Hon Chairperson, I greet the Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Cabinet colleagues, the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, members of the portfolio committee, chairperson of the Public Service Commission, hon members of the House, the portfolio leadership in the Ministry of Public Service and Administration, our distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen.
We are living in an interesting time in South Africa. Never in the history of our democracy have we witnessed a stronger need to hasten the manner in which we deliver services. Our democracy is at the height of its teenage years and, as with all teenagers, it is a pivotal time of questioning and rebellion. The Public Service is the institution charged with the management and redistribution of this teenager's resources, and never has there been a more opportune time for us to work with vigour in ensuring that these resources are properly redistributed.
I would like to convey my greetings to you, and thank you for affording us the opportunity to address this House on this very important day, the day of the presentation of the Budget Vote for the portfolio of Public Service and Administration.
During last year's identification of strategic priorities and the subsequent introduction of the outcomes-based approach as a manner of governance, the Ministry of Public Service and Administration was allocated the responsibility of co-ordinating the implementation and monitoring of and reporting on Outcome 12: "An efficient, effective and development oriented public service and empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship". What we do as government is premised on the ruling party's election manifesto and further enhanced and guided by the outputs of Outcome 12, the Cabinet lekgotla, the state of the nation address 2011, the recent Budget Speech 2011 of the Minister of Finance, and other imperatives arising from the assessment of the performance of the Public Service.
During our last Budget Vote address to this House in 2010 the Office of the Deputy Minister for the Public Service and Administration made the following commitments: to review the governance arrangements of the single Public Service; to harness the power of technology through e-government; to put in place measures to ensure the integrity of Persal data; to provide support to at least 80% of government departments so that they spend at least 1% of personnel budget on training; to expand Gems membership and reduce the number of uncovered employees; to roll out solutions to addressing the needs of visually impaired teachers; to refocus the Community Development Workers Programme to play a stronger role in the war against poverty; and to connect Thusong Service Centres to the Internet. A lot of these have been done.
The President has called upon the Public Service to work harder and smarter in addressing the needs of the citizens. We want to assure the House that the Ministry will continue to implement the above-mentioned programmes with renewed vigour.
With regard to our priorities, I would like to pay special attention to the following, given the time constraints: enhancement of legislative and policy review; accessibility to public services and community participation; and human resource management and compliance.
The Minister has already spoken about some of the areas of participation in the international arena. Yesterday Parliament celebrated Africa Day, and in support of all the efforts to improve the living conditions of the people on the continent, the Republic of South Africa is engaged in a number of postconflict interventions.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo we are developing and implementing an anticorruption framework, a public service census and a capacity- building programme. In Burundi we are rebuilding and strengthening its public service to run effectively, and implementing a capacity-building programme. In Rwanda we are dealing with its capacity-building programme and leadership development. And in South Sudan it is about capacity- building in the human resources sector.
For the first time we have included participation of traditional leaders as one of the sectors in the African Peer Review Mechanism process. This move was necessitated by the fact that 70% of South Africa's population is rural. Through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, South Africa has been requested to assist in developing a framework for civil society participation in the review of government programmes the world over.
A review of the Public Service Regulations is also currently under way. This is focusing on all the gaps for the institutionalisation of a number of service delivery mechanisms, as well as a framework for community development and public participation.
The Code of Conduct for the community development workers, CDWs, will also be reviewed in relation to the conflict between the Public Service and political activities. This year we are planning to work with more vigour in ensuring that the CDWs are linked with the existing community structures, such as school governing bodies, community policing forums, ratepayers' associations, traditional institutions, citizen assemblies, and religious bodies.
This morning I had some discussions with premiers from almost all over the country. I spoke to Premier Zille, Premier Mokonyane, Premier Hazel Jenkins, and Premier Thandi Modise. It was not deliberate that I spoke to women, but I found them quicker than I found the men. They all agreed with me in saying that we need to relocate the CDWs to the offices of the premiers. They need to be hosted there for purposes of ensuring that they work more swiftly, that they are aligned to the programmes of provinces, and that services are integrated. The Department of Public Service and Administration, DPSA, will facilitate the process of locating the CDWs in a national department, hopefully ours, and also in the offices of the premiers for funding, monitoring and evaluation purposes.
The DPSA will commence with the implementation of the process map to Parliament, which includes the review of the draft Public Administration Management Bill as part of a process to implement the single Public Service. Consultative workshops will be held within government to finalise the draft revised legislation. Further consultations will be had with the National Economic Development and Labour Council, Nedlac, but we would also like to include civil society, because that is our biggest client.
