Office of the Premier Annual Report 2009-2010 - Gauteng Online

GAUTENG OFFICE OF THE PREMIER - VOTE 1REPORT OF THE ACCOUNTING OFFICERfor the year ended 31 March 20101. IntroductionThe priorities, activities and outputs of the Office of the Premier, and the Gauteng Provincial Government as a whole were profoundlyinfluenced by the new term of office under the leadership of Premier Nomvula Mokonyane. The new service delivery ethos “kuyasheshwa”and recognition of the need to change the institutional landscape of provincial government led to:• The restructuring of the Gauteng Provincial Government and organisational review processes in all departments.• The development of a new Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) and Intergovernmental Programme of Action (POA) for2009/10.• Reprioritisation of the 2009/10 budget allocations to make provision for new priorities and programmes.In line with these new imperatives, the Office of the Premier has the following mandate:• Centralised strategic and spatial planning to achieve the objectives of the new mandate.• Monitoring and evaluation to ensure improved service delivery and improved governance.• Strengthening the cabinet system to assert the political authority of the Premier and the Executive Council at the centre ofgovernment.• Improved policy research and advisory services to support governance and monitoring and evaluation.• Facilitation of intergovernmental relations to ensure greater collaboration and alignment across all spheres of government.• Co-ordinating service delivery in support of the new mandate.• Leading and facilitation efforts to prevent corruption and ensure state accountability and transparency.• Improving relations between government and its stakeholders at all levels and the development of partnerships in line withstrategic priorities.The Office of the Premier, as the political nerve centre of government was a driver of the change, particularly in respect to planningfor the new term of office and also facilitating a transversal reconfiguration and change management process across the GPG. AChange Management Project Team, under the leadership of the Office of the Premier developed and oversaw the implementationof a reconfiguration framework and the development of a consultative process with organised labour that lead to a Labour RelationsFramework to guide the management of labour relations matters in the reconfiguration process.In addition, the Gauteng Planning Commission (GPC) was established under the auspices of the Office to champion a new planningframework for the province which integrates spatial planning, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, research and policydevelopment. The Commissioner, Mr Ignatius Jacobs and the Heads of the Gauteng Planning Commission and Head of Monitoringand Evaluation were appointed to provide the necessary strategic leadership to develop the concept documents for the GPC whilesimultaneously developing the POA for 2010/2011 and embedding the outcomes-based approach to planning and monitoring whichwas approved by Cabinet early in 2010.81