What interventions has his department taken to (a) close existing gaps in the Public Service recruitment system and (b) prohibit government departments from appointing persons at a senior management level without the requisite qualifications, experience and competence?
a) The Department of Public Service and Administration is currently consulting on the amendments to the Public Service Act, 1994 and the Public Service Regulations, 2016 to augment all challenges identified in different policy areas, not only limited to recruitment. Lessons learnt have been documented and will be applied in how the amendments are operationalised. Additionally, the DPSA continues to hold advocacy with departments ...
(1)With reference to the reply to question 1945 on 20 May 2022, (a) on what date were the Cuban doctors and engineers employed in the Republic and (b) where are the Cuban doctors and engineers employed and/or assigned to in the Republic;
(2) (a) what type of employment contracts did the Cuban doctors and engineers conclude, (b) with which government departments have the Cuban doctors and engineers concluded employment contracts and (c) on what date do the employment contracts come to an end;
(3) what (a) are the terms and conditions of the employment of the Cuban doctors and engineers and (b) benefits are they entitled to in terms of their employment in the Republic?
Recruitment and appointments of public servants is a decentralised function in the public service. The appointments of these categories including employment contracts, terms and conditions of the employment which are processed by the immediate/relevant department as an employer. Therefore, the National Departments of Health and Public Works and Infrastructure are better suited to respond to the appointments.
End
(1)With reference to his reply to question 2349 on 25 August 2022 that as at 1 May 2022 a total of 2 349 senior managers within the Public Service do not have the qualifications for the positions that they currently occupy, what has he found are the reasons that the number of senior managers without qualifications is so high especially in critical national departments such as (a) Justice and (b) Police;
(2) whether, the fact that senior managers are not adequately qualified, he has found that it has an impact on the public administration, more especially on its ability to deliver quality services to the citizens of the Republic; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether his department will request the Public Service Commission to investigate the issue; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
1. As of the end of September 2022, the number of SMS members whose requisite qualifications are not reflected in the PERSAL has gone down to 2188 from 2349 in May 2022. This is due to the fact that most departments are now updating this data onto the PERSAL since the Director-General issued a Circular HRD0301 in this regard. The fact that it is ...
(a) What are the relevant details regarding the (i) latest update on the Future of Work Ambassadors programme and (ii) selection process of the 33 graduates in the specified programme, (b) where have the graduates been placed and (c) what monitoring and evaluation plans have been put in place to track the progress and performance of the selected graduates?
The Future of Work Ambassadors Programme is an initiative championed by the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) in partnership with the Public Service Sector Education Authority (PSETA) and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). This programme is envisioned to contribute positively towards building a leadership pipeline for realising a capable, ethical and developmental public service in line with Chapter 13 of the ...
(1)(a) Which (i) state departments have started rolling out lifestyle audits for their employees and (ii) employees are being audited and (b) what (i) total number of the specified lifestyle audits are (aa) in process and (bb) finalised and (ii) were the findings of the audits;
what consequence management measures are being taken as a result of the audits?
BACKGROUND
With the adoption of the Guide on implementing lifestyle audits in the Public Service, lifestyle audits for the Public Service became compulsory from 1 April 2021. When implementing the Guide, national and provincial departments follow a three step approach, starting with lifestyle reviews. When red flags (unexplained wealth, conflicts of interest, etc) are identified during this step, the department will move to ...
What are his department’s contingency plans to ensure continuous and uninterrupted service delivery to the public, in the event of prolonged strike action by Public Service employees?
The Department of Public Service and Administration has developed a detailed Strike Management Plan, outlining the procedural requirements for a protected picket and strike. Picketing Rules have been concluded with organised labour. Measures to mitigate the impact of the strike have been put in place such as the establishment of the Strike Management Committees from National level and across all the departments. The Provincial ...
With reference to his reply to question 3409 on 31 October 2022 in relation to the total number of public servants who are currently on suspension in the Public Service, what total number of the specified cases (a) involve a criminal offence and (b) were referred to the relevant law enforcement agencies?
a) Of the 305 public servants who are currently on suspension in the Public service, four (4) cases involve a criminal offence. This was reported by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). No other reports were received by the DPSA or Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (PAEIDTAU).
b) The four cases were referred by the NPA to the Directorate for Priority ...
(1)With reference to his reply to question 2351 on 26 August 2022, what is the breakdown of the (a) positions and (b) salary levels of the 281 public servants who were identified as serving as councillors of municipal councils;
(2) (a) how and (b) on what date will his department establish whether the 281 public servants who have been identified as serving as councillors have complied with the applicable legal prescripts;
(3) what number of the identified public servants who were elected as full-time councillors resigned from the Public Service with effect from the date immediately before assuming the position of municipal councillor;
(4) what number of the identified public servants who were elected as part-time councillor obtained written permission from the relevant executive authority before assuming the position of municipal councillor;
(5) what (a) disciplinary steps will his department take against the public servants who did not comply with the applicable legal prescripts in this regard and (b) steps will his department take to recover the remuneration received by public servants who failed to comply with the applicable legal prescripts in this regard?
- The following table shows the breakdown of (a) positions and (b) salary levels of the 281 public servants who were identified as serving as councillors of municipal councils:
|
a) Position
|
b) Salary levels
|
Total #
|
|
Cleaner
|
02
|
4
|
|
General Assistant School
|
02
|
1
|
|
Child and Youth Care Worker Grade1
|
03
|
1
|
|
NA1 Nursing Assistant Grade 1
|
03
|
1
|
|
General Assistant
|
03
|
1
|
|
Road worker ... |
Whether (a) her department and/or (b) entities reporting to her concluded any commercial contracts with (i) the government of the Russian Federation and/or (ii) any other entity based in the Russian Federation since 1 April 2017; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, for each commercial contract, what are the (aa) relevant details, (bb) values, (cc) time frames, (dd) goods contracted and (ee) reasons that the goods could not be contracted in the Republic?
The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and (b) the National School of Government, Centre for Public Service Innovation and the Office the Public Service Commission do not have any commercial contracts with the government of the Russian Federation or any other entities based in the Russian Federation since 1 April 2017.
(aa) N/A
(bb) N/A
(dd) N/A
(ee) N/A
End
(1)On what date did he attend the last meeting of any structure outside the Government in order to receive recommendations on the deployment of personnel in his department and/or entities reporting to him;
(2) whether any appointments to his department and/or entities reporting to him were discussed during his attendance at any private forum and/or external structures to the Government; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what (a) are the details of appointments that were discussed and recommendations received and (b) other Government matters were discussed during the last meeting of any such forum?
(1) The Acting Minister of Public Service and Administration was never part of any meeting that talks about any deployment in Public Service or any entity that is involved in recruitment or placement of employees in entire Public service or state owned enterprises.
(2) The recruitment of employees in public service is done through corporate service which reports to the Accounting Officer. (b)The Minister never ...