With regard to local governance, citizen participation and access to service offerings, Sita has deployed satellite connectivity to Thusong Services Centres. A process to validate equipment deployment and facilitate site sign-off is presently being undertaken. We are currently working with the Departments of Basic Education, Health and Communications to develop a blueprint for connectivity to schools and clinics. A conceptual framework for the implementation of e-government has also been developed.
We are taking into consideration what the President said in his 2011 state of the nation address, and I quote:
Since we are building a developmental and not a welfare state, the social grants will be linked to economic activity and community development, to enable short-term beneficiaries to become self-supporting in the long run.
In supporting this we will co-operate with the Minister of Social Development to ensure that, through the work of the CDWs, we identify children who have no access to early childhood programmes to be part of those development programmes. The importance of these programmes is the development of cognitive and other skills for children, which will lay the foundation for a well-rounded human being who will be capable of meeting the challenges of life in education and the social spheres without relying on social grants.
I am confident that in her budget speech the Minister of Social Development will unveil a grand plan on early childhood development. The department will also launch a campaign, which we have dubbed "Know Your CDW", so that communities are able to access this programme with ease.
The CDW programme has played a critical role in making the following positive development impacts: assisting in the elimination of government bottlenecks; advocating for an organised voice of and for the poor by supporting community-based and faith-based organisations; strengthening government-community networks through information dissemination; and assisting in bridging the gap between the first and the second economy in South Africa.
Notwithstanding the positive development impact of the CDW programme, government is aware of specific challenges facing the programme that may hamper its impact with regard to the acceleration of service delivery to citizens. One such challenge is the complex relationship between CDWs, ward committee members and ward councillors, and the discrepancies in remuneration. What we have seen to be the biggest challenge is the fact that CDWs in certain instances are unable to distinguish between their role as civil servants and that of party politics. [Interjections.] I did not say "strange".
Furthermore, the governance, management, planning and reporting functions have been inconsistent and fragmented across the different spheres of government.
The key elements of the redesigned governance and management CDW model are as follows: national co-ordination, which we would like to see as part of the DPSA; co-ordination at provincial level and we would like to see the offices of the premiers taking responsibility for this, as discussed this morning with some of them; and co-ordination at local level will have to be based at ward level, but we are looking at ensuring that it also gets hosted by the various traditional authorities in the rural areas, and also at the Thusong Service Centres.
Previous research conducted on service delivery draws attention to key challenges that encumber government's concerted attempts to achieve equitable, effective and efficient access to public services for its citizens. One of the primary concerns is that the current initiatives are being driven by individual departments and therefore result in considerable duplication and high expenses.
Accessibility of services is limited by the current structure and functioning of government, whereby the provisioning of a single service as per the mandate of the sphere of government fails to address citizens' needs in a comprehensive manner. For citizens living in areas that are remote and lack basic infrastructure, services and utilities, access to government services is severely limited. Citizens are required to incur travelling costs for long distances to reach service points in the nearest local towns.
To respond to these challenges, government must facilitate participation of citizens in the delivery of services and the packaging of information. It should intensify the task of developing a Public Service that has a strong citizen-centred culture. It should also repackage service offerings and develop new models and ways of providing services and information, firstly, to maximise the effectiveness of face-to-face service interaction and, secondly, to maximise the take-up of self-service for citizens through the use of technology. Then we also need to achieve greater collaboration within and across all three spheres of government to provide services and information to citizens in a more responsive and integrated manner.
In this respect, it is necessary that government concentrates its services in a single location and ensures greater "joined-up" services, and that this service location should be as close to the people as possible.
We recently launched the Maponya Mall Thusong Project, which is still a pilot project. The rationale for the project was that it should provide a "one-stop" interaction with government, where departments and institutions would provide professional, fast, friendly services in an integrated fashion.
To further expand on providing citizens with convenient access to services, DPSA and partner institutions will be investigating a collaborative partnership with the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, Prasa, and institutions across government to develop government "one-stop shops", Thusong, in train stations. This is important because statistics show that the number of people using these facilities could also benefit by government providing services at particular stations for their convenience. We are looking at two areas - Johannesburg Station, which used to be called Park Station, and Cape Town Station, because we get a lot of that there. Prasa has also indicated that we should look at Queenstown, which also deals with access to train stations by rural communities.
