Public Service Portfolio Audit Outcomes; DPSA, CPSI, NSG and PSC Annual Reports 2021/22; with Minister and Deputy Minister

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed the Committee and all stakeholders present. The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) was present to brief the Committee on its tabled annual reports for the 2021/2022 financial year. The Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI), National School of Government (NSG), and the Public Service Commission (PSC) would also present their annial reports.

The Auditor-General (AG) would present the outcomes for these departments, after which the Minister would made opening remarks. The Public Service Commission Chairperson would then made opening remarks, and the presenters would be allowed to present thereafter.

The Chairperson noted an apology from Dr L Schreiber (DA).

Opening remarks by the Auditor-General
Ms Nomthandazo Ndlovu, Deputy Business Unit Leader, Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA), said Ms Moroesi Mooketsa, Senior Audit Manager, AGSA, and others would join her.

Ms Ndlovu said the new strategy, Culture Shift 2030, was implemented from 1 April 2022. The aim was to shift public sector culture to address and influence the areas of service delivery which were lacking. This will be done in the hopes of inspiring greater confidence in government.

The outcomes for the Department are very commendable, as four out of the five entities within the Department achieved clean audits, but the Department would like to go beyond clean audit outcomes by ensuring service delivery.

Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) Presentation
Ms Mooketsa explained how the AGSA fits into the national governmental accountability ecosystem and showed an improvement in the audit outcomes from 2018. In 2018, there were three clean audits and two unqualified with findings. This year, there were four clean audits, and only one unqualified with findings. The NSG Training Trading Account (TTA) is the auditee with the unqualified audit opinion.

On the achievement of annual targets as reported in the Annual Performance Report (APR), she said the DPSA had the lowest achievement with 80%, and the NSG Vote had the second lowest with 93%. The DPSA failed to revise the Public Service Amendment (PSA) Bill, and failed to develop a legislative framework for mandatory in-service training in the public service.

The NSG did not achieve regarding the percentage of senior public service managers trained on dealing with all forms of discrimination.

On the financial health of auditees, she noted none of the auditees had ended the year in deficit, and none had incurred unauthorised expenditure. All auditees within the public service portfolio will continue operating as a going concern for the foreseeable future.

The Auditor-General (AG) found the lack of timely, adequate review of quarterly reports, annual performance reports, and financial statements to be the overall root cause of significant findings in the portfolio. Some of the key recommendations suggested the development and implementation of effective action plans to address audit findings, and to monitor compliance with laws and regulations.

See attached for full presentation

National School of Government Annual Report 2021/22
Mr Busani Ngcaweni, Principal, NGS, said from last year, the NSG made significant progress in increasing revenue and diversity. The NSG had to adapt rapidly because of COVID-19, which has led to a partial shift to virtual teaching. The NSG has also procured an IT system which has led to the alleviation of certain issues.

Mr Dino Poonsamy, Head of Strategy, NSG, went through the audited performance per programme.

Programme One: Administration had a total of six planned targets for the financial year; all six targets were achieved for the period under review, which translated to 100% achievement.

Programme Two: Public Sector Organisational and Staff Development had a total of 22 planned targets for the financial year; 20 targets were achieved, and two targets were not achieved for the period under review, which translated to 91% achievement.

Performance highlights

• A total of 86 687 learners trained against annual target of 38 460 (225% achievement)
• Revenue generated to the amount of R98.7 million (83%) of the annual target
• Nyukela programme - total of 9874 learners enrolled for the course and 6168 successfully completed training
• Ethics in the public service course had a total enrolment of 38 006, with 30 185 completing the course (79% achievement)
• 12 online courses were developed to expand the eLearning platform and 11 skills assessments were completed with public sector institutions.

See attached for full presentation

Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) Annual Report 2021/22
Ms Annette Snyman, Chief Financial Officer, CPSI, said there were four annual targets, namely, effective corporate governance, innovative research and development initiatives, knowledge platforms sustained to nurture an enabling environment for innovation in the public sector, and innovative solutions replicated in the public sector, and all were achieved.

