Date: 15/07/2004
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government
Title: N Balindlela: Media briefing on turn around strategies
MEDIA STATEMENT BY EASTERN CAPE PREMIER NOSIMO BALINDLELA, Bisho, 15 July 2004
1. Salutation
2. Purpose
This briefing session is intended to keep the people of the province and our nation informed, through you, about interactions during the one-on-one meetings with the MECs and their departments. Further more you need to know the current strengths and weaknesses for which I will outline turn around strategies to ensure that the administration is well oiled to deliver the services our people are longing for.
3. Background
As I indicated during both my state of the province address and policy speech, the administration is at the cutting edge of our efforts to transform the delivery of services to prioritise deliverables that register the desired impact among millions of our people in need of development.
The president had outlined that the government's focus during the second decade of democracy is to implement with unprecedented levels of vigour the grand policies we designed and started implementing during the first decade. The Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP) sets out really bold targets we must meet as we roll out the programme with effect from this year. I indicated as well during the delivery of the policy speech of my office that I started with one-on-one meetings to establish the strengths and weaknesses higher gear of delivering services to our people.
4. Current realities
Indeed there is a lot of good work being done in each one of the departments I had met, which clearly explain the achievements highlighted in earlier speeches. However I have also identified a number of internal weaknesses and inefficiencies that threaten to derail our intentions of accelerated service delivery.
There is poor integration of government service delivery, with many institutions delivering a similar service without knowing what "the other hand" is doing. Social Development, Health, the Office of the Premier and Education are some of the key programme implementation drivers of government's integrated strategy against HIV and AIDS yet their programmes are not linked. I find it un acceptable in one instance that the allocated budget for fighting HIV and AIDS is not being spent due to among others incapacity and misallocation of funds during the loading of the budget.
The work ethic remains at worryingly low levels among many civil servants, due to among others disciplinary processes take too long. The document management within and among departments remains fairly poor, with no effective tracking system. The provision of leadership, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of over all government performance as well as financial management remain a serious challenge with the Office of the Premier and the Provincial Treasury being unable deliver at the requisite levels. It is clear that without effective financial management there can be no effective administration and vice versa.
We are challenged with regard adherence to financial management procedures including spending within the limits of the allocated budgets and dealing with administrative and financial discipline within the administration. Our levels of managing inherent risks of running such a huge institution require serious attention.
5. Turn around
I realise now more that the rounds I have taken were of absolute importance because now I know the strengths and weaknesses of departments we expect to meet the targets of deliverables we set for our people. My turn-around plans to address these challenges were introduced to the Executive Council meeting yesterday and will give greater focus on four major departments as well as the centre of governance.
The MECs have targets to address the challenges identified during the one-on-one sessions and every quarter they will be evaluated to ensure delivery.
However for some time I will continue with random follow up meetings to get progress reports from individual departments where cost and other pressures are major. Time is limited. Too much work needs to be done. "Ekuseni ngo-4 O'clock" meetings will be continued as we want to turn around the undesirable dominant organisational culture which is rule-bound, to a results driven administration.
We have advertised the post of a Deputy Director General for the Cabinet Office in the Office of the Premier whose main focus will be to ensure effective leadership of the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies of government within the framework of the Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP). Each cluster of government departments will have a dedicated unit responsible for providing the policy coordination, monitoring and evaluation. Even in my ministry we will set up similar units to assist me deal with these challenges. Existing departmental functions including planning, policy development, research etc. will forthwith be effectively led and coordinated from the centre.
Since the introduction of a pilot customer care unit in the Office of the Premier the office is inundated with request for intervention to unblock administrative problems experienced by our people in contact with the administration. One centre cannot cope with that. Now, customer care offices will be set up in each provincial department. They will be given appropriate status for reporting to the political and administrative heads so that quick decisions can be taken to resolve people's worries while also addressing root causes thereof. We will further endeavour to encourage other lower spheres of government to follow suite.
