PSC & National School of Government 2020/21 Annual Performance Plan, with Deputy Minister

Meeting report

Public Service Commission

Advocate Richard Sizani, Chairperson of the Public Service Commission (PSC), said the PSC’s strategic plans will be revised as per the instruction from the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME).

Dr Dovhani Mamphiswana, Public Service Commission Director-General (DG), said the Commission considered seven priority principles to draw up its five-year strategic plan. The following are the considerations:

• The Commission’s commitment to solving 80% of cases reported through the Anti-Corruption Hotline, and ensuring 100% compliance on e-disclosure by strengthening financial interest.
• The Commission will strengthen its oversight role by focusing on reports submitted to National and Provincial Legislatures. These reports are meant to hold the Department accountable.
• The Commission will contribute to implementing its six strategic pillars. The strategy is yet to be finalised.
• The Commission will focus on the internal governance rules of the Commission. Enquiries and investigation rules have to be clear, known, and well-defined for public servants to promote labour peace.
• The Commission will strengthen procedures and service standards for addressing grievances. A report of grievances will have to be submitted to the Executive Authority (EA) and finalised by the Commission.
• EA’s have to know their roles and responsibilities when dealing with grievances.
• The Commission has to finalise the rules of conducting investigations on matters. Some complaints cannot be attended to if it is not submitted within the Commission’s timeframe of 30-days.

Dr Mamphiswana said impact is important for the Commission’s outputs. The Commission strives for ethical, responsive, and value driven public services. Service must be timeous, efficient, and effective, to meet citizens needs. The COVID-19 pandemic means a high demand for citizens needs to be met. This is especially so for the disadvantaged and vulnerable such as the elderly and poor. The Commission will strive to meet needs to build a capable state.

It is important to have a functioning governing structure within the Commission. The Commission must be aligned with the training plan for its staff. The Office of the Public Service Commission, which is similar to a national department, must support the Commission. An amendment must be made by the Commission to ensure it has a secretariat which will not compromise the independence of conducting oversights. The Commission has four vacant posts, in Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Northern Cape.

The Commission’s budget is R297 million, and 77% (R228.9 million) is allocated to employee compensation. The remaining amount is divided between Goods and Services, and mandatory costs. This includes the Auditor-General report, IT-related matters, and office accommodation for the Commission. Only five to six percent of the budget remains to operationalise the Commission’s mandate. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for the Commission to refocus its budget, because of the amendments made by National Treasury to deal with the pandemic.

The Commission has four programmes used to operationalise its mandate:

1. The first Programme is Administration. It involves the Annual Performance Plan for 2020. The DPME previously asked the Commission to re-evaluate its Annual Performance Plan for 2021. The Annual Performance Plan for 2020 was finalised and presented to Parliament. Targets will be reviewed because of the uncertainty of COVID-19, especially since the Commission was not listed as an essential service. This affects the finalisation of the Annual Performance Plan (APP).

The Commission aims to achieve an unqualified audit report for 2020, and unpaid invoices must be fully paid. The Department of Trade and Industry’s minimum requirement for Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) appointed suppliers, is ten percent.

1.  The second Programme is Leadership and Management Practices. The Commission plans on reviewing 80% of groups wishing to finalise grievances. COVID-19 restrictions will affect these engagements.
2. The third Programme is Monitoring and Evaluation. It aims to deepen the Commission’s work on constitutional values and principles which are key to building a capable state which serves and meets the needs of citizens. 50 reports are anticipated but only 10 Constitutional Values and Principles (CVP) engagements were held.
3. The fourth Programme is Integrity and Anti-Corruption. 75% of all complaints are expected to be finalised and 80% of cases reported through the Anti-Corruption Hotline are supposed to be referred to respective departments. The Commission made adjustments for COVID-19, by connecting the hotline to the anti-corruption staff. Cases are recorded and will be attended to once the lockdown regulations ease. It will be difficult to conduct workshops because of the lockdown.

National School of Government

Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga, Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration, said organisations and institutions reporting to the Department will be forced to review Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans because of COVID-19. Secondly, she said the State of the Nation Address (SONA) highlighted a focus on building capacity and capability of a developmental state. This increases pressure on the Department as well as the National School of Government (NSG). The Deputy Minister introduced the new NSG principal.

Mr Busani Ngcaweni, National School of Government Principal, said COVID-19 poses challenges for the NSG because there is no contact with students. Suspension of training programmes impacts the NSG financially to the amount of R10.5 million a month. The NSG might not recover from the financial losses unless training is resumed. The NSG survives by charging user fees to students. 80% of the budget is self- generated and the rest comes from the budget vote. R20 million will be lost in the month.

The Strategic Plan shows the impact of COVID-19 on the NSG. The mandate of the NSG is based on the constitutional mandate, which is to provide training, but this has since been extended to include public service. The National Development Plan (NDP) and the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) show priority is building state capacity. Since then the NSG moved to the forefront. The NSG’s strategic plan was refocused to allow for fulfillment of its mandate. The NSG makes an impact by intervening directly, by including people in programmes, and providing training using professionals from the NSG. The NSG also has a network of independent contractors and senior government employees who are currently undergoing training.

The NSG can influence content of programmes. Skills must not be static because there are continuous societal changes. The NSG is facing challenges with the trade account, as highlighted by the Auditor-General. This is a result of the Department paying the NSG for programmes, and public servants not attending the programmes. Some of the NSG’s interventions include conducting inductions for senior managers online, and winter school for economic governance. It targets elected officials such as Ministers, Premiers, Deputy Ministers and MEC’s. There is also a Cadet Programme for the youth. Compulsory programmes are determined by the NSG as prerequisites for moving to a higher level in senior management. The Nyukela Programme is an example of such a programme. The Nyukela porgramme was based on Chapter 4 of the Constitution. A total of 1 277 learners enrolled in the programme, 403 learners are active in the course, and 208 completed the programme.

