Hon House Chairperson, hon Acting Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Minister Mildred Oliphant, hon Deputy Minister, Ayanda Dlodlo, hon Members of Parliament, commissioners present here, Table staff, distinguished guests, officials in their various capacities, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.
This year's Public Service and Administration Budget Vote debate is taking place in the midst of a sad moment as we are mourning the recent passing of our beloved Minister who was responsible for this portfolio. In our deliberations today, we wish to pay tribute to the late Minister Roy Padayachie for his insightful leadership and for the critical role he played within the entire African continent. May his soul rest in peace.
As we are assembled in this House today, it cannot be contested that the democratic South Africa that came into being on 27 April 1994 is significantly and progressively different from the fragmented and undemocratic Union of South Africa that was established on 31 May 1910.
We will remember that this was preceded by colonial occupation of our country as early as 1652. So what it actually tells us is that we have come a long way. This 18th year of our freedom and democracy certainly sets apart today's South Africa from yesterday's South Africa. As people of this land, we have indeed triumphed over 300 long and hard years of colonialism and apartheid rule.
The 100 years of the African National Congress we are celebrating this year indeed epitomise our collective triumph over the evil systems of colonialism and apartheid, and all that it represented. We therefore look forward to the next 100 years of our glorious movement of the people. However, we are also reminded by our former President, Comrade Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela that:
Our road to the glorious future lies through collective work to accomplish the objective of creating a people-centred society.
Certainly, we have to build on our successes and learn from our experiences as we further advance the struggle for a better tomorrow, underpinned by a caring and capable state. This is the promise that is fundamentally embedded in our Constitution and it ought to be delivered to the people of this country in real and practical terms.
In line with today's meeting, the perspective we therefore embrace and advance is that our Committee on Public Service and Administration, as it should be with other committees in this Parliament, is an integral part of the national project emanating from our Constitution.
Our country and its people deserve more and better, and we dare not fail them. The task is complex and mammoth. It requires collective intelligence and action that transcends parochial, sectoral and institutional confines within the respective mandates. It is in this context that we would want to advocate for a new and dynamic collaborative approach to oversight that we are highlighting below.
The significance of oversight in our parliamentary system cannot be overemphasised. In a report entitled Trends in Parliamentary Oversight, the authors assert:
The legislative oversight of government policies in general, and of the budget process in particular, is of vital importance in ensuring that governments carry out their duties efficiently, democratically, and in a fiscally responsible manner.
It is therefore no surprise that, irrespective of the underpinning political systems in the respective countries, parliamentary oversight constitutes the cornerstone of the work of any parliament. It is impossible to conceptualise parliament outside the context of oversight.
In this context, we believe that our oversight efforts as committee seek to encourage and propel the department to remain closer to the people and ensure that service delivery challenges are addressed so that people's lives can be changed, in both qualitative and quantitative terms, in line with the promise of the Constitution.
As we deliberate on the budget and programmes of the Department of the Public Service and Administration in line with our constitutional mandate, we have to be alert to the fact that the budget ought to be transformative and significantly contribute to the overarching objective of a better life for all the people of our country. The budget is therefore not an end in itself, but a means to an end.
Pele ke kgelekgetha, ka taba tsa mokitlane wa lefapha lena, ke bona ho le bohlokwa ho hlakisa tse sa kang tsa hlaboseha ha monate ho komiti - ha re ntse re sebedisana le lefapha.
Tsena di mabapi le ha lefapha le dutse nako e telele le sena hlooho e le okametseng. Hona, ebile bofokodi bo boholo. Jwalo ka ha re ile ra hlalosa nakong ya pele hore, 'Ha katse e le siyo, ditweba di a hlanaka.' Re bona ho bile teng ho hlanaka ho itseng. Re tlamehile ho hopola bohlokwa ba lefapha lena, mabapi le tsamaiso ya ditshebeletso tsa mmuso. Ho mme he, ha se lona le ka dulang le sena hlooho - hohang!
Ha re bua ka dikgeo tsa mesebetsi tse leng teng hara mafapha a mmusong, ha re a tlameha ho balella lefapha lena. Ka nnete ha re a tlameha! Re leboha ha e le mona, ho se ho ena le Hlooho ya Lefapha - ka mora nako e kana! (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[Before I go too far about the department's budget, I think it is important to clarify some things that did not go down well with the committee when we were dealing with the department.
These are in regard to the fact that the department has been without a head who is responsible for it. This was seen as a huge setback. Just as we mentioned before, ''When the cat's away, mice will play,'' we have noticed that there has been a lot of playing around. We must keep in mind the importance of this department with regard to the management of services by government. Therefore this is not the kind of department that should be without a head at all!
When we talk about vacancies that are available in government departments, we should not count this department as one of them. Really we should not! We are grateful now that there is a head of department after such a long time!]
This appreciation of the sociopolitical purpose of the budget is imperative if one takes into consideration the nature and type of our country's developmental challenges we have to contend with, which are well articulated in the Diagnostic Report of the National Planning Commission, NPA. We therefore believe that we will keep this purpose of the budget in mind in our oversight efforts as the committee.
Having articulated the significance of parliamentary oversight in our context as the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration in this Parliament of the people, we remain keen, with unflinching commitment, to fully explore new methods and approaches of exercising our oversight responsibilities.
We believe that, in order to achieve a significant and transformative change, it is of strategic and political necessity that we maximise our oversight efforts within the respective constitutional mandates of the institutions and structures that are within the domain of public service in general. As highlighted earlier on, the road to such a journey is complex and therefore necessitates collective intelligence and action that transcends parochial, sectoral and institutional boundaries.
The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration therefore seeks to transcend what can be characterised as the traditional approach to oversight and to move towards a more dynamic collaborative approach. That is our buzz word!
In tandem with this initiative and in our endeavour to consolidate and strengthen our oversight approach, we employed the following strategies and approaches. We conducted oversight of the Department of the Public Service and Administration and its state organs, not only as portfolio committee, but also through partnerships with other committees of Parliament; for example, the Portfolio Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. We are going on a study tour in order to learn more about and discuss the issue of a single or integrated public service.
Within Parliament, this partnership for oversight included, but was not limited to, the NCOP's Select Committee on the Public Service and Administration, with the further intention to work closely with the Public Accounts Committee. Working with the NCOP, as well, assists us to move towards our approach of even going to the provinces in terms of the collaborated oversight.
Outside Parliament, the partnership for effective oversight included, but was also not limited to the Public Service Commission and Auditor-General of South Africa. We also intend to include all Chapter 9 institutions: the Public Protector; the Commission for Gender Equality; the Human Rights Commission; the Electoral Commission; and the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities. Many other partnerships will be sorted out.
The Constitution of our country obligates us to ensure that public administration is governed by the democratic values and principles outlined in section 195 of the Constitution.
The Department of the Public Service and Administration, in line with the mandate to oversee the overall functioning and organisation of government, has to adhere to the same democratic values and principles that were highlighted before. Naturally, the Portfolio Committee on the Public Service and Administration, through its oversight efforts, will always encourage the department to ensure it does govern public administration in line with the Constitution. The reality, though, is that all government departments, organs of state and public enterprises are expected to comply with the principles governing public administration.
During our process of oversight we have identified issues that require the collaboration of parliamentary committees for effective oversight. It is along this observation that we call for the seminar on Public Service oversight by Parliament. The Committee on the Public Service and Administration would therefore like to propose a sectoral platform for the deliberation and concretisation of the new approach to oversight of the Public Service.
Some of the issues that could be explored in such a seminar include, but are not limited to: the administrative heads of departments in the Public Service, in general; the overarching Human Resource Development and Management Strategy for the Public Service; the role of the Forum of South African Directors-General, FOSAD, and the implementation plan thereof, since we need to understand that FOSAD did present an implementation plan to the President who has actually shown a keen interest to us; achieving part A and part B of outcome 12 - I know there are many more speakers who will be talking about outcome 12, so I will not elaborate, also considering that most of the speakers and most of the people around here understand outcome 12 - and key aspects and proposals emanating from the National Development Plan. There will be many more, but we have already identified those as key issues.
We believe that the seminar on Public Service oversight is an ideal whose time has come. We feel strongly that we will work closely with the Public Service Commission as an independent body that monitors the Public Service and reports to Parliament. We are really glad, as the committee, to indicate that they do report to Parliament and not to the media, and therefore it makes our work much easier.
We want to conclude by indicating that as the ruling party, the ANC, we support this Budget Vote to ensure that the people of our country get the service they deserve. As we cast our eyes to the future, we still have a collective responsibility within our constitutional mandates to bequeath a bright future to the next generation, when our movement, the people of this country and the world celebrate the next centenary. Until then, let us remember that coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is success. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, while we have to focus on the real challenges and whether this budget will deliver the desired outcomes, it is necessary to reflect on the sudden and unexpected passing away of Minister Roy Padayachie.
I worked with the Minister since February. From the first day he made a very good impression on me. He was not only very friendly and accommodating, but I experienced a very sincere and honest approach from him to do whatever was needed to influence a much-desired turnaround in the way that the Public Service is not effectively supporting the competitive position of South Africa as a preferred economic development destination.