In June we will engage with traditional leaders countrywide to request that the traditional offices host the Thusong services model in a bid to make public service products and services more accessible to rural communities that have little or no infrastructure in their areas.
In all the work we do the department will continue to monitor the implementation of gender, disability and youth frameworks by all departments through the analysis of periodic reports submitted by departments. The enhancement of skills for gender and disability focal points will be done through training in mainstreaming the implementation of the strategic frameworks.
I wish to state that there is a need to look into ways of improving the relationship between the political heads and the heads of departments. Mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that accountability in administrative responsibilities, as outlined in the Public Finance Management Act, PFMA, is not compromised based on poor working relations between the executing authority and the accounting officer. We should also be cognisant that these relationships also affect the working of government at all levels. If the political and administrative heads do not work in tandem, it creates a ripple effect of nonperformance at all levels of a department.
The Public Service needs to deal with the burden of cost to the state occasioned by indecisive and incompetent leadership in the area of human resource management and the handling of labour relations matters. The challenges in the Public Service include the management of discipline, sick leave, corruption and conflict of interest, including the management of the integrity of public servants.
There was a Cabinet decision to introduce multiple administrators for the Government Employees Medical Scheme. We are lagging behind in the implementation of that Cabinet decision, but we have undertaken in the approved procurement plan for 20ll to issue a tender for the appointment of two more administrators.
The Gems membership currently stands at 556 000 and it's set to grow in this financial year to 620 000. As a department, we can proudly say that this is one of the best performing Public Service entities and it will continue to enhance its product offering so that it becomes the medical scheme of choice. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, other Ministers and Deputy Ministers present here, hon members, distinguished guests and fellow South Africans, in respect of its legal mandate the Ministry and the Department of Public Service and Administration are responsible for all human resource transversal policies, regulations, norms and standards, labour relations, conditions of service, and employee wellness on behalf of government as an employer.
Part of this responsibility includes the education and training of Public Service employees, their wellbeing regarding health and wellness, and ensuring continuous innovation in the work methods to improve service delivery as technologies change. It achieves these goals through, among other entities, the Public Service Sector Education and Training Authority, PSETA, in regard to education and training; the Government Employees Medical Scheme, Gems, in regard to medical aid; and the Creative Problem Solving Institute, CPSI, in regard to innovation.
The PSETA is accredited as a Seta in terms of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, Act 58 of 1995. Its mandate is to develop and implement a sector skills plan for the public sector within the framework of the National Skills Development Strategy and to monitor and audit achievements in respect of national standards and qualifications as they pertain to the public sector. In our oversight work we have noted a number of challenges and problems that this entity has experienced in recent times.
One of the main problems that has persistently faced the PSETA is that of governance. This is manifested in their disclaimer audit report for the 2009-10 financial year from the Auditor-General, and the fraud findings as alluded to in that report. We are happy that the Ministry has shown determination in attending to these challenges in the form of instituting a forensic investigation and taking charge by implementing temporary measures through an administrator.
We are encouraged by plans that the PSETA Board has come up with in this Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period to focus on building the institutional capacity of the organisation through, among others, the appointment of the chief executive officer, CEO, and senior management and, most importantly, to address and complete the issue of its autonomy and funding model which has to some extent contributed to its perennial problems.
Hon Chairperson, notwithstanding these challenges, we have noted some of the achievements as reported in the annual report, such as: achieving full accreditation as an Education and Training Quality Assurance body; meeting the National Skills Development Strategy, NSDS, targets by accrediting 33 service providers, developing 24 qualifications and certifying 25 moderators; and exceeding the target of 2 000 by assisting 3 211 workers to enter learning programmes, with 2 812 workers against a target of 950 workers completing learning programmes. We believe that with extra support in regard to capacity and addressing its governance problems, the PSETA can do more to drive the process of ensuring that a skilled workforce is realised in the Public Service in the near future. As public representatives we are going to increase our vigilance in our oversight role of monitoring the implementation of a change programme as developed by its board and hold them accountable. For the ANC, Setas are the bedrock of our policy priorities in skills development for the purpose of job creation. The ANC is committed to building the capacity of the Public Service and Administration as it is crucial for a developmental state.
We recognise that institution-building for appropriate skills development cannot be achieved overnight, as we are dealing with the legacy of long- entrenched structural imbalances in our system of education and training for the public sector. In this vein, all efforts to build the PSETA must be supported, while at the same time ensuring that action is taken where good corporate governance has been violated. Where evidence has been found of fraud and mismanagement, action against the culprits must be taken swiftly.
