S snippets SERVE AND
S snippets SERVE AND DELIVER PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION (DPSA) “The people are our strength. In their service we shall face and conquer those who live on the backs of our people. In the history of mankind, it is a law of life that problems arise when the conditions are there for their solution,” said Walter Sisulu (1976). We reflect on the great collective journey of serving people, ensuring that no one is left behind and remain inspired by these wise words that bring to life the Constitutional injunction to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person. The Professionalisation Framework for the Public Sector is a gamechanger in government’s pursuit of building of a capable, ethical and developmental state. DPSA invites the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) to partner on its oversight role to ensure full implementation of the framework by all sectors, including the 10 legislatures, local governments, national and provincial departments and all government-owned entities. Meritocracy is at the heart of professionalisation, and it is being institutionalised through extending pre-entry examinations and competency assessments to the whole of the public service. We are also revising the effective management of performance, productivity and development of staff. In his SoNA the president said, “A professional public service, staffed by skilled, committed and ethical people, is critical to an effective state and ending corruption, patronage and wastage”. The Public Service Commission (PSC) is a critical partner in the implementation of the professionalisation framework as it ensures that the public service is ethical in recruitment and employment and that there is good governance, leadership and management. The PSC Amendment Bill was approved by Cabinet in May 2023 with the aim of securing its enactment into law in 2023/4. In 2023/4, the PSC will assess various HR practices that are central to the professionalisation of the public service. Furthermore, the PSC conducts service delivery inspections and a citizen-focused community outreach programme across provinces. Strategic partnerships with the Gauteng and North-West provincial legislatures are being entrenched to improve governance. National School of Government (NSG) A budget of R229-million has been allocated to NSG for 2023/4, which will sustain the following capacity-building flagships: • The Local Government Leadership Development Programme. Accredited by the Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (LGSETA) which 19 City of Johannesburg councillors successfully completed. • The Ethical Leadership and Executive Oversight Programme. A critical intervention plan to help build a culture of ethical leadership in government. • The DDM. A course on joint decision-making and implementation through the DDM, which will be replicated across the country. The training programmes target members of boards of stateowned entities, public representatives and traditional leaders to undertake the much-required capacity building. Provincial and local government introduced the following initiatives in line with the professionalisation agenda: • Induction and onboarding. This is A compulsory programme for all new public service employees from salary levels one to 16, and 4 540 participants were orientated nationwide. • Youth development. A programme that prepared 2 038 jobless graduates to access employment opportunities in the public service. • Frontline service delivery. A total of 503 employees were trained in citizen-centred service delivery during 2022/3. • Financial management. As part of continuous development, 556 officials were trained for bid committees as envisioned in the Public Finance Manage Act (PFMA) and Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) in 2022/3. In collaboration with the City of Cape Town, we trained 100 officials on bid committees (MFMA). • Socio-economic development. A total 150 traditional leaders have been inducted to build an active citizenry. The comprehensive approach to all levers of governance and service delivery is clear for all to see. Building an ethical public service The Department provides technical assistance to provinces to implement lifestyle audits and discipline management. Provinces conducting these audits improved drastically from 47 to 89 out of 103 provincial departments in March 2023. KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape had a 100% compliance rate. Presidential-minister priorities We are concluding the implementation of the current Medium- Term Strategic Framework (2019-2024) with priority on: 1. Conducting a skills audit throughout the public service. 2. Establishing a single register for disciplinary cases and processes across all spheres of government. 3. Completing lifestyle audits for members of senior management public service. Addressing Challenges DPSA through working with the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, National Treasury, the Presidency and cooperative governance departments has identified over 256 reporting requirements that departments have to comply with. We are working to fast-track digitisation, roll out the future of work project, eGovernment and eServices to free departments from a high compliance burden. We are addressing the aging public service by increasing youth representation through strengthening the graduate recruitment programme and enabling specialist skills enlistment. Walter Sisulu says, “During a liberation war there are many long and dark days… But a people who want freedom, who are prepared to fight for it, are capable of super-human efforts. We face a powerful enemy, but never can it match the strength of the people”. Kea leboga! Inkomu! Ndiyabulela! Delivered by Minister for Public Service and Administration, Noxolo Kiviet, 16 May 2023. 4 | Service magazine
snippets S SERVE AND DELIVER MUNICIPAL FINANCE AUDIT OUTCOMES The MFMA audit outcomes indicate that 142 (55%) municipalities received clean audits in 2021/2. These municipalities were responsible for over R351-billion (66% of the local government budget of R530-billion). SALGA calls on the municipalities that received poor audit outcomes to turn around their financial management and governance to accomplish the same outcomes that have been achieved by most municipalities. This calls for a renewed approach to enforce accountability and consequence management. A carrot and a stick approach – where excellence is rewarded while mediocrity and maladministration are punished – is what is needed to turn local government around. SALGA asks municipalities to take stern actions towards non-submission of financial statements and eliminating and recovering monies lost through irregular and wasteful expenditure. Municipal leadership must set targets for achieving this outcome during their term of office. No fruitless expenditure amount should remain unactioned at the end of 2023/4. Nonsubmission or late submission of financial statements for audit purposes must be a thing of the past. The Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA) congratulates all municipalities that achieved positive audit outcomes. The pockets of excellence, who have consistently, without fail, achieved clean audits since the 2016/17 financial year-to-date are acknowledged for their exemplary work. These are the municipalities whose control systems must be emulated: • Midvaal Local Municipality (GP) • Okhahlamba Local Municipality (KZN) • Cape Winelands District Municipality (WC) • Overstrand Local Municipality (WC) • Witzenberg Local Municipality (WC) • Cape Agulhas Local Municipality (WC) Drivers of excellence Stable leadership is key to attaining positive audit outcomes. Councils must fill all vacant senior positions as a matter of urgency by employing ethical people who are technically skilled in the duties they are required to perform. Mayors and Speakers must always act in the public interest, hold the administration accountable and enforce consequence management without fear or favour. Consumer Debt As of 31 December 2022, municipalities were owed R306-billion for services consumed. The impact of the inability to collect debts has resulted in a gradual but steady regression in the financial health of local government overall and has seen a marked deterioration in certain municipalities. The current trajectory needs to be arrested urgently or it will result in a further deterioration of financial health and negatively impact service delivery, financial management and governance. Local Government Fiscal Framework The country’s fiscal framework perpetuates the structural factors that continue to impede municipalities in realising their constitutional mandate. Their ability to raise local revenue is severely eroded by the actions of government institutions such as Eskom who refuse to support municipal credit control measures in their areas of supply and by failure to pay for rates and municipal services by government departments. Service magazine | 5