While the Public Service is faced with severe and very real problems, the Minister was not prepared to turn a blind eye and only reflect his master's voice. This sentiment is supported by the DA and especially my colleague, the hon Dr Ena van Schalkwyk.
He acknowledged the real problems and challenges, and he acknowledged the contributions from us and from institutions like the Public Service Commission and the National Planning Commission. To his family, loved ones and the Cabinet, please accept my sincere condolences at the unexpected passing away of Minister Padayachie. He will not be forgotten and his legacy will stay with us. God bless him and may his soul rest in peace.
While we do not know who will follow in his footsteps, we want to assure the new, still-to-be-appointed Minister of our support and our robust involvement to ensure a much improved Public Service sector in the future.
Voorsitter, laat ek terugkeer na hierdie begrotingsdebat. Dit is 'n feit dat indien ons ekonomies eksponensiel wil groei en ontwikkel, werk wil skep en Suid-Afrikaners uit die loopgrawe van armoede en mismoedigheid wil lig, Suid-Afrika 'n voorkeurland vir buitelandse beleggings moet wees. Plaaslike en buitelandse ondernemings moet die gemaklikheid, sekerheid en vryheid ervaar waarbinne hulle presies dit kan laat gebeur. Behalwe vir al die ander algemeen aanvaarde vereistes, het ons 'n Staatsdiens nodig wat, onder meer, kundig, eerlik, objektief, voorspelbaar, konsekwent, produktief, diensbaar en lojaal is aan ons nasionale doelwitte. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, let me return to the budget debate. It is a fact that if we want to grow exponentially and develop economically, if we want to create jobs and lift South Africans out of the trenches of poverty and dejection, then South Africa must be a country of choice for foreign investments. Local and foreign enterprises must experience the ease, assurance and freedom in which this can happen. Except for all the other generally accepted requirements, we need a Public Service that is, inter alia, competent, honest, objective, predictable, consistent, productive, subservient and loyal to our national objectives.]
In this budget an amount of R731,5 million is allocated to produce the required outcomes to achieve all of this. It is our task to determine whether this is achievable and whether this will give value for money to the already overburdened taxpayers.
Let us look at what we are faced with. In the Diagnostic Report of the National Planning Commission it is stated, among others, as follows on the state of the Public Service:
The uneven performance of the Public Service results from, among others, the tension in the political administrative interface; instability of the administrative leadership; skills deficit; the erosion of accountability and authority structures; poor organisational design; inappropriate staffing and low staff morale.
Seventeen years after the end of apartheid, the public sector remains chronically unstable.
Too often, initiatives to address this prove to be divisive and destabilising, while doing little to address the underlying issues impeding the public sector performance.
Corruption weakens and undermines the government's legitimacy and ability to deliver services.
According to the Special Investigating Unit, it is estimated that 20% to 25% of the state procurement expenditure, amounting to roughly R30 billion a year, is wasted through overpayment or corruption.
The Public Service Commission gives the reasons for underperformance in the Public Service as follows:
Inadequate leadership; management weakness; inappropriate institutional design; misaligned decision rights, which includes or refers to delegations and accountability; and the absence of a strong performance culture with effective rewards and sanctioning.
It is evident that we have a huge systemic problem of unacceptable low levels of skills, efficiency, professionalism, and especially discipline within the Public Service. How can we therefore expect that domestic and global confidence must increase to support investments, economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation?
Part of the problem in the Public Service sector clearly rests in the unacceptable levels of the ill discipline of staff, which again leads to high levels of corruption and wasteful expenditure.
Voorsitter, in 'n amptelike antwoord op vrae van die DA het die volgende aan die lig gekom: Die gemiddelde tyd wat dit neem om dissiplinre sake af te handel waar dit oor voorkomende skorsings handel, is 243 dae in nasionale departemente en 444 dae in provinsiale departemente. Op 'n amptelike vraag van die DA is ook bevestig dat R93,6 miljoen betaal is aan 365 amptenare wat sedert April 2009 met volle betaling geskors is. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, in an official reply to questions from the DA the following came to light: The average time it takes to conclude disciplinary cases regarding precautionary suspensions is 243 days at national departments and 444 days at provincial departments. In response to an official question from the DA it was also confirmed that R93,6 million had been paid to 365 officials who had been suspended with full pay since April 2009.]
The Public Service Commission has reported a general noncompliance with the prescribed 60-day period within which to institute disciplinary action, as stipulated by Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council Resolution 1 of 2003. It has reported that national departments spent a total of R52 million on the salaries of 1 559 employees who were placed on precautionary suspensions in the 2010-11 financial year alone.
Suspensions not only strain the public purse, but have a negative effect on service delivery. From discussions with the Public Service Commission and department representatives, it became clear that, whilst the Department of the Public Service and Administration must answer to these queries and concerns, it has very little influence on how each state department manages discipline, efficiency and productivity. Clearly, there are no effective cross-cutting measurable criteria, guidelines and, especially, punitive monitoring mechanisms to ensure that predetermined norms and standards are implemented.
The National Development Plan states that fundamental steps need to be taken to improve the required professionalism in the Public Service and the capability of the state in support of the objectives of a high quality Public Service, improving and maintaining infrastructure and improving the conditions for economic development. Reforms that will enable staff to do their jobs effectively by strengthening skills, enhancing morale and clarifying the lines of accountability are needed.
The DA is in agreement with the National Planning Commission that the Public Service Commission, as a Chapter 10 institution, has a proven record to be independent, objective and knowledgeable. Its role should be strengthened to ensure compliance and, in order to achieve this, some fundamental amendments need to be implemented, including the following: The Public Service Commission must get enforcement powers, with consequences to different heads of departments and Ministers if found in error. It must get its budget allocation directly from the National Treasury and not be part of the Department of Public Service and Administration's budget allocation. The budget must be realistic for this Chapter 10 institution to effectively fulfil its constitutional obligations with reporting and accountability directly to Parliament.
The National Planning Commission and the Public Service Commission must be assured that the DA-governed Western Cape is ready to implement the relevant proposals. However, in order for the Western Cape to play a more supportive and substantive role, we call on the President to finalise the appointment of the outstanding position of the Western Cape commissioner in the Public Service Commission.
In die lig van bogenoemde uiteensetting moet die begroting van R158,5 miljoen bevraagteken word, veral as dit vergelyk moet word met, byvoorbeeld, die begroting van die Departement van Ekonomiese Ontwikkeling. Hierdie begroting maak nie voorsiening vir enige uitgebreide magte nie en ook nie om meer effektief te kan verseker dat die Staatsdiens se prestasies noemenswaardig sal verbeter nie. In die strategiese planne van die departement word dit ten doel gestel om die Leierskaps- en Bestuursakademie vir Openbare Administrasie, Palama, te omskep in 'n skool vir openbare regering. Hul strategie is gebaseer op 'n beginsel dat hulle opleiding sal fasiliteer op grond van die behoefte uitgespreek deur die klint, wat die staatsdepartemente en die amptenary is. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[In view of the above-mentioned account the budget of R158,5 million must be questioned, especially if it is to be compared to, for example, the budget of the Department of Economic Development. This budget neither makes provision for any extended powers, nor to more effectively ensure that the performance of the Public Service improves significantly. In the strategic plans of the department, the goal is set to convert the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, Palama, into a school for public government. Their strategy is based on a principle of them facilitating training on the grounds of the needs expressed by the client, namely the government departments and the officialdom.]
There is a saying that you don't know what you don't know, because you don't know that you don't know it. This approach will not facilitate a more professional, knowledgeable and capable Public Service. In our opinion, this will enhance mediocrity and a downward spiral in the performance of the Public Service. [Interjections.]
Order, hon members!
We need to develop credible curricula with accredited qualifications. The only way this is achievable will be to partner with the tertiary institutions, for them to design courses in support of the National Development Plan objectives and design outcomes. In the absence of this, one must question the desirability and the justification of this budget allocation, as well as the existence of Palama.
One must also question the budgetary allocation for the involvement with the African Peer Review Mechanism. We must first correct our own Public Service in support of our growth and development needs before this can be rolled out into the rest of Africa. This budget allocation is not value for money for the taxpayers. Charity begins at home.
A big disappointment is the State Information Technology Agency, Sita, which must, amongst others, provide for effective broadband capacity and information technology to the Public Service in order to ensure effective and competitive support to the growth and development objectives of South Africa. We don't believe that taxpayers are getting value for their hard- earned taxes, so we call on Sita and the department to ensure that the turnaround strategy is urgently speedup to enable this.
An efficient Public Service is a necessary precondition for a government that works and that can provide a supporting environment for investment, economic growth, social development, and job creation. We need a public administration in which the defining priority is to develop the best service and an open-opportunity society to all South Africans.
Die DA twyfel of hierdie begroting hieraan reg kan laat geskied. Ek dank u. [The DA doubts whether this budget will be able to do justice to this. I thank you.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, Acting Minister Oliphant and Deputy Minister, and hon members, as we start this debate, it is fitting that I dedicate this budget debate to the late Minister Roy Padayachie who was to deliver his first Budget Speech as the Minister for the Public Service and Administration. As we all know, he passed on a week ago in a foreign country, representing our country in an African Peer Review Mechanism meeting. Once more, we pay tribute to the late Minister with the words that his vision, efforts, concerns, messages and dreams will remain a compass to direct and measure what must be accomplished.