Hon Chairperson, creativity and innovation are important elements of modern approaches to service delivery, as demonstrated by the need for continuous change in work methods. The legislative mandate of the CPSI is to provide the Minister with independent, diverse, and forward-looking research findings and advice on innovative service delivery with a specific focus on government's priorities. It encourages learning and rewarding institutions with regard to innovative methods of providing services to the people.
It is pleasing to note that the CPSI is recognised and is a member of international bodies such as the United Nations Committee of Experts. This, together with its sharing and cross-publishing of innovative case studies between the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management and CPSI journals, needs to be applauded and encouraged as it promotes learning and institutional strengthening. Its new Multimedia Innovation Centre was established as a knowledge repository for the public sector but has now grown to facilitate various other platforms that are necessary for capacity-building for people to expand and test their ideas.
Hon Minister, we would like to see the CPSI visiting communities, especially where we have seen protests about service delivery, so that the problems can be diagnosed and correct solutions applied in order to improve service delivery. The centre needs to brand service delivery in the Public Service.
The lesson we learn from the type of innovation and management we have observed in the CPSI and Gems is that success is possible in the public sector. Gems is showing success in achieving its mission of providing all Public Service employees with equitable access to affordable and comprehensive health care benefits within a very competitive market environment of medical aid schemes. It continues to increase its membership base, while managing cost effectively at the same time.
All these three entities are strategically important for the task of building modern human resource management and developing our Public Service and Administration. The ANC has supported their creation because of its longstanding commitment to building a strong professional Public Service and Administration based on the democratic values of our Constitution and the Batho Pele principles. The ultimate goal from the ANC policy perspective is a strong developmental state that is capable of eradicating poverty, eliminating inequalities, growing the economy inclusively, and delivering services to all in society, especially the poor, with speed and quality.
We want to see PSETA, in particular, supported in its change management processes, and thus strengthened, in the interests of education and of government employees and sound human resource management and development. We want to support the noble efforts of innovative approaches to service delivery through the CPSI.
Ka lona lebaka leo, ANC e thekga ditekanyet?o t?e. Ke a leboga. [Legofsi.] [For that reason, the ANC supports the allocated budget. I thank you. [Applause.]]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members, officials and guests, it is now universally accepted that the most critical aspect and resource for any organisation is its people. The Public Service is no exception to this observation.
It is through the Ministry of Public Service and Administration and its department that the government's human capacity is developed and harnessed to meet the challenges of delivery. The department's aim of leading the modernisation of the Public Service, through a generally applicable framework of norms and standards to improve service delivery, assumes that within itself it possesses superior skills, knowledge and competencies to improve leadership and advise on human resources management to government as a whole.
The debate on this budget today is to ensure that this assumption is a reality and is complemented by equally appropriate financial resources that will allow for the achievement of its noble aim.
Given its broad mandate, this department can generally be seen as being responsible for the human resource management and development arm of government. From a government institutional perspective, it is the responsibility of this department to ensure that the principles governing the Public Service and Administration, as stipulated in the Constitution of the country, are translated into a reality and implemented.
Two of these principles stipulate, firstly, that good human resource management and career development practices to maximise human potential must be cultivated. Secondly, the principles stipulate that public administration must be broadly representative of the South African people. Therefore employment and personnel management practices should be based on ability, objectivity, fairness and the need to redress the imbalances of the past, in order to achieve broad representation.
Additional to these constitutional obligations, is the mandate which derives from the Public Service Act of 1994, as amended, which calls for the development of norms and standards. I will just mention two: firstly, labour relations in the Public Service and, secondly, transformation, reform, innovation and any other to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Public Service and its service delivery to the public.
When assessed historically against the broad constitutional mandate and the Public Service Act, the department has performed relatively well in building a system of human resource management in the Public Service. That is comparable to international best practice. Compared to the period before 1994, change has overwhelmingly taken place in the arena of Public Service administration, and best practice in the management of human resources is to be utilised.
The necessary legislative, legal and regulating framework has been established, and continued to be reviewed on a regular basis to keep up with the changing environment and new challenges.
Some of the human resource management challenges have been identified in the reports of the Public Service Commission and by the Auditor-General, the Ministry itself and us as parliamentarians, arising from our oversight work. The most pressing challenges requiring urgent human resource management interventions include amongst others, firstly, a failure to inculcate and entrench a culture of service and performance based on the values and principles of Batho Pele, which have been adopted by government. They include, secondly, the limited success in effectively utilising the performance management and development system and, thirdly, the weaknesses in the management and implementation of disciplinary processes.