On Human Resources she noted a 9.6% vacancy rate, and employment equity of 6.7%, specifically relating to persons with disabilities, 60% of women at Senior Management Service (SMS) level, and 20% of youth, mainly due to the internship programme. She said the actual expenditure as of 31 March 2022 amounted to R33.780 million or 81.5 percent against the final appropriation of R41.453 million, resulting in underspending of R7.673 million.

See attached for full presentation

Discussion
Ms M Kibi (ANC) asked if the NSG Nyukela compulsory course, which any person aspiring to be appointed to the Senior Management Service (SMS) in the public service needs to complete, is an entry requirement for employment in the public service. If yes, she asked who should ensure compliance and why government departments advertise SMS positions without these requirements.

She asked if the requirements regarding policy proposals contained in the framework align with the professionalisation of the public service and the Public Service Amendment Bill.

The Committee noted development regarding the engagement with the International Treasurer on the funding and sustainability model, and she asked which proposals were contained in discussions to lobby for funding and sustainable models.

To the Public Service Commission (PSC), she asked if the national implementation framework on the professionalisation of the public service would be a guiding document to instil the ethos of professionalisation.

Since the Bachelor of Science degree (BSC) has played a significant role in the development of the framework for the professionalisation of the public service, she asked if government should amend or align the Public Service Act (PSA) to cover most of the aspects of the framework, and what the impact of giving accounting officers 10-year contracts instead of five-year contracts would be.

Ms M Ntuli (ANC) asked if another mechanism is applicable in the situation where someone has applied in the past, but has not yet completed the Nyukela programme, for example, a probationary period. She said she wants to ensure Nyukela does not become a stumbling block. She asked if NSG had another mechanism for those in senior management positions before establishing the Nyukela programme.

She commended the programmes which have been established and the high enrollment numbers, and asked if the NGS is considering going back to in-person learning now that COVID-19 is under control.
She commended CPSI for achieving 100% of its targets. She asked if the CPSI considered targeting rural municipalities with the Vulamanzi programme, as the water challenge is still high in those areas; she asked how the CPSI selects youth for its Information Technology (IT) programmes, and if it has future plans for the youth in this regard, particularly in the rural areas, as the world is currently in its fourth industrial revolution and everything is moving towards becoming digital.

Dr M Gondwe (DA) commended the NSG for developing a number of online courses, but encouraged the NSG to always ensure it has its finger on the pulse of the courses on offer, and asked it to ensure the development of its courses are guided by its relevance to the public service. She also commended the NSG for developing programmes which enable public servants to understand and be more responsive to challenges induced by changes in climate patterns. There is a need for more courses on this matter.

The NSG did not achieve some of the goals under Programme Two, such as the amount of revenue generated, and Dr Gondwe asked the NSG to give an estimate regarding when it would be able to have its own fully fleshed and sustainable funding model.

The other target it failed to meet relates to senior managers in the public service receiving training on dealing with all forms of discrimination. She asked why this training was not made compulsory for all senior managers, as it would have improved the uptake of this course.

Lastly, she said she hopes the NSG will heed the issues flagged by the AG and develop an action plan for addressing these issues, as the Committee will be monitoring if these issues have been addressed.

She commended the CPSI for achieving all of its annual targets, its new organisational structure, and getting funding approval from National Treasury on its new budget structure for the 2022/2023 financial year. She said she hopes this new organisational structure will position the CPSI to play a more pronounced and felt role in the public service and in addressing the challenges facing the public service.

The executive summary of the CPSI presentation refers to an independent, objective, and comprehensive study completed in October 2021, the purpose of which was to assist the CPSI to effectively positioning itself for the future, and she asked if the CPSI could share what some of the findings of this study were, and how the CPSI will take some of those findings forward.

Ms C Motsepe (EFF) recommended an action plan whereby NSG assesses learners who finalised studies through the NSG, and said this must be considered first when it comes to employment and promotions, because the government cannot fund the NSG students and not reap the benefits of the NSG training.
She recommended the CPSI intensify the innovation of delivery of medication, especially for the elderly and those with chronic illnesses.