When we met the late Minister on 25 April, he told us to adopt the budget of the department because he had the political will to do the work that must be done. He went on to summarise that key amongst the things that must be done is strengthening access to service delivery to the people, improving the internal efficiency of the Public Service, implementing the State Information Technology Agency, Turnaround Strategy, accelerating training and development of a Public Service cadre, repositioning the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, Palama, into a school of government, and tackling corruption effectively in the Public Service.
We agree that the outline represents important pillars of a working state, a state that wishes to address the plight of the people, the poorest of the poor, the voiceless in the squatter camps, and the working class in the villages struggling daily to make ends meet. The working class battle on a day to day basis to receive clean drinking water, and our Public Service officials must ensure that water is drinkable, but fail in most cases. The five articulated areas are key to the daily survival of our people, in particular the poor people who depend on each and every one of the 1,3 million state officials at the national and provincial levels, as well as the 250 000 at the local level.
As we debate this budget, we know that there are more than a million state employees, or public servants, most of whom will be happy to receive a salary without doing enough work for the day, some of whom value their wellbeing above that of the schoolchildren who walk barefoot for kilometres daily, only to find teachers absent from the classroom. Some of these officials couldn't care less about the thousands of communities spending days without drinking water, because they have not ensured that the dams are filled. This happens on most weekends in Botshabelo in the Free State, Limpopo and, of course, Mpumalanga, where the dirt runs in the streets of Mandela Park in Secunda, with no action from the provincial Public Service officials or from the local government officials. More and more communities are raising their voices through demonstrations.
The Public Service Commission is a constitutional Chapter 10 institution, which is required to be independent. Year on year we debate whether it should be one. I think, as Members of Parliament, we have to make sure that we don't offend the Constitution with the Public Service continuing to do what it is doing.
As we debate this budget and call for its adoption, the Department of Public Service and Administration, DPSA, must get serious about the strengthening of access to service delivery by all spheres of government. This department must champion the service delivery message at all, and to all. The DPSA must ensure that the director-general and senior management services comply 100%, including the signing of performance agreements, and not 50% as suggested by the annual performance plan, APP.
It's clear that the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, Palama, has the major task of educating the 1,5 million state employees of all spheres of government in doing what is right, that is, to provide service and respect the constitutional right of our people in all aspects. It is time to call for more integration and pooling of resources through the Department of Labour, the Public Service Sector Education and Training Authority, PSETA, the Department of Higher Education and Training, and FET colleges in order to achieve maximum results. We must evaluate value for money and refocus the evidence base.
We call on the Minister to ensure that the last Auditor-General's report that reports on irregularities within the State Information Technology Agency, Sita, is addressed and that the culprit is turned in. The State Information Technology Agency must also address the inclusiveness of the service provider's lists and rosters in vetting.
We need to hear sooner rather than later about action taken regarding the 32 outstanding cases of mismanagement. We don't appreciate the wait-and-see attitude, which equals to abdication of political responsibility. We call for action. The board, too, promised action but not results. We need to see the results. We want to see the walk in the talk. In honour of the late Minister, I think we should support this Budget Vote.
I need to say, in closing, that the programme of appointing personnel, particularly senior management in some departments, takes two years; 25 months in the other departments. This is a matter that must receive serious attention from the department. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, firstly, I would like to convey my heartfelt condolences, on behalf of the IFP, to the ANC and the Padayachie family on the untimely passing of the former Minister of this department, the late Roy Padayachie. May his soul rest in peace!
Secondly, I would like to compliment the department and other role-players for successful negotiations in 2011, which ensured that we did not witness any large-scale industrial action that had become the norm in the civil service and which is extremely disruptive, especially to the education system and the provisions of health care. Thank you for a job well done and please keep it up! These are some of the reasons why the IFP supports this Budget Vote.
However, hon Chairperson, this is only one side of the coin. On the other side, I can only express the IFP's indignation that, despite all efforts to fight the scourge of corruption, it continues unabated as the statistics of the National Anti-Corruption Hotline indicate. It would be hard to think of any more steps to take or instruments to use to curb corruption than the ones that have already been put in place by the Public Service Commission and government.
These include the National Anti-Corruption Hotline, the case management system and a plethora of anticorruption legislation. In spite of all these, we are still swamped with more and more reports of noncompliance, bribery, fraud, corruption, mismanagement and maladministration. What more should still be done?
No one can deny that corruption has reached frightening proportions when whole departments in some of our provinces are placed under administration orders. The Gauteng Department of Health, for example, is in a shambles. It faces 101 legal claims due to negligence, totalling R235 million. This prompted the IFP to call for an urgent appointment of a commission of enquiry to investigate this debacle.
In spite of the intervention by the national government in the Eastern Cape Department of Education, the situation has not yet returned to normal. One wonders whether the dismal state of last year's matric results in this province will not be repeated. Once again, where did we go wrong? The answer is to be found in human nature.
What is fundamentally lacking is the political will to confront corruption head-on by our Ministers, MECs and officials. For instance, in their 2011 report titled Profiling and Analysis of the Most Common Manifestations of Corruption, the Public Service Commission made the following observations, among others: firstly, the current anticorruption infrastructure is focused mainly on the investigation of cases of corruption instead of focusing on a holistic approach, which includes investigation, detection and prevention.
Secondly, 40% of departments have anticorruption policies of reasonable quality with evidence of implementation. The remaining 60%, however, either have no policies or have very basic policies of poor quality.
Thirdly, departments are often lenient in imposing disciplinary sanctions against officials found guilty of corruption. Instead, they simply furnish them with written final warnings.
Fourthly, only 15% of the departments were found to have advanced investigative capacity. The remaining departments had no investigative capacity at all.
Hon Chairperson, this is far from satisfactory. The situation is without a doubt absolutely appalling. The department needs to do a lot better than this. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mohl Modulasetulo, mohl Tona, mohl Motlat?a Tona, maloko a hlomphegago le baeng kamoka bao ba lego ka mo Ntlong ye, ke a le dumedi?a. A ke thome ka gore kabotekanyet?o ya let?at?i le, ke yeo e lego gore ka yona batho ba kua Limpopo, batho ba Botlhare projects ba tla gopola Tona Roy Padayachie, yo a re tloget?ego ka ge a ile a ba gopola gore ge marega a tsena ba tla kwa phefo, a ba fa dimpho t?a mapai. [Legoswi.]
A ke thome ka gore, ANC e thekga tekanyet?o ye. (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)
[Ms M C MOHALE: Hon Chairperson, hon Acting Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members and distinguished guests, I greet you all. I would love to first indicate that today's budget will remind the people in Limpopo, the people in Botlhare projects, about the late Minister Roy Padayachie. The late Minister gave them blankets to protect themselves against the cold winter weather. [Applause.]
Let me start by indicating that the ANC supports this Budget Vote.]
This budget must be seen within the context of the state's long-term programme of transforming Public Service and Administration. It is about an investment and the resourcing of one of the most critical arms of state in accordance with the requirements of our constitution to transform public administration. In the first instance, the role of this department was to transform Public Service and Administration in accordance with our constitutionally defined values and principles, which says it must promote and maintain high standards of professional ethics; promote the efficient, economic and effective use of resources; be development-oriented; provide services impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias; respond to people's needs and encourage people to participate in policy-making; be accountable; be transparent, providing the public with timely, accessible and accurate information; cultivate good human resource management and career development practices to maximise human potential; and be broadly representative of the South African people, with employment and personnel practices based on ability, objectivity, fairness and the need to redress the imbalances of the past to achieve broad representation.
Modulasetulo, go bohlokwa gore ge re dira dipoledi?ano t?a go sekaseka kabotekanyet?o ye, le go bona gore photfolio e dira mo go lekanego, re dire bjalo ka go ?omi?a diphihlelelo t?e bohlokwa bjalo ka kelo, eup?a ka kgopolo ya gore ke ya lebaka le letelele le mabaka a histori. Re se ke ra lahlegelwa ke tsela ya kamano e bohlokwa magareng ga kabotekanyet?o ye le morero wa maano a lebaka le letelele la go fetola mmu?o le dihlongwa t?e bjalo ka ditirelo t?a set?haba le taolo. Se se bohlokwa ke gore phetogo e ka se tsoge e bile ya lebaka le le kopana eup?a ke tshepet?o ya lebaka le letelele. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, it is crucial to employ important goals such as assessment when we discuss this budget and also to ensure that the portfolio committee is delivering as expected of them. This has to be a long-term initiative that also involves history. We do not have to lose the important relationship that exists between this budget and the long-term goals of changing the government and the Public Service and Administration. Change will always be a long-term, not a short-term initiative.]
Hon Chairperson, in the case of the overall assessment of where we come from, with regard to changing the Public Service, it is clear that a lot has indeed been achieved since 1994. Policies have been developed and are in place to entrench these constitutional values and principles. The process started with the very establishment of this department itself in 1995 to drive transformation, as defined in the Constitution.