Financial management remains a major challenge. Some departments such as Education, Social Development and Health are threatening to over spend their budgets this financial year. The Executive Council was briefing on the progress made in addressing the projected budget deficit of some departments, interrogated the options given and referred it back to the Task Team and the responsible MECs for further work. So the matter is still "work in progress", a report is expected in the next Executive Council meeting. I can reassure people that the matter will be resolved within this financial year and we will endeavour to limit the impact on service delivery. As we are doing now, you will be informed.
The province is to introduce an interfacing various information technology systems such as Persal, BAS and Logis) to ensure reliability of and accuracy of our reports.
Central to some challenges we have is financial management. A facility will be installed in my office to be able to periodically monitor government's over all spending and spending on certain priority programmes such as HIV and AIDS at any given time.
The MEC for transport briefed the Executive Council on steps they are taking to deal with the contract between Fleet Africa and the Eastern Cape government. The MEC is to present the facts and recommendations to the Executive Council in a fortnight.
We will have a document management workshop in due course with all departments participating to consider solutions to the challenges currently faced in document and issue tracking within a department and across departments and other implementing agencies of government.
Currently turn around strategies of the departments of Education, Roads and Public Works; Social Development and Health are progressively implemented. In some instances such as Education the national Department of Education has deployed support personnel to assist in speeding up the implementation of the turn around plan. One cause of the problems we have in education was the lack of political decisiveness. We are closely monitoring the progress made in these departments.
6. A people's contract for a better administration
These are challenges facing the leadership of the province. Some require sustained interventions with no quick fixes, while others require just decisiveness of the leadership and managers to turn around. As we tighten the performance management within the administration, I also extend an appeal to all other role-players to find their niche in putting their shoulders behind the wheel of transformation, in a spirit of a people's contract. I strongly believe we will make it, and we can.
7. Conclusion
In conclusion I should take the opportunity on behalf of the Provincial Government to congratulate the two finalists from the province in the National Women of the Year Award. I wish Mrs. Nomthunzi Mali a popular faith healer from Debe Nek and Professor Tebello Nyokongo who is researching alternative diagnosis and treatment of cancer to chemotherapy, all the best in the last leg of the competition to be held on 29 July 2004.
I thank you
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
15 July 2004
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government
Title: N Balindlela: Media briefing on turn around strategies
MEDIA STATEMENT BY EASTERN CAPE PREMIER NOSIMO BALINDLELA, Bisho, 15 July 2004
1. Salutation
2. Purpose
This briefing session is intended to keep the people of the province and our nation informed, through you, about interactions during the one-on-one meetings with the MECs and their departments. Further more you need to know the current strengths and weaknesses for which I will outline turn around strategies to ensure that the administration is well oiled to deliver the services our people are longing for.
3. Background
As I indicated during both my state of the province address and policy speech, the administration is at the cutting edge of our efforts to transform the delivery of services to prioritise deliverables that register the desired impact among millions of our people in need of development.
The president had outlined that the government's focus during the second decade of democracy is to implement with unprecedented levels of vigour the grand policies we designed and started implementing during the first decade. The Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP) sets out really bold targets we must meet as we roll out the programme with effect from this year. I indicated as well during the delivery of the policy speech of my office that I started with one-on-one meetings to establish the strengths and weaknesses higher gear of delivering services to our people.
4. Current realities
Indeed there is a lot of good work being done in each one of the departments I had met, which clearly explain the achievements highlighted in earlier speeches. However I have also identified a number of internal weaknesses and inefficiencies that threaten to derail our intentions of accelerated service delivery.
There is poor integration of government service delivery, with many institutions delivering a similar service without knowing what "the other hand" is doing. Social Development, Health, the Office of the Premier and Education are some of the key programme implementation drivers of government's integrated strategy against HIV and AIDS yet their programmes are not linked. I find it un acceptable in one instance that the allocated budget for fighting HIV and AIDS is not being spent due to among others incapacity and misallocation of funds during the loading of the budget.
The work ethic remains at worryingly low levels among many civil servants, due to among others disciplinary processes take too long. The document management within and among departments remains fairly poor, with no effective tracking system. The provision of leadership, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of over all government performance as well as financial management remain a serious challenge with the Office of the Premier and the Provincial Treasury being unable deliver at the requisite levels. It is clear that without effective financial management there can be no effective administration and vice versa.