Ms R Komane (EFF) agreed with the other Committee Members, and said when senior management positions are being advertised in the public sector, the Nyukela course does not seem to be a requirement. She asked why this was the case, and why most courses are still online even though COVID-19 no longer prevents in-person learning. She also asked about the challenges related to online training. She asked the CPSI to speak about the innovative solutions it discovered to resolve the service delivery challenges in the public service.

She wanted to know what was discovered regarding service delivery challenges in South Africa during the CPSI Annual Public Sector Innovation (APSI) Conference.

She asked if, based on the new organisational structure and the status of unemployment, the new structure created new posts, and if so, how many.

Responses
Dr Botshabelo Maja, Deputy Director-General (DDG): Professional Support Services, NSG, replied to the question about the extent to which the professionalisation framework is aligned to legislation. He said it is aligned because the process of professionalisation is being led under the guidance of the Minister of Public Service and Administration, so the NSG is leading the framework and the Department is leading the legislative part. There are also reviews of the Public Service Act and the Public Administration Management Act taking place to ensure there is alignment between the framework and legislation.

The Department is developing a position paper regarding the funding model. Part of this process includes the appraisal of its value addition, including the work on professionalisation which the NSG presented to Cabinet. In conversations which took place with Treasury, it was established there would be no additional finances available to add to the NSG funding, so the NSG has considered how to tap into existing training budgets within departments, for the new funding model.

He responded to the question on online training, saying the online training continued post-COVID-19 because there are advantages to online teaching, such as cost efficiency and convenience. The NSG will continue to use this method.

Ms Lakela Kaunda, DDG: Administration, NSG, said the DPSA and the NSG ensure the advertisements for senior management positions include the requirement set by the Nyukela programme, and provide details of where the applicants can go and register for the programme. Some departments require the programme to be completed prior to interviews, in which case evidence of completion needs to be provided. She said an appraisal of compliance was completed in 2020, and it found there was compliance in this regard.

Ms Phindile Mkwanazi, DDG: Learning and Professional Development, NSG, replied to the question about the targets for the anti-discrimination course, and said the DPSA issued a directive to make it a compulsory programme. The NSG has recently made it a free course to make it more accessible, while also widely advertising the course, all of which will increase the uptake of the programme.

She said the courses are developed in line with legislation and are meant to respond to the needs of the public sector. She noted the suggestion about needing to add programmes such as the green economy.

On the funding model, she said NSG operates on a hybrid model where the NSG receives funding from National Treasury. It needs to generate its own revenue. This model is working for the NSG but there could be more discussion around how much should be state-funded and how much should be self-generated.

Mr Ngcaweni said National Treasury has been progressively increasing the funding allocation to the NSG, this is why the NSG has been able to waive the fees for some of the flagship programmes. As far as Nyukela is concerned, there is 99% compliance with the programme and it is not an impediment, but rather an important entry requirement. NSG is also leveraging private sector partners to increase training offerings.

Opening Remarks by the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission
Dr Somadoda Fikeni, Chairperson, Public Service Commission (PSC), welcomed the presentation by the AG. He said one target the PSC did not meet was a self-imposed 14-day payment rule which it set as a custodian of good governance. The goal was to go over and above the standard 30-day payment deadline, but it failed to meet the 14-day rule, although it did meet the 30-day deadline.

The PSC received a condonement of its procurement, if Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services, which was a response to challenges with Information Technology South Africa (SITA), was not able to assist on time. He agreed with the comments made on a clean audit not being enough. It is necessary to have the intended impact on ordinary citizens, who are the public service consumers. He said by the time the PSC and Committee meet again next year, he hopes the PSC will have high-profile and high-impact projects in line, and that a rapid response unit regarding public service will be established.

Dr Kholofelo Sedibe, DDG: Leadership and Management Practices, PSC; and Mr Kenneth Momeka, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), PSC, presented on behalf of the PSC.