The development and implementation of the White Paper on the Transformation of Public Service, in 1995, and the White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery of 1997 were the catalysts to a variety of policies and legislation meant to change public administration to meet constitutional principles.
The Batho Pele White Paper sought to embed the ethos of public service through the principles of consultation, services standards, access, courtesy, information, openness and transparency, redress, and value for money. Of critical importance was the implementation of the Public Service and the Public Finance Management Acts. All of these seek to establish a professional Public Service and Administration based on the ethos of a public service reflective society that we aspire to build. At the heart of these values and principles is the promotion of public participation in all matters of governance. It is about ensuring that the Department of Public Service and Administration is accountable and based on clean good governance.
We need to interrogate the aspect of public participation. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether we are doing enough in bringing our people on board.
Mohlala ke gore re ka bot?i?a gore ge re dut?e mo t?at?ing le la lehono, batho bao ba lego kua Limpopo, Ga-Modjadji, Bolobedu, ba kgona go t?ea karolo ka mo gare ga kopano yeo re nago le yona naa? Ana re swanet?e go dula mo Kapa, batho ba le kua diprofenseng t?e dingwe? Bjalo ka komiti ya photfolio ye, re swanet?e go ya mo go lego batho. Ge re swere dikopano, re di swarele mo go nago le batho, e sego gore re dule mo Kapa, ka gare ga diofisi t?a rena le meago e mebotse, re se mo batho ba lego gona. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[As we are sitting here today, we can ask ourselves whether the people in Limpopo, Ga-Modjadji and Bolobedu are able to take part in this sitting. Are we supposed to stay here in Cape Town while the people we are serving are in other provinces? As members of this portfolio committee, we have to go to the people. We don't need to hold our meetings in our nice and beautiful offices and buildings here in Cape Town, but where the people are.] In ensuring that these ethos, values and principles of public service and administration are entrenched, Parliament needs to play a much bigger and active role in its oversight. This would be done by exploring the possibilities of establishing a cluster committee model for oversight over Public Service and Administration issues. This is important, because the values and principles, as defined in Chapter 10, section 195 of the Constitution, are transversal and cut across all government institutions. Our scrutiny of this budget requires us to assess the extent to which its programmes are consistent with and support the advancement of the constitutional principles.
When assessed against this historical perspective, it is clear that the current challenges facing the Public Service are more to do with capacity than with policy. It is imperative therefore that the department is encouraged and supported to focus on strengthening the institutional and human resource capacity of public service and administration through its programmes.
The emphasis in this regard is now evident in its current aim of leading the modernisation of the Public Service, through a generally applicable framework of norms and standards, to improve service delivery. It is clear that the magnitude of the current service delivery shortcomings require a new way of doing business in the Public Service. This was aptly defined by the President that the Public Service needs to work differently and faster. Modulasetulo yo a hlomphegago, ka gona, kgoro ye e nyaka go netefat?a gore lenaneo la phetogo ya ditirelo t?a set?haba le potlaki?we. Go tloga mola seemo sa thero ya melao le semolao di fetogago go kgotsofat?a bonnyane bja dinyakwa t?a Molaotheo, go a gapelet?ega gore go t?ewe lenaneo le lengwe la phetogo ya ditirelo t?a set?haba. Tlhoko ye e ngwadilwe ka go pego ya Khomi?ene ya Peakanyo ya Boset?haba, go lekodi?i?a gore ditlhotlo t?eo ditirelo t?a rena t?a boset?haba di kopanego le t?ona di ka rarollwa bjang. Go bohlokwa kudu gore kgoro e thome go bona dit?hi?inyo t?a ditharollo t?a ditlhotlo ka morero wa go di amanya le t?e dingwe t?a dikgopolo t?a bona ka ga mananeo a phetogo.
Bjalo ka Palamente, seabe sa rena ke go netefat?a gore mananeo a sebjalebjale a kgoro a tla hola set?haba ka kabo yeo e kanoafadit?wego ya ditirelo, ya netefat?a gore phetogo ya sebjalebjale e swanelwa ke go ba le dipoelo t?a temogo ya tlhabollo ya go ya go ile go batho ba gaborena, le gore ditirelo t?a set?haba le taolo di godi?a pu?o yeo e hlwekilego ye botse. Re hlohlelet?wa gore re hlokomele gore bont?i bja mananeo a, a lebi?it?we go fihlelela maikemi?et?o a. Inkomu, ndza khensa. [Va phokotela.] (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)
[Hon Chairperson, this department wants to speed up the change programme in the Public Service. After a change in the way in which the legislation is being made in order to meet the needs of the Constitution, there is a need for another change programme in the Public Service. This need has been written in the National Planning Commission, with the aim of finding the solutions to the challenges that were encountered by the Public Service. It is crucial for the department to link the suggested solutions to the ideas they have about the change programmes.
Parliament has a responsibility to make sure that the modern programmes in the department benefit the people by providing a better delivery of services. The outcomes of the modern programmes should address sustainable development. The Public Service and Administration has to promote good and clean governance. We are encouraged to make sure that many of these programmes focus on achieving these goals.]
Chairperson, hon members of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, Acting Minister for the Public Service and Administration, hon Mildred Oliphant, Members of Parliament, chairperson of the Public Service Commission, PSC, and other commissioners present here, ladies and gentlemen, all protocol is observed.
The untimely passing of Comrades Roy Padayachie, Sicelo Shiceka and Florence Nyanda has robbed the nation of some of the cadres who served the ANC and our people with zeal, loyalty and diligence. They were also the ones upon whom we had placed our hopes for the future of our country and the realisation of transformation and the developmental agenda. I hope all of us present here, together with the rest of the country, will take comfort in the knowledge that these comrades made their contribution while they lived. The grass must now grow over their graves to heal the wounds inflicted on the nation by their unfortunate, untimely and tragic demise. May their precious souls find everlasting peace!
Building on the thrust of Outcome 12: An efficient, effective and development-oriented public service and an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship, we made some measurable commitments to the august House last year. Please allow me to reflect on them.
We committed to ensuring the effective employment entry into the Public Service and cadre development - an ideal that resonates with the conscious efforts to make the Public Service an employer of choice, to transform it to best serve the interests of our people and to construct a capable developmental state. In this regard, I must report to this august House that the portfolio has seriously considered its approach towards developing a public service cadre whose attitude, orientation and skills will best serve the developmental agenda of the state. There has been a review of the business processes and methods of training, with a view to achieving this objective.
Our training academy, the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, Palama, has trained a total of 1 251 unemployed youth graduates and inducted new public servants in the ethos of the Public Service in partnership with the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA. The training is intended to enhance employment and entry opportunities into the Public Service for these graduates. We hope to report to this House on the further extent of progress in due course.
House Chairperson, the National Development Plan, NDP, has called on us to build a capable state. In building this capable state, Vision 2030 implores us to make the Public Service and local government careers of choice by initiating a formalised graduate recruitment scheme to attract talented graduates into government. Our response to this call has been swift. Today, I am happy to announce that we have finalised the development of a Matrix of Qualifications for career pathing in the Public Service. The Matrix of Qualifications, which we have developed jointly with the South African Qualifications Authority, Saqa, the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations, QCTO, and the Public Service Sector Education and Training Authority, PSETA, will over time become the prerequisite for employment in the public sector, and inform promotion and progression within the public sector. We will be releasing the document for public comments during the course of the year, and envisage implementation over the medium term.
In fighting corruption in the Public Service, the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, Palama, rolled out training programmes to 734 public servants and anticorruption practitioners focusing on anticorruption and ethics management. Work has been undertaken to transform Palama into a school of government. In this regard, Palama has undertaken a benchmark analysis to better contextualise a school of government within the South African environment.
The analysis focused on broad conceptual issues and specific areas to inform the business model and requirements to support successful implementation, such as learning and development framework; funding models; infrastructure; strategic partnerships; systems and business processes; and the impact on the current legislation and policy frameworks.
House Chairperson, we informed this august House of our plan to ensure effective human resource management practices, norms and standards. I am happy to report that, during the past year, specific interventions towards effective human resource management in the Public Service have been developed and focused on, amongst others, leadership development. In 2011- 12 a total of 1 482 officials have been trained in executive development programmes. Capacity-building is also being extended to the legislative arm of the state, where 181 Members of Parliament and members of provincial legislatures were trained during this period. During the period under review, the Public Service Commission, PSC, supported processes aimed at strengthening the quality of public service leadership.
The PSC facilitated the evaluation of the performance of heads of departments, HODs, and provided advice to executive authorities on the quality of performance agreements. The compliance rate of HODs filing their performance agreements with the Public Service Commission, as required by the senior management system handbooks stood at 92% for the past financial year; a significant improvement, which we hope to increase to 100% during this financial year.
House Chairperson, the State Information Technology Agency, Sita, is now in the third and final year of its turnaround strategy, which is captured under the theme: Sita today, Sita tomorrow, Sita to the future. Since the Minister's last address to the House, we can report that Sita has a full complement of executive management, in addition to Sita's turnaround strategy, which has included the review of a number of policies and the adoption of a new organisational structure, which is now being populated.
