Chairperson, Minister for the Public Service and Administration, hon Richard Baloyi, Deputy Minister, hon Ayanda Dlodlo, hon Members of Parliament, Public Service commissioners present, the director- general, chairpersons of boards, chief executive officers and heads of Public Service and Administration institutions, guests, and ladies and gentlemen, before I start, I want to indicate that I'm pleased to welcome Prudence Masango and Mahlogonolo Banyatsang from Bona Lesedi Secondary School in Mamelodi, who are attending the debate on today's Budget Vote as part of the programme of the Public Sector Education and Training Authority, PSETA, the Take a Girl Child to Work initiative. [Applause.] I would really like to thank them for also making me "take a girl child to work" on this hectic day.
It is again that time of the year when Parliament meets and debates Budget Votes for the provision of services to the people of South Africa. My task is to deliberate on Budget Vote No 12: Public Service and Administration. The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration is certainly delighted to have had constructive deliberations with the department, which has culminated in its Budget Vote report.
Today's Budget Vote deliberations take place precisely eight days after our country's local government elections in which the ANC, our movement, won decisively. [Applause.] We are certainly indebted to our people for the courageous and dedicated support they have so eloquently demonstrated by making the right mark at the polls.
The budget presentation is also taking place against the backdrop of Africa Day, which we celebrated just yesterday in recognition and acknowledgement of the political, economic, social and cultural strides Africa has made so far. It is indeed our time as Africans to assert our presence on the global stage. I thought you would be happy as South Africans that we have made such good strides.
In his conversations about politics in the world, one of our eminent writers, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, writes in his celebrated book Writers in Politics:
What gift shall we, the living, bequeath to the unborn? What Africa shall we hand over to the future?
This question compels us to think about the future and determine our relevant strategic priorities, which are not only relevant but also responsive to the new societal demands of our changing world. In this way we would be in a better position collectively to hand over to South Africa's future a society that we could be proud of, individually and collectively.
Furthermore, we believe that the five overarching strategic and political priorities relating to education, health, safety and security, rural development and job creation, which translate into the 12 key outcomes that our government has prioritised over this political term, constitute a key component of what we, as a collective, can bequeath to our future generations. I think the government has done well there.
Chairperson and hon members, after the committee's deliberations with the department on its Strategic Plan for 2010-14, we are pleased to report that the department is committed to dutifully forging ahead, determined to contribute to the country's mission of building a better life for all despite the challenges it is facing. The department's Strategic Plan has been developed in line with the outcomes approach to government's performance, as articulated in the June 2010 guide to the outcomes approach, and its purpose is as follows:
... to ensure that government is focused on achieving the expected real improvements in the life of all South Africans. The outcomes approach clarifies what we expect to achieve, how we expect to achieve it and how we will know whether we are achieving it. It will help spheres of government to ensure that results improve the lives of citizens rather than just carrying out our functions.
In line with the requirements of the new outcomes approach for government's performance, the department has endeavoured to align its high-level outputs and key activities not only with its key government Outcome 12, but also with supporting all other government outcomes. The 12th outcome is to ensure:
an efficient, effective and development-oriented public service and an empowered, fair and inclusive citizenship.
Pursuant to the realisation of these outcomes, the department aims to translate the medium-term vision's five priorities and the key government outcomes into tangible deliverables by 2014.
However, without the required budget, the constitutional obligation and the strategic and political thrust that the department seeks to achieve might not be realised, and the public good will only be an inspirational ideal, rather than a tangible reality. Now, our icon of the struggle, former President Nelson Mandela, provides guidance in this regard, and counsels us that the purpose of the Budget is to bring a better life for all. It is about transforming our country together, all of us.
Without any equivocation, the budget occupies the pride of place in the realisation of the constitutional promise and the key outcomes. We therefore consider it imperative that we collectively support this budget as an implementation instrument for the achievement of the department's strategic and political priorities, and for the benefit of the people of this country. In this context, we are of the view that it is completely meaningless for us as members of this House to suggest otherwise. Just imagine our saying that we don't support such a well planned Budget. What would it mean?
In 2004, in a special report to Parliament entitled Speeding Up Transformation, wherein they aptly captured what oversight is all about, the authors correctly stated that:
Oversight is a critical part of a democratic society committed to effective government and transformation. It ensures that government remains in touch with the people and that problems in delivery are recognised and addressed.
This means, among other things, that we continue to search for more innovative ways of exercising oversight responsibilities in this committee and in Parliament as a whole. It was in this context that we embarked on the strategic collaboration of institutions as an initiative. We will have to continue and consolidate our relationship with the committee's counterparts in the NCOP, particularly the Select Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, which is our counterpart, in order to collectively conduct oversight over provinces.
