Khasho August September 2010 - National Prosecuting Authority

NPA News 17Update on Operation Recruitment DriveNomilo MpondoAugust month marked a year since the launch of the Operation Recruitment Drive Project by the NPA. HRM&Dwent on full steam ahead to recruit legally qualified personnel with the view to fill vacancies nationally. Khashospoke to Mr Mncedisi Sineke, Programme Coordinator for the project to update us on how the project hasprogressed thus far.1. Can you briefly tell us when was the project started andhow far it is now?The project started on 12 August 2009. Currently it is at thestage where offers of appointment are extended torecommended candidates and this will continue until the endof November when the approval to extend offers expires.2. What were the compelling reasons for this massiverecruitment drive?The organisation had a 22% vacancy rate. A decision wasmade to establish the project in order to ensure a more focusedapproach to filling prosecutors’ positions. A project team wasappointed and positions for prosecutors at all levels wereadvertised in the national newspapers, both the Sunday Timesand the City Press. One of the challenges identified was thatthe organisation continued to advertise and fill positions butthis did not help to reduce the high vacancy rate as officialswere merely recycled internally from one post and region toanother and this happened all over the country in theprosecutorial positions. The organisation was simply notattracting external candidates to the organisation.3. Has the problem of legally qualified staff shortage nowbeen put to rest?Not at all, because we did not attract as many candidates fromoutside the NPA to sufficiently address the problem. Only 74external candidates were appointed.4. Does the NPA have enough resources to accommodatethese new recruits?During the scoping of the project all stakeholders wereinvolved in planning for the accommodation and resourcing ofappointees. Unfortunately, due to other more pressing needsand the fact that the government in general is under financialstress, this remains a problem.5. Have you achieved all your project objectives?I can say NO we did not because we experienced manyhiccups during the project. First of all, not all the project teammembers were able to fulfill their various roles andresponsibilities. Other unanticipated problems emerged whenmemoranda were to be finalized, causing delays and confusionin some instances. As an organisation, we need to review ourrecruitment strategies and processes to ensure that we are ableto attract sufficient external candidates to make a dent on thevacancy rate without overlooking internal candidates whohave been loyal to the NPA to date. It is hoped that the OSD(Occupation Specific Dispensation) will be approved soon andit will assist the organisation in dealing with this and finding abalance.What lessons did you learn during the project?Mncedisi Sineke: Project Coordinator• Proper scoping is needed to ensure all realities are takeninto account.• Proper change management initiatives must be in placecoupled with integrated planning – any stakeholdersinterested or impacted by the project must be part of theplanning phase.• Accurate schedules must be drawn up to avoid workingoutside project schedule whilst generating project changerequests.• Avoid unrealistic deadlines – realistic schedules should bedrawn up.• There must be complete ownership of the project andexecutive leadership must also be provided.Professionalism, Integrity, Service Excellence, Accountability and Credibility