To ensure that the Ministry leverages information and communications technology, ICT, as a strategic resource enabler, a number of projects have been implemented under the Sita turnaround strategy. Sita managed to achieve a 97% reduction in its tender backlog, reducing its turnaround time for tenders from up to two years to 116 days, moving towards a target of 90 days. In the last financial year Sita ensured cost savings of approximately 13%, translating to R250 million in the acquisition of ICT goods and services for and on behalf of the Public Service.
The integrated financial management system, IFMS, has been introduced to replace outdated legacy systems that lacked in interoperability. The IFMS aims to provide centralised solutions to standardised technology and to achieve economies of scale, and also ensure greater efficiency in national and provincial governments, by improving the quality of data; providing access to data; eliminating manual processes; and establishing greater integration. In this financial year IFMS will be rolled out to a minimum of 15 sites nationally.
As part of the turnaround strategy of Sita to support the improvement of the internal efficiency of the Public Service, Sita is implementing the following priorities during the 2012-13 financial year: rolling out integrated IFMS at 10 sites nationally; developing common transversal solutions for government; improving procurement turnaround times and realising cost savings, as I have alluded to earlier on; establishing strategic partnerships with state entities and industries to improve service delivery, amongst others, of eThekwini Municipality; leveraging their broadband capabilities and other industries on enterprise licensing; enabling 10 national government services to be accessed online by citizens; finalising connectivity to Thusong Service Centres; developing national ICT strategies and plans for the Public Service; and also reviewing Public Service ICT plans.
House Chairperson, better management of grievances in the Public Service is critical to us, as this speaks to the very manner in which we treat our employees, the drivers of public service delivery and transformation. Grievance rules for the members of the senior management service, SMS, have been issued, and these include HODs.
The PSC has also conducted a series of workshops where good practices on the management of grievances of employees and precautionary suspension in cases of misconduct were discussed with labour relation practitioners from national and provincial departments with the view to turning the current situation around. This is the beginning of a long journey towards better management of human capital in the Public Service. Within a few months from now we will be able to report on definite tangible spinoffs from this intervention.
The Community Development Workers, CDWs, programme is an important mechanism for bringing government and the people together and in working towards addressing the many service delivery challenges that our people are facing on a daily basis. The CDWs are able to make better use of government services and benefits, and to foster development in areas like Early Childhood Development, ECD, by contributing towards improving the quality of life of citizens. During this past year, we traversed the country to share information with CDWs as part of their revitalisation strategy.
House Chairperson, as we work towards implementing these priority areas, the central question is: How do we ensure that the existing and future human capital of the Public Service is accentuated in our developmental agenda? This question is critical, given that public servants are the ones who are and will be required to drive the transformation of the Public Service.
Some of the questions that we are addressing in order to transform the Public Service in making it attractive enough for people, especially the youth, to regard it as an employer of choice are: What are the government issues that must be addressed in order to provide context conducive to the Public Service being attractive in recruiting and retaining the brightest and the best? Are we recruiting and retaining the best talent? What talent are we really targeting? What talent is critical to the performance of the Public Service? Through what approaches, methodologies and practices can such talent be identified, attracted, recruited, nurtured and also retained?
The intangible assets in the Public Service, such as depth, talents, perceptiveness, skills and a high level of emotional maturity or even the soft skills inherent within the ideal public service cadre are important determiners of the quality of public services that are delivered to the people.
Our developmental agenda sets out a systematic approach to addressing the pressing socioeconomic challenges, ensuring economic growth, creating more jobs and rooting out poverty and deprivation and underdevelopment, with the state playing a critical role. There is, therefore, no doubt that accelerating training and development of a new public service cadre, through the repositioning of Palama into a school of government, is critical in our efforts towards the development of the human capital that the Public Service so desires.
As is known, Comrade Padayachie passed on while on a mission to fulfil obligations of the continent and its people. We would be doing an injustice to the cause if we were to abdicate our responsibility to the continent and the world. In this regard, we will continue to play our part in the African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM, and the Pan-African Conference of Ministers for Public or Civil Service, and any other African Union, AU, initiative that aims to transform and modernise the Public Service.
Our participation in the United Nations system and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, and other multilateral systems carries with it positive benefits for our country and its people. This will continue, of course, within the parameters of our country's International Engagement Framework. Considering everything that we have said in this august House today, I am certain that the cloud of despair is lifting and giving birth to a new season of hope to our people. As I look back on how far we have come with dismantling the wreckage of a centuries-old systematic denial of human rights and freedom, of deprivation and of exclusion, I feel proud of what we, as the ANC-led government, have been able to achieve for our people in the space of 18 years. I rejoice, because today is better than yesterday, and tomorrow looks even more promising, notwithstanding the work that still needs to be done.
House Chairperson, please allow me to convey our gratitude to you for having afforded us this opportunity to address this august House. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to the members of the House for working with us in the year that has passed. We hope that we will work even better and more closely in the coming year.
With a significant measure of appreciation, I wish to acknowledge, posthumously, the support and guidance that the late hon Minister Padayachie has provided to the Ministry. I thank the acting Minister for the support and leadership she has demonstrated since she has been assigned to this role. I hope we will benefit from her wisdom and guidance as we attempt to stabilise the portfolio during this difficult period.
To the Ministry of the Public Service and Administration family, I wish to express appreciation for your dedication, diligence and commitment to the work of government. I would also like to thank my mother, who is sitting there in the gallery with her grandchildren, my son, nephew, and a little girl that I have taken in to guide through her life, Penny Chikani. [Laughter.]
Hon Chairperson, thank you once more for this opportunity and, in so saying, I move for the support of this Budget Vote. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Acting Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, guests and friends, one of the major challenges facing this Parliament is the lack of commitment by all government departments when it comes to meeting the Cabinet targets around women and people living with disabilities working within government. One would think that when it comes to meeting Cabinet targets, government departments would strive very hard to meet them. Sadly, this is not the case.
Everyone in government knows that the percentage target for people living with disabilities is 2% of total staff. Everyone knows this and yet, according to the Public Service Commission, the figure sits at around 0,2%. This is one-tenth of what it should be.
The Cabinet target for women in senior management service, SMS, positions is 50%, but currently the actual percentage is around 35%. Every year the Portfolio Committee on the Public Service and Administration raises these issues in the Budget Vote speeches. So, the question is: Are the directors- general of all government departments wilfully undermining Cabinet targets or is this an indication of incompetence?
This Parliament will no longer tolerate this lack of will to meet Cabinet targets and, more importantly, the ANC, the oldest liberation movement in Africa, will not tolerate it. There will be consequences if these targets are not met.
One of the resources that directors-general could use to meet Cabinet targets is the Centre for Public Service Innovation. This Public Service subprogramme exists to come up with and to assist departments with innovative ways to solve problems within the Public Service by unlocking innovation and creating an enabling environment for improved and innovative service delivery through capacity development activities.
The Centre for Public Service Innovation, CPSI, has successfully piloted and tested an assistive device for visually impaired teachers. It has also successfully replicated a permaculture model at the Helen Joseph Hospital, where it improves food waste management, patient therapy and the nutritional value of food served at the hospital. This model has also been shared with all Gauteng hospital chief executive officers.
It is innovations like these that need to be recognised, and more innovations within the Public Service need to be explored. For instance, innovations need to be found on how to make Thusong Service Centres more efficient and accessible to the community.
Government's vision for Thusong Service Centres is to provide every South African citizen with access to information and services within their place of residence and in each local municipality by 2014, with the purpose of improving the quality of their lives through integrated service delivery.
The Public Service Commission, PSC, found that Thusong Service Centres have increased access to services, but only for the people who live near the centres. The PSC went on to say, in their state of the Public Service report, that within Thusong Service Centres departments continue to operate in silos. They just operate in a common space without really being integrated. Departments do not even share resources or link information systems. This cannot and must not continue.
The Department for the Public Service and Administration, DPSA, needs to seriously look into ways to integrate departments that operate within Thusong Service Centres. The ANC slogan, Working together we can do more, must be implemented within this ANC government.
In my Public Service and Administration Budget Vote speech on 26 May 2011 I said:
The department needs to take a serious look at these centres and see how they can be improved in order to bring more government services to the people.
Chairperson, an attitude of decadent indifference is emerging within government administration. The ANC tolerated the inclusion of apartheid collaborators within our democratic government, but it will not tolerate decadent indifference within the management of this government.
Effective and efficient Thusong Service Centres are of more strategic importance to a developmental state than this parliament is. We are all here to serve the needs of the South African people who need access to information and services through a fully integrated public service. Chairperson, the real heroes in public service are the community development workers. These heroes are out there in the community, trying their best to bring services to the people. They have enormous challenges with regard to accessing services in a disintegrated Public Service. These heroes are on the ground dealing with people's problems face to face. This government needs to assist community development workers, CDWs, in every way we can. We need to provide office space, laptops and, if need be, transport so that they can go to where the people live, which is in rural South Africa. The finalisation of the CDW policy must be achieved as soon as possible. Community development workers need assistance and we must all render that assistance.
