The position of “bunking Jeppe Police Station Commander” is “under review as a matter of urgency”.

That’s according to Jack Bloom’s statement on an oral reply given by Gauteng community safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane on Tuesday to questions about Brigadier Govandsamy Mariemuthoo’s alleged absenteeism.

 The Democratic Alliance’s Bloom had posed follow-up questions in the legislature following the “disclosure earlier this month that he had taken 156 days absence since his appointment at the station in February 2014”.

“Nkosi-Malobane said that there was an ongoing investigation into this matter and that he had been ‘very clever’ to take as many days as possible as he had used different categories of leave‚” Bloom said.

Mariemuthoo has reportedly taken “70 days vacation leave‚ 22 days sick leave‚ and 64 days temporary incapacity leave for what is described as an ‘Alleged IOD : Injury Left Knee’ ” at Jeppe.

“I am surprised that the MEC said she did not know about his previous record of high absence when he was the station commander at Benoni‚ which shows that this has been an ongoing problem with Mariemuthoo‚” said Bloom

He had‚ earlier this month‚ said that he suspected that “Mariemuthoo is a serial malingerer” and claimed that when he in charge in Benoni‚ “he was investigated after taking 106 days sick leave‚ 39 days study leave‚ 122 days normal vacation and capped leave‚ as well as three days of family responsibility leave”.

 Mariemuthoo — who was “temporarily removed from his post there and reinstated following a labour court ruling” – is‚ said Bloom‚ “a poor example at this police station which suffers from a 14% general absenteeism rate”.

When Bloom pointed out the absenteeism on Tuesday‚ he said Nkosi-Malobane said “that when the head is ill-disciplined others will follow”.