Dr Sedibe said PSC had achieved a clean audit for the third year in a row, achieved 22 of its 23 targets, and had a total budget of R286 million. The PSC set four outcomes which would contribute towards building a ‘capable, ethical, and development state.’ These outcomes are:
An improved service delivery culture
Sound leadership practices in the Public Service
A well-coordinated and functioning Monitoring and Evaluation system (Data Warehouse for the PSC)
A strong and well-functioning PSC

Some of the key achievements of the PSC included:
Facilitated selected Heads of Department (HoDs) and evaluations in line with the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) Framework for HoDs
Played a substantive role towards the development of the National Implementation Framework on the Professionalisation of the Public Service
Conducted qualitative evaluations of departmental compliance with the constitutional values and principles which culminated in the State of the Public Service Report (SOPS)

On financial performance, Mr Momeka said 77% of the PSC’s actual expenditure consisted of compensation of employees, 21% consisted of goods and services, and a total of 92.8% of the budget was utilised. He said PSC produced four articles on promoting professional ethics and one research report on professional ethics.

Dr Sedibe covered the feedback on the progress made towards the implementation of the following recommendations contained in the 2022/23 budget report:
The PSC should speed up the finalisation of the legislative reform project, which seeks to allow the institution to be supported by the Secretariat, independent of the Executive, designed to strengthen the Commission. 

Dr Sedibe said the PSC Bill’s sixth draft was finalised and supported by the Chief State Law Advisor. The process of gazetting the Bill should be fast-tracked, once Cabinet makes its decision. The PSC should consult with the provincial legislatures' speakers continuously to discuss the PSC's work, which includes fast-tracking appointments of the commissioners. 

The PSC, through the Chairperson, has engaged with the following legislatures regarding the appointment of commissioners, or the renewal of terms of commissioners: North-West Provincial Legislature (Renewal of term), Western Cape Provincial Legislature (Renewal of term), Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature (Advertising of post).

The PSC should review its organisational structure with the intention of strengthening capacity in the provincial offices, to cover a wide spectrum of provincial departments, as well as making an impact on the citizens in the provinces.

The process to review the PSC organisational structure is in an advanced stage and the target date to present a revised structure to the Executive Authority is 31 December 2022.

Through its Service Delivery Inspections, the PSC should expand its reach of monitoring government facilities in all sectors in the semi-rural and rural provinces.  

Among others, the PSC conducted unannounced inspections at 57 facilities of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), following numerous reports of long queues.

See attached for full presentation

Discussion
Ms T Mgweba (ANC) asked what kinds of grievances were mostly reported to the PSC; and how far the PSC is in the development of a framework to measure the performance of the individual commissioners.

Dr Gondwe (DA) commended the PSC for achieving 22 out of its 23 targets, and, in some cases, even exceeding some of its targets. The PSC did not achieve its target of paying valid invoices within seven to 14 days, but Dr Gondwe said it was not an unreasonable target, and considering the PSC came close to achieving it, it should remain a target. The target was missed because of cases of COVID-19. She said staff members who did not test positive should have worked from home, and she asked for an update on the Bill, as it will enable the PSC to hold departments’ more accountable.

Ms Motsepe (EFF) asked how many accounting officers have transgressed the legislation, since the PSC has implemented the strengthening of the legislation; how the PSC determined the timeline of accounting officers’ contracts; and she agreed with Dr Gondwe’s question, saying she looks forward to the introduction of the Bill.

Ms Komane (EFF) asked what the advantages and disadvantages of giving officers ten-year contracts over five-year contracts were; how far the PSC was with regards to the development of the framework to measure the performance of the individual commissioners; on the Annual Performance Plan (APP) targets, there was mention of delays, and she asked what the reasons for those delays were; what informs the discussion around the renewal of the term of a commissioner; and on the subject of interns, she asked what the PSC’s plans for these interns are.

She acknowledged the initiative of the PSC in giving these interns an opportunity to gain experience. She asked, on the contractors who will be appointed using the funding from the vacancies, if those contractors would be considered for the vacant positions, and what the role of the PSC would be in this regard. She said there is a large backlog in Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases because of not receiving results from laboratories in time, and she acknowledged the intervention by the PSC, but asked how long this intervention would take.

Ms S Maneli (ANC) asked which social media platforms the PSC is active on; where the public can access its bulletins and other information about its operations; if government should amend or align the Public Service Act to cover most of the aspects of the framework on the professionalisation of the public service.