At last year's Budget Vote, I raised the issue of the performance of the State Information Technology Agency, Sita, not being up to scratch and the slow implementation of their turnaround strategy. I am very pleased to state here that that is no longer the case. The State Information Technology Agency has made large leaps and bounds to implement their turnaround strategy. It has filled eight out of nine executive positions; completed a major organisational redesign to align Sita structures with Sita strategies; the board approved the new structure and the engagement and placement of staff will commence; human resource policies have been overhauled; a performance management system established; and the organisation is currently standardising Sita processes for effective and consistent service. Overall, I am confident that the State Information Technology Agency will achieve its constitutional mandate.
One thing that does concern this portfolio committee is the slow implementation of the Integrated Financial Management System, IFMS. To date, R559 million has been spent. This is an astounding amount. The reasons given for the delay in implementation are: complexity of the IFMS programme; longer than planned procurement and contract negotiation processes; the lack of full capacity in the Sita IFMS team; readiness and change management issues of lead sites; misalignment of product procurement and product development; and lack of functional skills in some departments.
The IFMS team has come up with the following steps to deal with these problems: A revised memorandum will be submitted to Cabinet which includes more realistic timelines; Sita's capacity problems have been addressed with the Sita turnaround strategy; contract negotiations will be comprehensive and streamlined; and the IFMS architecture is being institutionalised, which will result in less complexities being experienced in developing the outstanding modules.
However, Chairperson, the portfolio committee is concerned about the fact that it has taken such a long time and at a cost of R559 million to this country to get to this point. The National Treasury, the Department of Public Service and Administration and the State Information Technology Agency need to take this process very seriously. This process needs to be prioritised and dealt with as soon as humanly possible. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson and hon members, we once again bow our heads in respect for the late Minister Padayachie, who immortalised himself to all by his nature. He was a very approachable and caring man. May his soul rest in peace!
In the public sector, internal control processes play an important role in accountability for the use of public funds and in delivering improvements to services. These controls can include, among other things, regulation, guidance, inspection, targets and budget controls. Front-line public sector workers frequently complain that they are hampered in the delivery of public services by unnecessary bureaucracy which is imposed on them by central government. Project Khaedu is not as helpful as it was meant to be as senior managers tend to be pen pushers without going to the coalface of service delivery.
While the quantity of services has expanded a lot, massive discontent remains. Excellent policies have collided with multiple unintended failures in participation, accountability and centrally-driven delivery models. This has disempowered citizens and communities into passive demanders of service. We call for a change in the mindset towards accountability to users and multifaceted and effective problem-solving involving all sectors and levels of government and civil society.
The Public Service Commission has, unfortunately, not complied with its dates according to sections 195 and 196 of the Constitution, the problem being that, as it is constituted by this Parliament, it is not always as credible across the political and social spectrum as expected.
The continued nonappointment of a member of the PSC in the North West province since 2009, despite costly advertisement year in and year out, is a case for concern. How can the commission hope to oversee other instances when they themselves are found wanting in regularising appointments? Besides, this lack of appointment by North West compromises the functioning of the commission as the other members have to do what was supposed to be done by the member of the province in question.
The UCDP believes that the good work started by the late Minister Padayachie in ensuring that disciplinary matters are resolved within 60 days, as the Act dictates, will be proceeded with and thus save the taxpayers millions of rands that are paid to people on suspension even long after the stipulated 60-day period has expired. The commission should ensure that it serves the interest of the public and not errant individuals. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Muchaviseki Mutshamaxitulu, Holobye wa Vukorhokeri bya Vaaki na Mafambiselo, Xandla xa Holobye na vatirhikulobye, nhloko ya ndzawulo na vatirhikulobye, ndzi ri i nhlikanhi.
Mutshamaxitulu, na mina ndzi teka nkarhi lowu ndzi sungula hi ku encenyeta Man Mohale ndzi amukela ni ku seketela mpimanyeto lowu. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraphs follows.)
[Mrs J M MALULEKE: Hon Chairperson, Acting Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Deputy Minister and colleagues, the head of the department and his colleagues, I say: "Good afternoon".
Chairperson, I also take this opportunity to start by imitating Mrs Mohale by acknowledging and declaring my support for this Budget Vote.]
The ANC government has committed itself to building a developmental state. This noble idea can only be realised if the state is made capable and its capacities are fully developed in a sustainable manner. One of the most critical and important capacities of the state is its human resources. In other words, the people who work for the state must be capable and have the right skills, qualifications and competencies to do their work. It is universally accepted that the most critical asset and resource for any organisation is its people.
The Public Service is no exception to this observation. It is through this Ministry of Public Service and Administration and its department that government's human capacity is developed and harnessed to meet the challenges of service delivery. The department's aim of leading 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 provide advice and leadership 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 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 said to be responsible for human resource management and the development arm of government if not its internal consultancy. 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 reality and implemented. Two of these principles stipulate that good human resource management and career development practices to maximise human potential must be cultivated; and public administration must be broadly representative of the South African people, with employment and personnel management practices based on ability, objectivity, fairness and the need to redress the imbalances of the past to achieve broad representation.
Additional to this constitutional obligation is the mandate it derives from the Public Service Act of 1994, as amended, which calls for the development of norms and standards relating to organisational structures; establishment of departments and other organisational and governance arrangements in the public service; the conditions of service and other employment practices for employees; labour relations in the Public Service; transformation, reform, innovation; and any other matter to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Public Service and its service delivery to the public.
Un'wana wa vatsari u tsarile leswaku: [One of the authors wrote:] "Never live in the past, but always learn from it."
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 with international best practice. Compared to the period before 1994, change has overwhelmingly taken place in the arena of the Public Service and Administration. Some examples of best practices in the management of human resources as evidenced by provisions of the Public Service Act and its regulations have been adopted and institutionalised. The necessary legislative, legal and regulative frameworks have been established and continue to be reviewed on a regular basis to keep up with the changing environment and new challenges.
Notwithstanding the achievements of transforming the Public Service since 1994, a lot of challenges still remain that show that it is the weakest link for government to achieve its developmental goals. The most pressing challenges which will require urgent human resource management interventions include, among others, failure to inculcate and entrench the culture of service and performance based on the values and principles of Batho Pele which have been adopted by government; limited success in effectively institutionalising the performance management and development system; weaknesses in the management and implementation of disciplinary processes; problems with the persal system and the challenges associated with migration to the new system; failure to achieve the agreed target of representivity of women in senior management positions and people with disabilities in the Public Service in general.
Loko ndzo ka ndzi nga vuli leswi landzelaka, Manana Mohale a nga ndzi dlaya. [If I don't disclose the following, Mrs Mohale can kill me.]
There is a slow turnaround time in the filling of vacancies.
Recently, the National Planning Commission has also identified human resource as one of the main problems that has the potential to impede the realisation of the developmental state. In its diagnosis it noted that the uneven performance of the Public Service results from the interplay between a complex set of factors, including tensions in the political administrative interface, instability of the administrative leadership and skills deficits, the erosion of accountability and authority, poor organisational design, inappropriate staffing and low staff morale.
The recommendation of the planning commission to stabilise the political administrative interface as a precondition for focusing on skills and professionalism in the Public Service, making the Public Service a career of choice by focusing on building a skilled and professional Public Service, resonates well with the values and principles of public administration as defined in the Constitution and the White Paper on transformation of the Public Service.
The recommendation will therefore be crucial in determining the extent to which the department is responsive in dealing with the current human resource challenges in the Public Service.
For the department to succeed in addressing these pressing human resource challenges it will have to focus its attention on the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, Palama. The Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy is showing the capability to deliver on its mandate, but what is required is for the department to be able to provide the necessary leadership in terms of the training needs of the Public Service. It is also about identifying the critical skills that Palama can focus on which may not be outsourced. Eka mulawurinkulu, loko hina hi khongela hi xilungu hi vula leswaku: "Through Jesus Christ". [Ha Yesu Kriste.] Kutani na wena laha u tshameka kona vula leswaku hi vito ra murhangeri wa varhangeri, Tat Diphofa. Hi yena a kotaka ku vitana valawurinkulu va hlangana hinkwavo leswaku mi tshama ehansi mi vulavula hi xiyimo xa ... Ndza khensa. [Nkarhi wu herile.] (Translation of Xitsonga paragraph follows.)
[To the director-general, when we pray in English we say: "Through Jesus Christ". So you, where you are seated, also say, in the name of the leader of the leaders, Mr Diphofa. He is the one who is able to invite all directors-general to gather so that you sit down and discuss the condition of ... Thank you. [Time expired.]]
Agb Voorsitter en agb lede, laat ek uit die staanspoor s dat wanneer ek vandag oor die tekortkominge en mislukkings van die Staatsdiens praat, dit nie op alle Ministers, direkteurs-generaal, adjunkte, hoofde van departemente en staatsamptenare van toepassing is nie.
Baie van die bogenoemde mense lewer goeie werk, maar is vasgevang in 'n verouderde stelsel, binne 'n organisasie wat maar net nie die mas wil opkom nie. [Tussenwerpsels.] As die skoen u nie pas nie, moet dit nie aantrek nie, en moenie aanstoot neem nie, want ek praat nie van u nie.
