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Date: 18/03/2004
Source: Ministry of Public Service and Administration
Title: G Fraser-Moleketi: Launch of the Future Watch report


KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER GERALDINE FRASER-MOLEKETI, MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE FUTURE WATCH REPORT 'FROM RED TAPE TO SMART TAPE', PRETORIA SHERATON, 18 March 2004

ACCELERATING RED TAPE REFORM IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC SERVICE

Since the advent of democracy, South Africa has been engaged in a process of renewal and change. We have witnessed many exciting and fundamental changes in how we deal with development, economic growth, public finances, the environment, our mineral resources, as well as our human resources. These changes were largely driven by the political imperatives that the first democratic government confronted in 1994 and by the need to confront the unacceptable social and economic divide that existed and continues to exist in South Africa.

Over this time government has worked diligently in partnership with all sectors of society to secure a stable, viable democracy. We have radically transformed the policy environment so that it is able to stimulate social development and economic growth while protecting public interests.

In his State of the Nation address on 6 February 2004, President Mbeki noted that the people of the country "invariably speak well of the improvements to the quality of their lives that have occurred during the last ten years. They talk about the increased access to better housing, water, electricity, roads, land, school meals and social grants".

But he goes on to mention that they "are equally insistent about the need for all of us to act together to address the outstanding challenges, especially of the quality of service delivery in their localities". The call from the President is clear: "We will have to focus on the implementation of the measures we have identified to ensure that we achieve better value for the money spent on social delivery."

During our first decade of democracy, cutting red tape has become an important item on the political agenda of most first world countries. Despite the high profile, however, these governments seldom have a detailed understanding of the extent of the total administrative burdens imposed on businesses, citizens, and government itself, nor of the cost-efficiency of many of the administrative simplification tools applied. However, important steps have been taken in the direction of easing the burden of public service delivery.

These older, more established democracies that comprise the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) including the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and France adopted a holistic approach of simultaneously transforming the regulatory framework with practical and specific ways of easing administrative burden associated with the these regulatory frameworks. This dual approach was the most appropriate for these countries because of the urgent need for renewal and change.

In our own country red tape - the compliance requirements that do not add value to government or the recipients of services - has been identified as a primary barrier to effective service delivery.

Interaction between government departments, agencies and citizens is formal. Rules, regulations and procedures govern interactions between citizens and government. These are necessary to ensure equitable and fair access to services, and to guarantee good governance.

At times however these rules and regulations become inefficient and costly; they impose an unjustifiable administrative burden on both citizens and public servants; they become red tape.

Because the focus of our young democracy has been on devising an optimal policy and regulatory framework, only limited attention was devoted in the first decade to the efficiencies of business processes or the impact of administrative burdens.

But we do have many sterling examples of efforts to reduce red tape. Three such experiences, the South African Revenue Service, work in the Department of Land Affairs, and the Multi-Purpose Community Centre (MPCC) project are featured as case studies in the report that we are launching today.

These cases are not nearly adequate enough if we are to meet the challenge set by the President. Over the next decade we need to accelerate red tape reduction and this will only happen through a co-ordinated and deliberate national strategy combined with a greater understanding and appreciation of red tape.

The social and economic costs associated with Red Tape are difficult to quantify. A reliable costing exercise has yet to be conducted in South Africa, but the burden exacted by Red Tape is likely to be substantial.

Government devotes resources to not only administering rules and regulations, but also enforcing administrative compliance. Enterprises divert significant resources to administrative compliance and lose out on business opportunities as a result. Non-compliance incurs penalty costs for businesses and private citizens. Citizens must pay both the direct and indirect costs of administrative compliance and for the more disadvantaged such expenses may prove devastating.

Some studies, including work by the OECD, suggest that on average the equivalent of 4% of a nation's GDP is lost due to red tape related costs.

Some of the changes we introduced bring new challenges, including new administrative burdens. Be that as it may, there is no denying the significant achievement we have secured. In some respects we are better placed than many of the OECD countries to take the regulatory reform agenda forward by tackling administrative burdens.

Over the past decade, we have made significant progress at the macro-level to change the way that the public service is managed and organised to facilitate this new way for working. We have made changes to the public service regulatory framework with the aim of replacing the bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all public service to one that gives more freedom and flexibility to the various agencies of government to introduce policies and practices that are the most appropriate for their circumstances.

