House Chair, it should be unparliamentarily and unethical for a committee chairperson to plagiarise word for word a committee report instead of having a prepared speech. Anyway, moving onto the business of this department, this department makes right
noises about what needs to be done for the civil service to function well. However, such noises barely translate into meaningful action that improves the capacity of the state to deliver services as it should. Despite its well meaning efforts to centralise government planning, monitor performances and evaluate progress, the implementation of its recommendations is largely at the mercy of other government departments, many of which ignore its recommendations.
Nothing illustrates this more clearly than the constant policy contradictions amongst government Ministers, government departments and even between different spheres of government. With so much coordinated government planning, why is it still so rare for co- operative governance to work in earnest? With so much monitoring of the performance of government programmes why are there no real consequences for non-performing officials?
With so much emphasis on evaluation of government programmes interventions, why does the state struggle to respond timeously to service delivery collapses? Truth be told, if every government department did its work and operated within the legislative mandate that was created, there would be no need for this department.
According to Minister Mthembu's foreword in the Annual Performance Plan, this department is tasked with assisting the President with the establishment of performance agreements with Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Director Generals, DGs.
Minister, if you and the President are truly serious about a new dawn of holding Ministers and government officials accountable and for transparent government, then publish all these performance agreements between the President and Cabinet.
The best way to do this would be for you to lead by example by publishing your own performance agreement with the President and your respective DGs. If you don't do this, all this noise about holding ministers accountable for their performances and heralding a new way of doing things will be seen for what it is which is pure spin It is quite frankly meaningless to hype the mere existence of a performance agreement as a groundbreaking initiative where it is shrouded in secrecy that not even the public can scrutinise it to measure for itself if they are really enforced.
For any government that strives on pursuing excellence in the civil services, these performance agreements should be an effective tool
to intervene in instances of under-performance, to track non- performance and ultimately prevent mediocrity.
When such outcomes are applied correctly, they will prevent this permanent recycling of failed politicians every time there is a cabinet reshuffle. With proper monitoring and evaluation, there is no way that senior civil servants across different spheres of government, who have failed else where will be reappointed in government. You are giving them an opportunity to continue with their legacy of failure. The best way to do this is to blacklist any failed government officials so that we can have honest and hardworking professionals driving government programmes.
It is unacceptable that the same cabal of corrupt municipal officials who collapsed municipalities in Tubatse, Vhembe and Madibeng in the North West are reappointment in different capacities in local government. Yet the National Development Plan, NDP, speaks about improving the capacity of local government so that it can accelerate service delivery
Government posts are not rehabilitation centres to reform unrepentant officials. They are an opportunity to serve honestly and diligently. If you are true to your word you can do this.
Minister Mthembu, one of other bold targets in your department's Annual Performance Plan, APP, is to achieve 100% compliance with financial disclosures in government. Interestingly, there are still Cabinet Ministers and senior government employees who continue to do business with government without and impunity.
This axis of con?ict of interests between politicians and civil servants who abuse their powers, rob honest entrepreneurs of an opportunity to do business and for them to thrive. Until such a time that this administration punishes those politicians and government employees who collude by doing business with the state, unethical practices will continue to compromise service delivery.
It is amazing that you made reference and your colleague made reference about this 30 day compliances about the payment of invoices yet, on a daily basis hundreds of local businesses complain about unacceptable delays with regard to the payment of these invoices.
The damages of this o the economy are real It pushes small businesses into insolvency. Breadwinners lose their jobs, homes are broken, lives are destroyed and many more South Africans are pushed into poverty simply because government does not do its job.
It is high time that this department walks the talk because if it fails to do so, it will be seen as a vanity project with little results.