Ons moet egter erken dat diegene wat nie die mas opkom nie, of wat nie die wil het om hul pligte pligsgetrou uit te voer nie, se getalle reeds 'n kritieke massa bereik en oorskry het en besig is om die administrasie van Suid-Afrika te vernietig. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr N D DU TOIT: Hon Chairperson and hon members, let me say from the outset that when I speak today about the shortcomings and failures of the Public Service, this does not apply to all Ministers, directors-general, deputies, heads of department and public servants.
Many of the above-mentioned officials perform sterling work, but they are trapped within an obsolete system, an organisation that appears to be incapable of making the grade. [Interjections.] If the shoe does not fit, you should not wear it, nor should you be offended, because I am not referring to you.
However, we have to admit that the number of those who fail to make the grade, or who lack the will to perform their duties conscientiously, has already reached or even exceeded critical mass and is now destroying the administration of South Africa.]
In all kinds of organisations good governance starts with the board of directors. The board's role and legal obligation is to oversee the management and administration of the organisation and to ensure that the organisation fulfils its mission. In our case, Parliament and Cabinet would be that board of directors.
The Public Service Commission's report that was submitted to the portfolio committee is spot-on. Their recommendations should be implemented as a matter of urgency. I shall not go into details, as it is there for everybody to read. The question remains whether it can be done. The National Planning Commission has also done sterling work, but what is next?
My retoriese vraag is of dit nie tyd is dat 'n implementeringskommissie nou die werk moet voortsit nie. Dit lyk nie asof die uitvoerende gesag dit gaan regkry om die nodige aanbevelings te implementeer nie. Waar het alles verkeerd geloop?
Die eerste rede is dissipline. Volgens die Staatsdienskommissie, oftewel die PSC, se verslag, faal die Staatsdiens jammerlik om dissipline toe te pas. Die beste voorbeeld hiervan is dat, uit 'n groep van 22 departemente, die Sekuriteitsgroepering, the Security cluster - waar 'n ho mate van dissipline en kundigheid van ondersoeke onder personeel intrinsiek van aard behoort te wees - verantwoordelik is vir 99,2% van die gevalle waar dissiplinre sake nie opgevolg, ondersoek en afgehandel word nie.
'n Mens kan ook vra hoe daar dissipline binne 'n organisasie kan heers as die hoof 'n swak voorbeeld stel. Hoe kan 'n organisasie dissipline handhaaf as die kader of "comrade" nie gedissiplineer kan of mag word nie? [Tussenwerpsels.]
Dit is egter presies wat gebeur het, en ons almal, die publiek inkluis, weet dit. Daar is daagliks in die pers genoeg voorbeelde daarvan. [Tussenwerpsels.] Onthou, as die skoen u nie pas nie, moet dit nie aantrek nie. [Tussenwerpsels.] Kaders tree glad nie teen mede-kaders op nie, of tree te sag op.
Die tweede rede is respek. Dit geld vir selfrespek, sowel as respek vir jou hoof, jou medewerkers, die organisasie, jou leiers en ten slotte die publiek. Waar is di respek heen? 'n Mens sou dink dat, aangesien almal "comrades" in die Staatsdiens is, "comrades" darem ten minste mekaar sal respekteer. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Indien 'n amptenaar nie omgee ... [Tussenwerpsels.] ... wat ander van sy of haar dade of wandade dink nie ... [Tussenwerpsels.] ... hoeveel selfrespek het so 'n persoon? [Tussenwerpsels.] Hierdie gebrek aan respek vir kollegas en hoofde is 'n kanker wat die hele staatsorganisasie deurtrek het.
Die derde rede is die onheilige tweeling van 'n gebrek aan vaardighede en kapasiteit. Vir jare nou al word dit as 'n verskoning voorgehou, en dit bly net een groot uitdaging. Ek weet nie hoeveel keer ek nog die woorde moet hoor ... (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.) [My rhetorical question is whether the time has not come for an implementation commission to take over and continue the work. It does not appear that the executive can succeed in implementing the necessary recommendations. Where did it all go wrong?
The first reason is discipline. According to the report by the Public Service Commission, or PSC, the Public Service fails dismally to enforce discipline. The most striking example of this is that, out of a group of 22 departments, the Security cluster - where a high level of discipline and investigative expertise ought to be intrinsic to staff - is responsible for 99,2 % of the cases in which disciplinary matters are either not followed up, or not investigated, or not concluded.
One could also ask how discipline is to prevail in an organisation when the head of that organisation is setting a bad example. How can an organisation maintain discipline if the cadre or comrade cannot or may not be disciplined? [Interjections.]
But that is precisely what has happened, and all of us, including the public, know it. Day by day there are enough examples of this in the press. [Interjections.] Remember, if the shoe does not fit, you don't have to wear it. [Interjections.] Cadres do not take steps against fellow-cadres, or they tread too lightly.
The second reason is respect. This goes for self-respect, as well as respect for one's superior, one's fellow-employees, the organisation, one's leaders, and lastly for the public. What has become of that respect? One would have thought that, since all public servants are comrades, comrades would at least respect one another. [Interjections.]
If an official does not care ... [Interjections.] ... what others may think of his or her deeds or misdeeds ... [Interjections.] ... how much self- respect does this official have? [Interjections.] This lack of respect for colleagues and superiors is a cancer that pervades the whole state organisation.
The third reason is the unholy twin of a lack of skills and a lack of capacity. For years this has been presented as an excuse, and it remains one great challenge. I don't know how many more times I have to listen to the words ...]
... lack of capacity, it's a challenge, a shortage of skills and skills development ...
... voordat iets daaraan gedoen gaan word nie. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Die beste voorbeeld hiervan is sekerlik, na wat berig word, die 27 000 gewapende polisiebeamptes wat nie bevoeg is om hul vuurwapens te hanteer nie, wat nog van die wetlike gevolge daaraan verbonde. [Tussenwerpsels.] 27 000 mense is, in militre terme, drie divisies. [Tussenwerpsels.] Dit is 'n hele korps. [Tussenwerpsels.] Watter generaal wat regdenkend is, sal oorlog voer met drie divisies wat nie bevoeg is om hul vuurwapens te hanteer nie? [Tussenwerpsels.]
Erger nog is die feit dat die 27 000 onbevoegde polisiebeamptes nie in die algemene rigting van die vyand gaan skiet nie. Hulle moet hul wapens in die openbaar, tussen die onskuldige publiek kan gebruik. [Tussenwerpsels.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[... before anything will be done about it. [Interjections.]
The most striking example of this must be the 27 000 armed policemen who are reportedly unfit to handle their firearms, let alone the judicial implications of this situation. [Interjections.] In military terms, 27 000 persons amount to three divisions. [Interjections.] That is a whole corps. [Interjections.] What general of sound mind would go to war with three divisions that are not fit to handle their firearms? [Interjections.]
Even worse is the fact that these 27 000 unfit police officers will not be shooting in the general direction of the enemy. They need to be able to use their firearms in public, amidst the innocent public. [Interjections.]
Chair, on a point of order.
Hon Du Toit!
There's a point of order.
Hon Du Toit, the hon member wants to raise a point of order.
Would the hon member take a question?
No, thank you. [Laughter.] [Interjections.] You are wasting my time. Sit down, please.
Die vierde aspek is politieke oorsig en organisatoriese bestuur. [Tussenwerpsels.] Daar is tog interne dissipline binne die onderskeie politieke partye - vra vir mnr Turok - en koukusbesluite word nougeset uitgevoer. Klaarblyklik word dit nie na die Staatsdiens - waaroor dieselfde politieke partye gesag voer en oorsig het - deurgetrek nie. [Tussenwerpsels.] Hoekom nie? Waar is die diskonneksie? Is dit tussen die Minister en die direkteur-generaal, of rens laer af in die rapporteringslyn?
Dit is die kern van die probleem. Daar is 'n gebrek aan professionele bestuursvaardigheid, en 'n gebrek aan toesighouding ... [Tussenwerpsels.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The fourth aspect is political oversight and organisational management. [Interjections.] After all, there is such a thing as internal discipline within the various political parties - you can ask Mr Turok about that - and caucus resolutions are implemented conscientiously. But this is apparently not carried over to the Public Service, over which the same political parties exercise authority and oversight. [Interjections.] Why not? Where is the disconnection? Is it between the Minister and the director-general, or somewhere lower down in the reporting line?
That is the core of the problem. There is a lack of professional management skills, and a lack of oversight ... [Interjections.]
Hon Du Toit, please conclude now.
... en die toepassing van korrektiewe stappe. Hierdie gebrek kan op enige vlak geskied, en die diskonneksie is daar. Die ketting is gebreek. Daar is selfs departemente waar die kettings van dissipline, respek, tegnies-burokratiese vaardighede, bestuur en toesig op verskeie vlakke verbreek is. Watter kans het so 'n organisasie om ooit reg te kom? Baie dankie. [Tussenwerpsels.] [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Mr N D DU TOIT: ... and the taking of corrective steps. This failure may occur at any level, and the disconnection follows. The chain has been broken. There are even departments where the chains of discipline, respect, technical-bureaucratic skills, management and oversight have been broken on several levels. What chance is there of such an organisation ever functioning properly? I thank you. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Chair, I would like to address you on a point of order please. [Interjections.]