The persistence of the challenges should not, however, blind us to seeing the enormous improvements in human resource management that make our Public Service function and deliver the services we are receiving on a daily basis. From the department's 2009-10 annual report we have noted the following recorded achievements with regard to improving the human resource management and development environment in the Public Service. I will mention two.
Firstly, we have continued with the implementation of the capacity development programme and training of community development workers. Secondly, we have the development of the Integrated Financial Management System and Human Resource Module and the rolling out of the HR Connect system to some departments.
Although we have expressed our concern about the persistence of the challenges as identified above, we are encouraged by the measures that are being proposed in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, plan to address them. In particular, we welcome the priorities that you have identified as critical to addressing the challenges going forward.
These priorities are, firstly, the revision of the Performance Management and Development System in order to strengthen Senior Management Service performance in the Public Service; secondly, efficient management of working time in the Public Service; thirdly, revision of the recruitment processes; fourthly, improvement of gender and disability mainstreaming and ensuring that government representation targets are achieved; and, lastly, increased training and development of public servants.
We believe that speeding up the implementation of these measures will greatly assist in making the Public Service work better and with speed, as was asked for by the President in his state of the nation address. From the perspective of the ANC, a Public Service and Administration that is adequately staffed with personnel that are qualified, skilled, competent and representative, as required by the Constitution, is crucial, not only to achieve the goals of a developmental state, but equally so for nation- building.
In the ANC's view, human resource management and development constitutes one of the critical elements of the technical capacity of a developmental state. Its ability to translate broad objectives into programmes and projects and to ensure the implementation thereof is overwhelmingly dependent on proper training, orientation and leadership in the Public Service, as well as acquiring and retaining skilled personnel in the Public Service.
In our support for government to improve the functioning of the Public Service, we have consistently called for and promoted measures that will make it flexible, operationally integrated on the frontline level, and innovative, and will promote managerial accountability and performance in respect of its human resource management and development systems.
It is on the basis of this that we have advocated the establishment of a single Public Service, so that we can establish a better integrated and harmonised system of resource management and development across all spheres of government. We believe that this ...
Hon Nyekemba, your time has been exhausted.
The ANC supports the Budget Vote. Thank you, God, I am not a member of the DA or Cope, which were formed after 1994. [Time expired.]
Chairperson, may I say that it is not only the hon member whose time is exhausted; we are exhausted, having listened to him!
Voorsitter, die Staatsdiens, skoon administrasie en goeie dienslewering behoort sinoniem te wees. Die Staatsdiens is die spielbeeld van hoe die land regeer word.
As ons kyk na dienslewering, kan ons nou maar net kyk na die protes-aksies wat voor die plaaslike verkiesing plaasgevind het. Dieselfde swak dienslewering kom in die Staatsdiens voor. Wat korrupsie en skoon administrasie betref, hoef ek niks verder te s nie, want spreker na spreker voor my het vanaand na die korrupsie in die Staatsdiens verwys. Selfs my ANC-kollegas het dit erken. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Dr H C VAN SCHALKWYK: Chairperson, the Public Service, clean government and good service delivery ought to be synonymous. The Public Service is the mirror image of how the country is governed. If we look at service delivery, we only have to look at the protests that took place before the local elections. The same poor service delivery also occurs in the Public Service. With regard to corruption and clean government, it is not necessary for me to say anything further, as numerous speakers before me this evening referred to the corruption in the Public Service. Even my ANC colleagues admitted to that.]
My colleague hon Dreyer touched on the Department of Public Service and Administration, DPSA, and the Public Service Commission, PSC, so I will reflect on the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, Palama and the State Information Technology Agency, Sita.
Palama's identity should be cleared once and for all. Is Palama a service provider, or is it merely a facilitator? Minister, I recall that you informed the portfolio committee that you were going to make an important announcement concerning Palama on Africa Public Service Day on 3 June. I presume that you will give more information on a turnaround strategy for the entity on that occasion. I heard tonight, sir, that you were talking about Palama and a preparatory school, but we await further information.
In his 2011 state of the nation address President Zuma highlighted the recruitment of qualified heads of departments, chief financial officers, etc. Skills development was given priority in his state of the nation address. Has Palama presented a strategy designed to deal with the issue of in-service training for those who presently occupy senior positions in all the departments?