Together with these changes, agencies within my portfolio of organizations have and continue to introduce a series of micro-level initiatives to complement these macro-level changes. These include the report and the first red tape reform challenge.

If we look at the OECD experience, it is clear that the time is right for this co-ordinated and deliberate strategy. A number of factors are now converging that enables this to happen. These include:
* The intensive policy work of the last ten years has seen a regulatory framework emerge which paves the way for Red Tape reform. Relevant in this respect are the Electronics Communication and Transaction Act, the Public Finance Management Act, the Public Service Act, our e-Government and Information Security policies
* The Batho Pele principles have embedded a client focus in the public service and service levels are improving
* As President Mbeki announced in his "State of the Nation" address, government is prioritising the efficiency and breadth of public service delivery
* Government's information management and administration capacity continues to be enhanced through technological innovations. Several projects are underway to enhance electronic platforms across government, including the Gateway project that is aimed at providing businesses and citizens with a one-window view of government information and services
* The current machinery of government is sufficiently robust to roll out, support, monitor and evaluate Red Tape reform initiatives.

'From Red Tape to SMART tape' is produced as part of the Future Watch series of report. Its primary aim is not to set the agenda but to provide decision-makers, including those here today, with information, analysis, and commentary that can help us collectively to define a suitable strategy. The report also forms part of the learning and knowledge sharing processes being facilitated by agencies within my portfolio. Every Future Watch report is an open call to decision-makers to work with me in identifying and embracing transformation opportunities.

Although specific projects for reform have yet to be identified, it is anticipated that the priority reform areas will include:
* Business processes within government, especially the sharing of crucial information across government departments, functions and agencies, which facilitates service delivery transactions
* Service delivery to the most disadvantaged of South African citizens, where the efficient provision of social grants and development opportunities is more than a matter of convenience
* Improving the efficiency of integrated service delivery points, such as MPCCs, particularly the related back office challenges. Enormous progress has been made in getting services to citizens in remote locations, now we must make every effort to ensure that we ease any administrative burdens that may still impede access
* Finding ways to ease the administrative burdens placed on small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs), where the cost of administrative compliance may constrain economic growth.

Red tape is not only about processes, systems, regulations, and policies - it is also about mindsets. The battle to eradicate red tape should also focus on ensuring that public servants make a decisive break with old ways of working by thinking creatively and in a problem solving way when rendering services.

During my term as Minister for Public Service and Administration, I have come to appreciate and respect the enormous energy, creativity, and insight of the thousands of public servants at the coalface of service delivery. Of the many areas the constitute the transformation process, red tape reduction is the one the offers the most amount of possibilities for constructing a partnership between public servants, the recipients of service delivery, and the agencies that employ them.

Red tape reduction can present a win-win situation where the daily working experiences of public servants can be improved whilst simultaneously improving the service delivery process. However, ensuring that this happens will require support and encouragement from the centre.

I am therefore pleased to announce that the first red tape reform challenge will be launched later today. The red tape reform challenge will be facilitated by the DPSA and CPSI and aims to provide an opportunity for public servants at all three levels of government with an opportunity to have some of their ideas for reducing red tape tested and implemented. I am aware that there are many potential challengers who are itching to share their ideas with us. Public servants who provide us with innovative, implementable ideas, will be rewarded both financially, and with implementation support.

Glenda White, executive director of the CPSI, will provide more details on the way that the challenge will be managed. Further information is available through an information brochure and will be published on the web.

Combined with efforts to share and provide information through the Future Watch report and the initiation of the challenge, we will also be looking at a range of other activities to advance red tape reduction. These include the identification of a small number of high leverage, large-scale projects targeting those service delivery functions that are transversal in nature and that require information technology interventions.

We will also focus on ways of institutionalising red tape reform within the public administration framework. This may include the introduction of Regulatory Impact Assessments and general red tape audits.

I believe that a concerted, consistent effort to eliminate Red Tape in the public service is not only possible but essential. Red Tape reform is not the panacea that will resolve all our public service challenges but it does represent a high leverage opportunity to significantly enhance our endeavours to ensure a better life for all.

I am confident that the report and the Red Tape reform challenge that we are launching today and other measures being planned will take us forward on our continuing journey of transforming the public service.

I thank you

Issued by: Ministry of Public Service and Administration
18 March 2004

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