Responses
Dr Fikeni said in the last strategy session, the PSC has taken the initiative to develop a framework for the performance assessment of commissioners. The PSC will have to consult with Parliament to decide if it will get an independent assessor or a hybrid, where Parliament or legislatures sit in on the performance assessments.

Once the framework has been established, the PSC will consult the Committee on what the best mechanism is to utilise it. He said it is also important to ensure people who are fit for the purpose are appointed in the first place.

On the PSC Bill, he said the PSC has done everything required of it. It presented the draft to the Committee and to the Minister of Public Services and Administration, who have been very helpful in ensuring the process moves with speed. The PSC has also asked for a meeting with the Deputy President, and the PSC has briefed the Speaker of Parliament, who has tried to make sure the process is expedited and made a priority.

On the question of ten-year contracts, he said, in studies of stable-performing public services which are professional and non-partisan, public servants are regarded on a long-term basis as part of continuity of state, rather than being closely tied to the terms of office of each Administration. Each Administration of government will come and go every five years, but continuity is often needed so public servants in most countries have security of tenure.

It is also important to manage the process to have a merit-based recruitment system, prevent interference that might create patronage, and have a clear exit clause for when the person is not performing.
The meeting with the Minister of Police, and the commissioners had to be postponed, but the issue of the backlogs in the forensic laboratories is at the top of the list of discussions. The PSC will present the findings of its inspections of the forensic laboratories. A major issue found during the inspections was the lack of coordination. There is also a problem of property management by the Department of Public Works; some of the laboratories have been allocated spaces which are unsafe and unfit for the purpose they serve. Regarding Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) is another entity which hinders departments from executing their purpose.

On the question of contract workers, he said in the areas where there are backlogs and where there is a need for a turnaround in a limited period of time, contract workers will be deployed as a part of the repositioning of the PSC, with the option to retain workers longer where possible.

On the appointment of a Provincial Commissioner, the PSC indicated to the Provincial Legislature and the Premier that the specific Commissioner’s term is ending. The PSC will advise on the matter but cannot prescribe to the Legislature what it must do; it will handle the process and make the decision to renew the contract or to advertise for the post.

On the nature of the grievances received by the PSC during the period under review, Dr Sedibe said the number of grievances declined by 28% from the previous year. The majority of the grievances were related to unfair treatment, performance management, filling of posts, and salary problems.

The cause of the delays which led to one target not being reached, was the COVID-19 cases being reported within a section of the PSC. She noted the comment by Dr Gondwe on the staff members working from home, but said it is not always possible, as not all of the systems are designed to facilitate remote log-in as a part of security measures. This is an issue which will be dealt with.

On the plan for the interns, she said the interns are young people with relevant qualifications, but without relevant work experience. There are around 20 interns and the PSC is still in the process of appointing additional interns. Since the internship programme has been extended to 24 months from the previous 12 months, she said more interns were able to secure permanent job opportunities in other departments.

When positions become available internally, the posts will be advertised internally and the interns will be able to compete for the positions same as any other candidate. It would be misleading for PSC to say it plans on absorbing the interns as it does not have the prescript nor does it have the resources to do this.
 
Mr Momeka noted that the PSC can be found on Twitter (@opsc), Facebook, and its website. On contract employees, he said contract employees are only brought on board if and when there is savings on the compensation of employees, and based on needs. The PSC does not use labour brokers, but it uses a normal recruitment system and its security officers and cleaners are full-time employees.
Professor Fikeni said the social media platforms have been gaining some traction since last year. On the professional development of commissioners, he said sessions were held to identify gaps and areas of capacity building, not only for the commissioners, but also for the Office of the PSC.

Remarks by Deputy Minister
Dr Chana Pilane-Majake, Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration, said the presentation would include the Department’s responses to the Budget Review and Recommendations Reports (BRRR) for the entities within the DPSA. She said the Department continues to be committed to building an ethical, capable, and transformative state which is highly skilled. This is why the Department is also in the process of refining the Professionalisation of Public Service Framework, which was taken to Cabinet’s subcommittee on 11 October 2022. The framework will be proceeding to Cabinet.