The DA believes in appointing people at Senior Management Service level, who are fit for purpose. In order to improve service delivery, it is essential to appoint qualified and dedicated people at SMS level. An effective recruitment process in the Public Service is obviously a prerequisite for good service delivery. Cadre deployment should not be tolerated, because cadres are not all necessarily qualified and dedicated public servants. Senior managers should be appointed and promoted only on the basis of merit and the expertise to do the work of the department concerned. That is exactly what the DA's open opportunity society for all advocates.
Let me congratulate Mr Blake Mosley-Lefatola on his recent appointment as the chief executive officer, CEO, of the Sita - the twelfth CEO in 12 years! I am sure he will have knowledge of the enormous challenges as the CEO. Since its inception 12 years ago, Sita has been plagued by scandal, with allegations of corruption, ineffectiveness and mismanagement regularly associated with the state-owned entity.
Let me highlight only the following. In the 2009-10 financial year, Sita incurred R215 million's worth of irregular expenditure, on top of the R19 million uncovered in the 2008-09 financial year. The Sita has acknowledged challenges that have affected its ability to turn tenders around quickly - tenders are taking up to two years to be awarded because of constant top- level shuffling at the entity. The delay has thrown the Information and Communications Technology, ICT, industry into turmoil and has impacted negatively on service delivery.
According to a consolidated list of bids on the Sita's website, the agency issued 68 requests for quotations last year, of which 47 are still being evaluated, 13 have been binned, another 7 are still open to invitations, and only 1 tender was awarded. The consolidated list does not have any information available about tenders issued this year. Now, if this backlog in tenders reflects efficient management, I don't know!
The ideal should be that the Sita would provide for the whole of the Public Service. We know, however, that where the Sita is viewed as not being helpful or as unresponsive, the accounting officers of departments can go directly to industry to procure products and services that the Sita is unable to, or incapable of offering at the required time, quality and price.
In response to a DA parliamentary question the Minister indicated that only two government departments are regular customers of the Sita: the SA Police Service, SAPS, and the Department of Defence and Military Veterans. However, at a recent meeting of the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Police, it was revealed that the relationship between the Sita and the SAPS is on thin ice due to poor service delivery from the Sita. Apparently there are problems relating to service level agreements between the two parties. There is also a lack of joint planning and agreement between the two parties. The lack of a backup system for the criminal record centre is a reflection of this lack of joint planning.
Ek wil afsluit met 'n radikale gedagte wat in die nabye toekoms gedebatteer behoort te word: die staat gaan beter af wees sonder die Staatsdiens se Leierskaps- en Bestuursakademie vir Openbare Administrasie, Palama, en die Staatsinligtingstegnologie-agentskap, Sita. Bestaande universiteite en ander opleidingsinstellings bied voldoende tersaaklike kursusse aan wat staatsdiensamptenare op alle vlakke kan oplei en toerus vir hul loopbane. Deur van hierdie bestaande opleidingsinrigtings gebruik te maak, sal staatsdiensamptenare goeie gehalte opleiding ontvang en sal die staat baie geld bespaar wat eerder vir beurse vir staatsdiensamptenare aangewend kan word.
Palama is nie 'n opleidingsinrigting nie. Dit is bloot 'n fasiliteerder, 'n middelman, waarsonder die Staatsdiens maklik kan oorleef.
Dieselfde geld vir die Sita. Raak ontslae van die jarelange korrupte, ondoeltreffende agentskap en maak gebruik van die IT-bedryf wat daar in die privaatsektor beskikbaar is. Baie dankie. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[I want to conclude with a radical concept that ought to be debated within the near future: The state will be better off without the Public Service's Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, Palama, and the State Information Technology Agency, Sita. Currently universities and other training institutions offer adequate, relevant courses to train and equip public servants on all levels for their careers. By making use of these existing training institutions public servants wil receive good quality training and the state will save a lot of money that can rather be used for bursaries for public servants.
Palama is not a training institution. It is merely a facilitator, a middleman, and the Public Service will be able to survive without it.
The same applies to the Sita. Get rid of the corrupt, inefficient agency of many years and make use of the IT industry that is available in the private sector. Thank you very much. [Applause.]]
Chairperson, the Minister and the Deputy Minister, members of this august House, officials, ladies and gentlemen, I am not going to waste time by responding to some of the issues that were raised by members on my left-hand side; some of them are not worth responding to.
Firstly, at a political level there is the question of the increase in your numbers, and I am referring to members in the blue T-shirts. The reason why your numbers have increased is because of the demise of the orange shirts with whom you forged an alliance. [Applause.] It is not because of ours decreasing.
