance on the changes introduced to the management of the scheme.
Phologolo wants government to come clean on allegations raised by public service trade unions that the changes were introduced without joint consultation and could pave the way for outsourcing GEMVAS administration to private entities.
The MP is also seeking clarity on the government’s long-term intentions for GEMVAS, effectively forcing the administration to declare whether the scheme will remain a strictly state-guaranteed employee benefit or whether outsourcing, privatisation or third-party administration remains on the cards.
The questions put before Parliament place the government under pressure to account for the decision-making process behind the changes, particularly whether recognised structures representing public servants were consulted before implementation.
Phologolo wants to know whether government followed established consultation mechanisms before changing the administration of a benefit that affects thousands of public employees.
Phologolo is also demanding that the Minister explain whether consultation took place with recognised structures and, if not, why government proceeded without it.
The MP is also seeking clarity on the government’s long-term intentions for GEMVAS, effectively forcing the administration to declare whether the scheme will remain a strictly state-guaranteed employee benefit or whether outsourcing, privatisation or third-party administration remains on the cards.
The question threatens to deepen tensions between government and public service unions which have increasingly demanded greater transparency and meaningful consultation over reforms affecting workers’ benefits and conditions of service.