Another initiative the Department is serious about is e-governance, and the digitisation and modernisation of government, along with issues of performance and discipline. The Department has concluded the Discipline Management Policy which will assist in responding to cases of public servants doing business with government. The Department has also reduced the number of suspensions. Through the CPSI, the DPSA continues to support innovation in government. The CPSI does not only focus on innovative ideas from public servants, but also from the public.

Department of Public Service and Administration Annual Report 2021/22
Ms Yoliswa Makhasi, Director-General, DPSA, said the presentation will be covered by Ms Linda Dludla, DDG: Administration, DPSA; Mr Masilo Makhura, CFO, DPSA; and Mr Nyiko Mabunda, Acting DDG HRM&D. The Department received a clean audit in the current financial year, as a result of monitoring the AG’s findings, as well as improvements which were implemented within the DPSA’s environment. There were some targets the Department could not fully achieve, partly due to the procurement processes and the struggle to secure service providers in one of the projects.

Ms Dludla said before the AG audited the annual report, it was subjected to an internal audit process. The DPSA met 20 of its 25 annual targets. This is the lowest it has been in the past five years. The branches of the DPSA which have not achieved its targets include, Administration, Human Resource Management and Negotiations, Labour Relations, and Remuneration Management. Some of the targets that have not been reached are submitting the Revised Public Service Amendment Bill to Cabinet, the Job Evaluation System for the public service was not developed, and the Legislative Framework to institutionalise mandatory in-service training framework was developed, but not issued.

The Department received a clean audit. The DPSA spent 86.1% of its budget, and the vacancy rate stands at 14.45%. Out of the 75 senior management positions, women occupy 33, and there are eight employees with disabilities.

Mr Makhura said on the financial performance, E-governance Service and Information Management had spent the lowest percentage of its budget (61.9%), and Government Service Access and Improvement had spent the highest percentage (96.4%).

Mr Mabunda presented the responses to BRRR recommendations 11.1 to 11.11. On the recommendation to fast-track the amendments to all due legislation, he said the Public Service Amendment Bill and the Public Administration Amendment Bill are being processed and are currently at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC). The Bills are expected to be submitted to Parliament in the fourth quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year. Recommendation 11.2 suggested amending the Public Service Act to include the establishment of the roles and responsibilities of the Head of Administration. He said the Public Service Amendment Bill seeks to address the issue by augmenting the powers of the Director General in the Presidency.

On recommendation 11.3, he said the Department has finalised two sets of regulations on Conducting Business with the States, both of which will be operationalised in the 2022/2023 financial year.
On recommendation 11.10, he said the DPSA has embarked on a new intake of 21 graduate internships for the 2022/2023 financial year, among other initiatives.

See attached for full presentation

Discussion
Dr Gondwe said the DPSA has the lowest achievement rate within the Public Service cluster as far as its annual targets, despite it being the main department under this portfolio, and carrying the largest budget allocation. She acknowledged the Department’s overall improvements in audit outcomes, but said she was concerned over the fact that it has only achieved 80% of its targets, two of the targets relating to key legislative amendments in the sector. The non-achievement of these targets robbed the sector from benefiting from the Department, given the Bills were introduced in 2018 already. She said it is encouraging to learn the Bills will be submitted to Parliament in the fourth quarter of 2022/2023, but asked for a more definite date to be given.

The DPSA developed the guidelines for lifestyle audits in the financial year under review. It asked how far the Department is in conducting the lifestyle audits on all of its employees, and when these audits will be concluded. She asked the Department to provide the Committee with assurance it is implementing these lifestyle audits across the public service, as the Department previously said that the Western Cape is the only province that has passed the implementation stage to the investigation stage.

On setting targets, she asked if the Department speaks directly to the challenges facing the public service. She referred specifically to corruption, the backlog of disciplinary cases, and the costs incurred for public servants who are on suspension. A clean audit has to translate into tangible changes and improvements in the functioning of the public service. She acknowledged the DPSA is not directly responsible for discipline management in the public service, but its mandate has to go beyond simply ensuring compliance with norms and standards; it has to extend to implementing and introducing interventions to ensure the public service is effective, responsive, and ethical.