Secondly, human resource development is very dynamic; it is not static. So you have to keep up with the changes that are taking place in government and you certainly have to adjust your plans from time to time. Unfortunately, some members just criticised without having any plans, without saying that these were the plans that they were putting on the table. I must equally commend those opposition parties that brought some sanity or direction to assist our department. It is of no use listening to crybabies who do not bring the real issues. [Applause.]
The growth and maturity of our democracy over the past 17 years could not have survived without independent institutions such as the Public Service Commission, PSC, and the Auditor-General. These institutions have been central in the transformation, strengthening and continuing development of the Public Service and Administration. It is to their credit that Parliament is able to debate this budget today with a sense of comfort that evidence and objectively verifiable information can be obtained to support and substantiate whatever arguments we might be advancing to assess the Vote before us.
Current international experience and research on statecraft show us that in the long term the survival and maintenance of any democracy does not depend on individual leaders, no matter how good they might be, but rather on the strength and calibre of its institutions. Our long struggle against colonial and apartheid oppression has always been based on the strength of the collective and recognition of the importance of democratic institutions as a way of building a democratic society.
As the ANC, we recognise the strategic importance of the Public Service Commission and the Auditor-General in the struggle to transform the Public Service so that it can serve the developmental needs of our people with speed and respect.
Our priority, this year, is to monitor whether the culture of the Public Service is changing, and whether the services are delivered faster, more efficiently and in a caring manner. We will be monitoring whether the people are informed about the services that are delivered by the Public Service and how they can access them. These are the changes that the ANC wants to see happening to improve service delivery to our people. As parliamentarians we cannot play our oversight role and monitor that these changes are indeed happening, and that the Public Service is operating differently according to the culture that I have just outlined, without our collaboration with both the Public Service Commission and the Auditor-General, within their constitutional mandate. The Constitution of our Republic has enshrined the establishment of both the PSC and the Auditor-General to assist us as public representatives to play our role of oversight, seeking public accountability from the executive in a more qualitative manner through research-based information and objective evidence.
In terms of the Constitution of the Republic of 1996 the Auditor-General was established to strengthen our constitutional democracy by auditing and reporting on the accounts, financial statements and financial management of, among others, all national and provincial state departments and administrations. It must submit audit reports to any legislature that has a direct interest in the audit, and to any authority prescribed by national legislation. All its reports must be made public so that there is nothing that is swept under the carpet.
The PSC was established to work in the interest of the maintenance of effective and efficient public administration and high standards of professional ethics in the Public Service. Its function is to promote the democratic values and principles enshrined in the Constitution, and particularly those articulated in section 195 of that Act.
The common features of the two institutions are that they are required by the Constitution to be independent, impartial and exercise their powers and perform their functions without fear, favour or prejudice. They are accountable to the National Assembly, where they must report on their activities and the performance of their functions.
In fulfilment of our mandate, we have interacted with them in recent times and have received their reports and plans within the context of this budget debate. In assessing this budget for the Department of Public Service and Administration, we have extensively used the often valuable reports they produce in their examination of the health of our administrative arm of the state and its capacity to deliver.
From the Auditor-General we have benefited by and made use of the audits they have conducted on the departments and the institutions that report to it for the annual reports of 2009-10, which form the basis upon which we are debating this budget. In addition, we have also made extensive use of their other numerous reports, such as the General Report on the National Audit Outcomes, and the Consolidated General Report on the Provincial Audit Outcomes for the 2009-10 financial years. These reports gave us an indication of where progress is being made and the areas of continued weaknesses in our system of Public Service and Administration, and where we as Parliament need to focus our oversight attention. It was encouraging to get from these reports that progress was being made in reducing the number of departments with audit qualifications, both nationally and provincially. Notwithstanding this, the trend showed continuous challenges with regard to finance, human resources, supply chain management and accountability.
The PSC also provided us with valuable information through their reports which assess the state of the Public Service on an annual basis. Of critical importance, for the purpose of oversight and accountability, was their profiling and analysis of the most common manifestations of corruption and its related risks in the Public Service - you can see that in March 2011. In assessing the Public Service and Administration as a whole for the purpose of this budget we have taken into account the findings and recommendations emanating from this report.
As members of the ANC, we remain resolute in our determination to fight corruption in our society. I will not amplify what has been said, but just say that the ANC supports this Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]
Thank you very much, Chairperson. I want to indicate that in life there is something we call a "golden rule", and it states that right-minded people will give credit where it is deserved. [Interjections.] You agree with that.