Order, hon members! Let us listen to the hon member who wants to raise a point of order.
During our member's speech, hon Sunduza kept saying, "shut up". I submit that it is unparliamentary ... [Interjections.] ... and request that members desist from using such language during the debate. [Interjections.]
You know ... [Interjections.] [Laughter.]
Hayi, Sihlalo, khange ndiyithethe loo nto mna. [No, Chairperson, I never said that.]
Angikakuniki ithuba lokukhuluma. [I haven't given you an opportunity to speak.]
Hon members have been advised several times that they shouldn't use unparliamentary language. Colleagues, I hope that as we engage in this serious debate, we will avoid using any language that is unparliamentarily. Hon Sunduza, I didn't hear you, but hopefully you are not going to say that again. [Interjections.]
Hon members, we should proceed. [Interjections.]
Order, hon member! Hon Kganare, there is absolutely no reason for you to get involved in a street fight. [Laughter.] Let us proceed.
Hon Chairperson, acting Minister and Deputy Minister, Mme Oliphant and Mme Dlodlo respectively, members of the portfolio committee led by the chairperson, hon Joyce Moloi-Moropa, hon Members of Parliament, director-general, Mr M Diphofa, and all officials in the department, chairperson of the Public Service Commission, Mr Mthembu, and all other commissioners present, chairpersons and chief executive officers of all agencies residing within this portfolio, guests, friends and compatriots, I greet you.
We are gathered here just a week after we laid to rest one of our gallant struggle icons, Comrade Roy Padayachie, who sat at the helm of this important department at the time of his death. Like a true protagonist in the struggle for peace, stability and the safeguarding of human rights, he died on duty in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 4 May 2012 whilst attending a meeting of the African Peer Review Mechanism, a crucial African Union programme that promotes good governance and democracy.
Minister Roy Padayachie was a leading proponent of our country and its core values and freedom, democracy and human rights. He was a great patriot who shook the foundation of the colonial empire and exposed the emptiness of a repressive ideology, proving that moral leadership is more powerful than any weapon. In his life he embodied the aspirations of the South African people and helped unleash the tides of history that led to a united, nonracial, nonsexist and democratic South Africa.
As the ANC in the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, we join His Excellency President J G Zuma in extending our deepest condolences to his wife Mrs Sally Padayachie, his two daughters Vindea and Trevana and the rest of his family. May the souls of hon Padayachie, hon Shiceka and hon Nyanda rest in peace.
We debate this Budget Vote during this month of May when we, as the ANC, celebrate the life and times of president Pixley ka Isaka Seme under the theme: Workers and the struggle for liberation. We reflect on the road map of the workers' struggles which led to the attainment of the democracy we rightfully enjoy today. The vision of president Pixley ka Isaka Seme and his generation of creating a united nonracial and nonsexist democratic South Africa found resonance in the ANC's inaugural meeting on 8 January 1912 in Mangaung.
Today, as we reflect and celebrate these historic moments, we are inspired by their vision and, as Parliament, we take pride in the strides we have made since the 1994 democratic breakthrough. But more work still needs to be done to intensify, much more objectively, our oversight over institutions supporting democracy, as envisioned by president Pixley ka Isaka Seme and his generation.
The important role that Chapter 9 and 10 institutions supporting democracy play, specifically the Auditor-General and the Public Service Commission, cannot be overemphasised. These institutions have been central in the transformation, strengthening and continuing development of our 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 experiences and research on state craft show us that, in the long-term, the survival and maintenance of any democracy is not dependent 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 or not the culture of the Public Service is changing; and whether or not the services are delivered faster, efficiently and in a caring manner.
We will be monitoring whether or not 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 Members of Parliament we cannot play our oversight role and monitor these changing patterns without clear collaboration with both the Public Service Commission and the Auditor- General, within their constitutional mandates.
The Constitution of the Republic has enshrined the establishment of both the Public Service Commission and the Auditor-General to assist us, as public representatives, in playing our role of oversight and 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, the Auditor-General has been established to strengthen our constitutional democracy by auditing all accounts, financial statements and the financial management of 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 and, of course, such reports must be made public.
The Public Service Commission, on the other hand, has been 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 functions are to promote the democratic values and principles enshrined in the Constitution and those articulated in section 195.
The common features between these two institutions are that they are required by the Constitution to be independent, impartial, and must exercise their powers and perform their functions without fear, favour and 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 Public Service and Administration, we have extensively used the valuable reports they produced in their examination on the state of health of our administrative arm of the state and its capacity to deliver.
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 where we need to focus our oversight attention as Parliament. It was clear from these reports that although we have achieved a lot over the years since 1994 in building an integrated Public Service and Administration that is nonracial, when assessed against the priorities of the White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service, we still have a long way to go. Their reports continue to show that we have enormous challenges with regard to financial and human resource, supply chain management, accountability and leadership in the Public Service. But together, hon Du Toit and hon Msimang, we can correct these backlogs in the interest of the people we represent, instead of lamenting.
The Public Service Commission has indeed 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 the oversight and accountability, was their profiling and analysis of the most common manifestations of corruption and its related risk in the Public Service. As identified in numerous reports, including that of the National Planning Commission, corruption continues to infest our Public Service to the detriment of service delivery and our ideal of a developmental state. Dealing with these challenges will require, in addition to all government intervention, a strong and robust oversight system on the part of Parliament, in collaboration with these institutions.
Our approach to oversight, as the ANC, is that, in addition to seeking accountability of the executive and Public Administration, we need to inculcate an approach of activism and constructive contribution towards solutions. Our approach is not only based on demanding reports from the executive and critiquing them, but on having a more on-site experience and interaction with those in the front-line coalface of service delivery. We want to ensure that Parliament has the appropriate mechanisms to facilitate public participation in oversight and accountability processes.
We believe that Public Service and Administration is a matter of public interest. Therefore, an emphasis on collaboration and public participation will demystify bureaucracy and make it more accessible and accountable. This approach would also help in the fight against corruption as we speak about it so highly. It is imperative, therefore, to ensure that this portfolio's budget includes an embedded public participation approach to the implementation of all its programmes in terms of processes and systems.
We commend the department for the special priority it has placed in its programmes on building good governance in the Public Service and fighting corruption. This indeed will require a concerted effort by everybody, and I mean everybody. It will require integration of efforts as well as collaboration among all the relevant agencies, including Parliament.
For this to happen effectively though it will require strong capacity on the part of the agencies involved. This strengthening of capacity is particularly urgent and applicable to the Public Service Commission. In this regard, the Ministry ought to also re-examine the budget of the Public Service Commission within the context of its constitutional status as a Chapter 10 institution which will require independence from the executive. However, hon Marais, I think the discussions around the Public Service Commission getting its budget allocation straight from Treasury are ongoing.
In conclusion, and as part of our commitment towards transforming the Public Service and Administration into a system with the appropriate capability for service delivery, based on the ethos of serving our people and promoting good governance, we must, without doubt, support this Budget Vote. I thank you very much for your attention. [Applause.]
Chairperson, firstly, I want to apologise to hon Marais, because I took it for granted that he knew that the State Information Technology Agency, Sita's, funding, under Mondi Plastic Containers South Africa, MPCSA, is limited to operational activities only, whilst it draws more funding from the National Skills Authority. So, I apologise for not giving him that information.
I also want to highlight some of the issues that were raised, particularly on the low morale of people in the Public Service, ill discipline and corruption. Also, hon members have quoted from the diagnostic report. I thought the portfolio committee was briefed on the strategic plan of the department. I have even consulted with the chairperson of the portfolio committee and he said they were briefed on the turnaround strategy.
I think if members don't have an understanding on what is said by the officials, they should raise their hands to show that they don't understand and request to have what was said repeated. I am raising this because I understand that there are different kinds of people.
I now come to the question of allocations within the Public Service Commission, particularly that the budget should come straight from the Treasury and that it is not enough. If the funding is not enough, it is the responsibility of the Members of Parliament to approach the appropriation committee and request more funding in order for the programme of that particular department to be fulfilled. I therefore appeal to the hon members that they must approach the appropriation committee.
Regarding the African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM, budget, there is a central budget to which all the departments from the continent are contributing. It is not only South Africa. It is based on its membership. Therefore, as a country, we are committed to having a better and more prosperous Africa and we will continue to participate in the APRM.
Some of the issues raised are really based on denial by not accepting the progress made by the government or the department. I warn hon members that, when we talk about corruption, we usually don't talk about the corruption of the mind; yet, immediately, when you deny that there is progress made and you get that information, at the end of the day you will suffer from what is called "corruption of the mind". That one is very difficult, because it ends up making a person become - in isiZulu they say she or he is ''uhubhu kabhejane'' [a blatant liar]. I don't know what that is in English. [Laughter.]
Finally, I want to say that if a member doesn't understand the briefing, particularly on the turnaround strategy by the various institutions, the officials are available to come now and again. Members should ask them to explain themselves clearly. I know we were not born the same or at the same time; and, of course, even at school there are people who are called slow learners. So, too, here there are those who have a slow understanding. Thank you. [Applause.] [Laughter.]
Debate concluded.