Some of the new programmes introduced by the NSG include training State Owned Enterprise (SOE) senior management, Chief of Staff, and Liaison Officers, as well as renewing training for Members of Parliament. The NSG is also embarking on the rollout of training portfolio committee support staff, including researchers. The NSG will form partnerships as part of building capacity. Existing international partnerships with the Chinese National Academy of Governance, and European Union will continue. A partnership with public universities is underway and will be finalised in 2 weeks. These include the University of Free State, North West University, and the University of the Western Cape.

The NSG had an internal reorgansiation. There is an increase in the number of women in the organisation. The aim is to recruit more young people.

The reorganisation of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) ecosystems is necessary because of e-Learning and other online training resources. The NSG plans on using blended approaches to ensure no one is left behind in light of the difference in access to resources. The NSG has a budget of R206 million, currently there is a need for R132 million to stay afloat during the lockdown.

The NSG is currently running trendy trainer programmes and re-designing the organisation to ensure after the lockdown, training programmes resume effectively.  

Discussion

Public Service Commission

Ms M Ntuli (ANC) welcomed the presentation but raised concerns on how the Commission was going to meet the needs of citizens if the entity is not an essential service. She suggested the Office of the Minister must list the Commission as an essential service mainly because of the anti-corruption hotline and grievances within departments.

Dr L Schreiber (DA) asked for clarity on why the Commission’s responses will not be given to the committee. He also asked on the progress and process of the Public Service Act amendments. He requested an update from the Commissioner on the ongoing investigation of the PSC Director-General, Mr Mamphiswana.

Mr S Malatsi (DA) said questions raised by members must be allowed for engagements with presenters. He expressed concern over the Commission’s budget allocation on employee compensation, and acknowledged the Commission’s proposed adjustments to the budget. He also enquired on vacant positions and proposed the Commission fills the vacancies.

Ms M Clarke (DA) raised concerns on the Commission not being listed as an essential service. The hotline should be functional 24/7 especially since the conduct of South African Police Services (SAPS) and Military workers toward the public is a concern, in case it needs to be reported and investigated.

Ms R Lesoma (ANC) said the adoption of the Commission’s report by the Committee must consider other departments are facing similar issues with the hotline. Secondly, the strategy to complement accepted transformation by the Commission must not be limited. It must include plans of execution. She expressed disappointment because the Director-General did not address any deviations and proposed that the Commission aims to achieve a ‘double clean’ audit report. She asked for feedback on the cases escalated to courts.

National School of Government

Ms Ntuli said she was impressed with the NSG’s address on issues it faced. She asked what the long-term strategy was, and if the NSG could expand training to other spheres of government. She also asked if uncredited programmes can be used as bridging courses and if proper assessments of programmes were conducted in higher institutions.

Ms M Kibi (ANC) asked for clarification on the decrease of persons with disabilities in the organization, and why the decrease occurred.

Ms Lesoma said the financial re-configuration of the NSG was not discussed in the presentation. She asked for feedback on re-configuration, and also said schools must have a quality assurance system ensuring training is credible. Accreditation is important for public servants. She asked what training system was in place for the NSG during the lockdown. 

Responses

Public Service Commission

Advocate Sizani agreed that some of the DPME’s services are essential. A team has been set up to deal with key grievances and the anti-corruption hotline. The Public Services Act, the business case, and memorandum are finalised. An appointment is set up with the Minister to present the Bill.

The Advocate said, the investigation of the Director General had to be handled by the President but was delegated to the Minister. Investigators were appointed to investigate, but because of lockdown there are delays. He assured the Committee the investigation is ongoing.

Speaking about the excessive budget allocation and employee compensation, he said the Commission needs a budget for personnel, but Treasury has given an instruction to reduce staff members by 11. Only 3 were reduced so far.

Advocate Sizani said remaining questions will be responded to in writing.

National School of Government

Mr Ngcaweni said the NSG hopes to present the repositioning Strategic Plan document to the Committee. He also asked if Committee Members could give feedback on the expansion of training to other spheres of government, this will assist the NSG to shape the approach to the programmes.

The repositioning of the Schools Programme will focus on enhancing the quality of the programmes, such as the Integrated Management Development Programme, through partnerships formed with the Department of Higher Education. Training of SOE board members will be in partnership with the Institute of Directors. This partnership allows the NSG to intervene immediately without wasting time on developing a programme. People are not just trained, but write board exams to be certified as Directors. The strategy must still be employed. Partnerships with other bodies are in motion such as a programme targeting engineers and lawyers with qualifications, but who are unqualified.

Mr Ngcaweni said, for the NSG to professionalise public service, partnerships with professional organisations were finalised to support people with qualifications in government across different spheres. This will cut the costs of outsourcing. It is one way of expanding the training programmes across spheres of government.

The accreditation committee will review programmes every three years to ensure quality programmes are provided. The NSG will also conduct peer reviews. The long-term strategy of the NSG for sustainability involves engaging with Treasury and the Minister. It will offer online programmes which will adjust costs.The NSG wishes to charge premium price for executive programmes.

Mr Ngcaweni said Treasury must allocate more money for training programmes to the NSG because the current system is not sustainable.  

The Chairperson thanked everyone for attending.

The Committee Secretary said responses to questions from the presenters are expected within seven days.

The meeting was adjourned.