However, we know that unfortunately it may not be in the political diary of hon Dreyer to do exactly that. The phrase "credit where it is deserved" does not exist. I know that she might have that in her diary, but the problem is that the chief prefect, hon Ellis, is here to ensure that she complies, and complies subjectively.
We know that as the ANC government it is we who indicated that we needed to do things differently, and doing things differently meant that we needed to respond and address the challenges that there were in our Public Service. Of course, it is only those who know what credit is and when it is the right time to give it who will actually acknowledge that. We indicated that.
It was this Ministry that actually introduced it and addressed this portfolio committee. Hon Dreyer was there, and we then said, "Watch the space! The turnaround strategy as far as the Sita is concerned is a reality." We indicated - and unfortunately it will not be correct, more especially when the chief prefect is here - that Ms Dreyer should agree and acknowledge that it was this Ministry that had a meeting with the premier of this province on the functioning of the Sita. The premier of this province acknowledged that since this Ministry has introduced a turnaround strategy, where we were going was clear. We know it cannot be said, because saying it here would suggest that she was putting the leadership, or the premier and the chief prefect present here, in a certain context. We know that.
I want to stress that as hon Members of Parliament we are here to represent the people; it may be that you represent the people from the opposition side, but the issue is that patriotism has to be there. We do not have to pretend that we do not see when good things are achieved simply for cheap political point scoring; it does not work.
It is this Ministry that introduced ethics and integrity, and we then said we were going to enforce it as part of the performance indicators, so that when we do performance assessments, we have to check whether these people are upholding the ethical code that we are expecting from our public servants. It is this Ministry that introduced it, but we know that it is not be possible for Ms Dreyer to acknowledge this, and we sympathise with you, madam.
It is this Ministry that dissolved the PSETA board. We dissolved it and addressed this hon august House and said we were dissolving it because of the irregularities that were there. We have not ended up in desolation - we are following it up, and there are people whom we are sure are going to be arrested. That is going to happen through our leadership. We know that, unfortunately, it cannot be acknowledged, for there may be a problem, hon Dreyer. [Interjections.]
We have indicated, here too, that our fight against corruption is a real fight. We have indicated that there are cases that the unit we have introduced have already started to investigate. Watch the space! These cases are affecting people even at the highest possible level. We might be just at the doorstep in regard to some of the public servants in this province, but we are saying what we are doing. However, of course, unfortunately that cannot be acknowledged, for the sake of cheap political point scoring. [Interjections.]
It is this Ministry that trained Public Service prosecutors. We now have prosecutors at the Public Service level to make sure that we fast-track the finalisation of disciplinary cases in the Public Service. We have started doing that. We reported this in the portfolio committee but unfortunately, of course, that may not be noted.
I do not want to miss the point you raised, Mr Williams. I would like to thank you for the call you made. We in this Ministry will make ourselves available to give a blow-by-blow account of where we are regarding the turnaround of the Sita. We are going to do that, because we cannot share it in the 20 minutes we have, during which time the Deputy Minister and I have to address all the issues that are our competency and give due consideration, give an account and respond as far as these issues are concerned. Thank you for that call. We will address these issues.
In fact, it is sometimes not good to talk about yourself, but we in this Ministry started this project when we were still members of this portfolio committee, saying we needed to build a new cadre of public servants.
I know, Dr Van Schalkwyk, that the problem you have with the Public Service cadres is not with the people themselves, but with the word "cadre", because you heard it for the first time from the ANC. [Laughter.] So your hatred of the ANC is limiting your understanding of what we are doing.
We are very proud of this, and I can even give a free lecture on what we mean when we say we will create Public Service cadres. We will do that in the presence of hon Ellis, so that maybe one day he will learn not to restrict people and then say you cannot amend your speeches. Your speeches were, unfortunately, prepared for you - you had to come and address those things.
But listen to what the ANC government is saying about a Public Service cadre. We are saying that there are eight attributes that our Public Service cadres should have. These are the attributes that we want, and that is what Palama is addressing.
We are saying one of those attributes, Dr Van Schalkwyk, is a public servant who breaks ground. I know you can read and because I do not have time, I will just give this to you as a present. Please do not let Mr Ellis see it, because you might get into trouble! [Laughter.] The next time I appear before the portfolio committee, these are the issues that we are going to address. We want to hear the DA joining us in saying we need Public Service cadres. The word "cadres" ... [Time expired.]
Debate concluded.