We are challenged with regard adherence to financial management procedures including spending within the limits of the allocated budgets and dealing with administrative and financial discipline within the administration. Our levels of managing inherent risks of running such a huge institution require serious attention.
5. Turn around
I realise now more that the rounds I have taken were of absolute importance because now I know the strengths and weaknesses of departments we expect to meet the targets of deliverables we set for our people. My turn-around plans to address these challenges were introduced to the Executive Council meeting yesterday and will give greater focus on four major departments as well as the centre of governance.
The MECs have targets to address the challenges identified during the one-on-one sessions and every quarter they will be evaluated to ensure delivery.
However for some time I will continue with random follow up meetings to get progress reports from individual departments where cost and other pressures are major. Time is limited. Too much work needs to be done. "Ekuseni ngo-4 O'clock" meetings will be continued as we want to turn around the undesirable dominant organisational culture which is rule-bound, to a results driven administration.
We have advertised the post of a Deputy Director General for the Cabinet Office in the Office of the Premier whose main focus will be to ensure effective leadership of the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies of government within the framework of the Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP). Each cluster of government departments will have a dedicated unit responsible for providing the policy coordination, monitoring and evaluation. Even in my ministry we will set up similar units to assist me deal with these challenges. Existing departmental functions including planning, policy development, research etc. will forthwith be effectively led and coordinated from the centre.
Since the introduction of a pilot customer care unit in the Office of the Premier the office is inundated with request for intervention to unblock administrative problems experienced by our people in contact with the administration. One centre cannot cope with that. Now, customer care offices will be set up in each provincial department. They will be given appropriate status for reporting to the political and administrative heads so that quick decisions can be taken to resolve people's worries while also addressing root causes thereof. We will further endeavour to encourage other lower spheres of government to follow suite.
Financial management remains a major challenge. Some departments such as Education, Social Development and Health are threatening to over spend their budgets this financial year. The Executive Council was briefing on the progress made in addressing the projected budget deficit of some departments, interrogated the options given and referred it back to the Task Team and the responsible MECs for further work. So the matter is still "work in progress", a report is expected in the next Executive Council meeting. I can reassure people that the matter will be resolved within this financial year and we will endeavour to limit the impact on service delivery. As we are doing now, you will be informed.
The province is to introduce an interfacing various information technology systems such as Persal, BAS and Logis) to ensure reliability of and accuracy of our reports.
Central to some challenges we have is financial management. A facility will be installed in my office to be able to periodically monitor government's over all spending and spending on certain priority programmes such as HIV and AIDS at any given time.
The MEC for transport briefed the Executive Council on steps they are taking to deal with the contract between Fleet Africa and the Eastern Cape government. The MEC is to present the facts and recommendations to the Executive Council in a fortnight.
We will have a document management workshop in due course with all departments participating to consider solutions to the challenges currently faced in document and issue tracking within a department and across departments and other implementing agencies of government.
Currently turn around strategies of the departments of Education, Roads and Public Works; Social Development and Health are progressively implemented. In some instances such as Education the national Department of Education has deployed support personnel to assist in speeding up the implementation of the turn around plan. One cause of the problems we have in education was the lack of political decisiveness. We are closely monitoring the progress made in these departments.
6. A people's contract for a better administration
These are challenges facing the leadership of the province. Some require sustained interventions with no quick fixes, while others require just decisiveness of the leadership and managers to turn around. As we tighten the performance management within the administration, I also extend an appeal to all other role-players to find their niche in putting their shoulders behind the wheel of transformation, in a spirit of a people's contract. I strongly believe we will make it, and we can.
7. Conclusion
In conclusion I should take the opportunity on behalf of the Provincial Government to congratulate the two finalists from the province in the National Women of the Year Award. I wish Mrs. Nomthunzi Mali a popular faith healer from Debe Nek and Professor Tebello Nyokongo who is researching alternative diagnosis and treatment of cancer to chemotherapy, all the best in the last leg of the competition to be held on 29 July 2004.
I thank you
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
15 July 2004
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