Ms Ntuli said the Committee was kept up to date with the NEDLAC process and she understands the delays, as there is a process which must be followed. The vacancies in the Department contributed to the underspending. These are all issues the Committee was concerned about, but she said some of it is understandably beyond the Department’s control.

Ms Komane said the clean audit received by the Department could not be celebrated because it is ‘a skeleton which does not have any meat.’ She asked if the DPSA has any strategies to cap the vacancy rate below the 10% of the funded posts, as South Africa is in the middle of an unemployment crisis. She asked what the Department was doing to expedite disciplinary cases within the public service and why there was no need for uniformity in light of the lifestyle audit, as there are no timeframes and a clear lack of uniformity. Only 13 out of the 53 senior managers received rewards, and one must consider what this says about the performance of the other managers, and what will be done to assist those struggling. She asked what the Department’s plans are to fill the vacancies and the timelines for filling these positions.

Responses
Ms Makhasi noted concerns over the 80% achievement of targets, but said many of the issues which led to the Department not achieving its goals were beyond its control. On the legislative amendments, she said the DPSA was ready to take the amendments to NEDLAC in August 2022, but the Minister advised it should be taken back to the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) after it had already spent a number of months there. She said the DPSA hopes to receive clearance from NEDLAC in the next month or two, then Cabinet will be briefed on changes, which will then be submitted to Parliament. In another instance, missing the target had to do with procurement and not getting a service provider. The unmet targets were moved into the current cycle.

On the lifestyle audits, she said something must trigger the audit and she is currently awaiting advice on the case of a potential audit within the DPSA. The technical advisory is spending a lot of time in the provinces and departments to support it with capacity, as it relates to issues of discipline management. The DPSA issued guidelines for all departments on lifestyle audits, and departments are expected to respond accordingly in the current financial year, as it is mandatory.

The DPSA’s targets are based on the challenges faced in the public service, as the Annual Performance Plan relates directly to the Medium-term Strategic Framework (MTSF). It would be able to illustrate, beyond this, how the DPSA responds to emerging issues through the Annual Operational Plan that is managed internally.

On discipline management, she said the Department is working on a Discipline Management Strategy (DMS) which responds to all of the issues being picked up; some of these issues are related to legislation, which means it will take longer to change.

She agreed in principle with Dr Gondwe’s sentiment about DPSA’s mandate going beyond simply ensuring compliance with norms and standards, but said there are limits to this such as budget, organisational structure, and what is actually outlined in its mandate.

There is caution around making appointments and filling vacancies in the office, as the Minister is still acting. She said there is a plan to fill the vacancies and the plan can be shared with the Committee. As for dealing with the high unemployment rate, she said the Department is contributing to the solution by creating the internship program which gives exposure to young people, who are not working on plans of creating more opportunities for those who are unemployed.

On Ms Komane’s inputs, she said it has taken a lot for the Department to get where it is with the clean audit and it has had to work very hard to improve its governance and accountability. She said, on the question of uniformity with lifestyle audits, from the DPSA’s perspective, there is uniformity as there are guidelines that standardise the process. In these guidelines, there are also timelines requiring departments to undertake lifestyle audits every financial year.

On the question of awards, she said these were for managers who performed beyond expectations and it does not mean the other managers under-performed.

Ms Dludla said due to the ‘embargo’ imposed by National Treasury on departments, and not getting e-recruitment systems, manual applications continue to be a struggle, as it requires capturing information, which takes a lot of time. The Department was able to clear the backlog caused by this process and has been able to fill posts in an average of five to eight months, while the requirement is posts are filled within 12 months.

The Deputy Minister said the Department would appreciate the oversight principles, so as to appreciate clean audits in light of the audits which government departments ordinarily. Encouragement needs to be given so it can be sustained.

Vacancies need to be filled as South Africa is facing the threat of unemployment, but the unaffordable Wage Bill needs to be taken into consideration. A strategy needs to be developed to deal with it. The myth of public representatives being favoured more than public servants should be corrected. She suggested a strategy for filling vacancies be developed in a joint committee approach as there are high vacancy rates across government departments. The proportionality of the number of public servants as compared to the population is worrying and exacerbates the issue of unemployment.

The Chairperson thanked all the stakeholders and members present.

The meeting was adjourned.