Our intention here as NA and NCOP committees is to focus on public administration practices, and to ensure that we will be working collaboratively with the premiers' oversight committees, public accounts committees, and local government committees in provinces. Our goal is to form mutually beneficial relations with strategic oversight partners in our collective task of exercising oversight. Other strategic partners include the Auditor-General's Office and the Public Service Commission, which were established in terms of Chapters 9 and 10 of the Constitution respectively.
With all the partners mentioned, we are exploring the possibility of an overarching oversight approach that will allow us to effectively hold government departments accountable regarding their public administration processes.
Chairperson, the Public Service Commission has an oversight function over the Public Service, on which it reports to Parliament and specifically to this committee. More will be said by other members of this committee, but what I wanted to indicate is that the misfortune of collapsing the Budget Vote opened up a serious discussion on all independent institutions established in terms of Chapter 9 and 10 of the Constitution.
Much progress has been achieved, as the presiding officers of Parliament have established the Office on Institutions Supporting Democracy. A lot has been achieved by the Deputy Speaker and the Office on Institutions Supporting Democracy in their interaction. Therefore, it is safe to say that that kind of discussion and that ruffling of feathers made us look in totality at the Chapter 9 institutions and how they can impact on our democracy, and we are grateful for that.
Due to the informative nature of the Public Service Commission's report, our committee is making sure that Parliament takes this report seriously and that it is implemented. We are of the view that the clustering of the committees of Parliament, not only in name but in actual work, will go a long way in addressing the deficit in the collective and collaborative approach with other departments regarding cross-cutting matters emanating from the Public Service. We therefore look forward to the day when we have a report with recommendations from the parliamentary clusters to the National Assembly.
Chairperson, organisational design in the Public Service should be aimed at addressing the issue of uniformity in the application of legislation and administration management principles across the various levels of government. What obtains in national and provincial administration should obtain at local level as well. We must always remember that South Africa is a unitary state. We are pleased that the Ministry of Public Service and Administration has since December 2010 been conducting workshops for the provincial executives which focus on the government's objectives of effective and efficient managing and leading the Public Service.
Despite the fact that the Public Administration Management Bill, also known as the single Public Service Bill, is not or will not be forthcoming due to its mooted withdrawal, there is a stern belief that the legislation, in this case the Public Service Act of 1994, may have to be amended to ensure that the uniformity of administration and management principles across spheres of government is a reality.
Regarding matters relating to the systems of the department, on 25 February 2011 the hon Minister launched the go-live Integrated Financial Management System module which, amongst other things, aims to improve the capacity of the Public Service and to manage its human resources more effectively. I won't elaborate. We welcome this development and hope that the State Information Technology Agency will be on its toes.
The mandate of the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, Palama, is to raise the skills levels of public servants in order to improve the capacity of the state to deliver services. The committee appreciates the vision of transforming Palama into a training institution and fully fledged management academy. As we turn our eyes towards the future, the committee is of the view that it might be necessary for the Public Service Commission to consider conducting an impact evaluation study on all parts of Palama's Executive Development Programme that have been implemented. The well-meant Palama Indaba, which will bring all education stakeholders together for an institution we are awaiting in the country, should happen now.
Hon Chairperson, the committee has noted with concern the following matters as outlined by the Auditor-General and the Public Service Commission, which require attention. I shall not elaborate on them, but they are: noncompliance with the financial disclosure framework; flouting of tender procedures; improper management of capital assets; no supporting evidence for purchases by government departments; an increase in the cost of financial misconduct; failure of public servants to sign performance agreements; performance agreements not including dates for reviews or performance assessments; and public administration not being broadly representative of the South African people in order to address the imbalances of the past.
Hon Chairperson, we believe that these challenges that the department is confronted with are not insurmountable. We are pleased to indicate that the committee has conducted intensive oversight over these matters, and will continue to find remedial methods with the department on possible ways of addressing them. We are hopeful that these challenges will be addressed to ensure that the department effectively delivers on its mandate. Other entities that provide services to the South African public administration - the Government Employees Pension Fund, the Government Employees Medical Scheme and the Centre for Public Service Innovation - should heed the call to action. The time to work is upon us!
In conclusion, we as the ANC really support this Budget Vote before the House for adoption, in order for the real work to commence. But we should not forget the guiding words of our former President Nelson Mandela who advised us that the purpose of the Budget is to bring a better life for all.
While we ensure that the department has the necessary financial resources to be able to implement its Strategic Plan and the programmes that it has submitted to our Parliament, we are definitely going to hold it accountable, and there is no compromise in this regard. Our people out there are waiting for services to be delivered to them for a positive impact on their lives. The renewal of this mandate on 18 May 2011, during the local government elections, once again says it all. We cannot disappoint our people. I thank you. [Applause.]