Opening remarks by Limpopo Premier Sello Moloto during the Limpopo Senior Management Service (SMS) Mid-term review conference, Bolivia Lodge, Polokwane, Capricorn District

Programme director
Executive Mayor and Mayor
Director General
Heads of Department
Members of our Senior Management Service
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

This mid-term review session of the second Senior Management Service (SMS) summit provides us with an opportunity to assess progress made in implementing the commitments made early in the year, during the second senior management summit. It is expected of this summit to note bottlenecks and difficulties still being experienced in implementing resolutions of the previous summit, including commitments made in the State of the Province (SoPA) address and budget votes of departments. Not least important in this endeavour are the queries raised by Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) committee and the implementation of recommendations made by the Office of the Auditor General. At the end of the day, we will be satisfied with nothing less than tangible solutions to the challenges that would have been identified. Of importance to say, is that, whatever progress we could have made, this should be measured against the overall targets set in our:

* the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS),
* the National Spatial Development Initiative (NSDI),
* the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA),
* the broader electoral mandate of the ruling party,
* of course the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals.

It should clearly be understood by all of us that, the hopes and aspirations of the majority of citizens in this province will be dashed, if we do not live up to these commitments. Therefore, we all have a responsibility to do all that it takes, to build a vibrant and dynamic public administration which is underpinned by principles of good governance and efficiency.

Programme director

Several issues of importance were raised in the last SMS summit, of which we hope the Director General is better placed to narrate detailed responses to these issues. These are critical matters which borders on whether, we succeed or not, in transforming the capacity of the State to meet the challenges at hand. Amongst some of the issues we committed ourselves to address in the previous SMS summit include the following:

* To ensure that we address the credibility of the budgeting process and that budgeting is aligned with actual service delivery needs. This comes after we have noted that in some instances, the budget process is not even aligned with the Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS) goals and Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) of municipalities.

* To curb the continuous underspending of allocated funds. It remains a matter of great concern that for the past two years, government has been underspending between the regions of R400 600 million, which is a huge margin, considering the fact that these funds could have been better spent in addressing social backlogs.

* To address the question of inflated prizes and role played by tender committees when it comes to awarding tenders. Too often, prizes of goods get inflated by officials when it is government that is suppose to buy these goods. In your last meeting, we raised the challenge of (3) three quotations system which is being manipulated by officials for their personal benefit. We need to review progress, as to how far we have gone in addressing this challenge.

Programme director

The other challenge which we have always been raising relates to the question of conflict of interest or self dealing. We are aware for instance, that there are SMS members who manage private businesses during working hours. Obviously this is a problem which we need to confront and find better ways of dealing with.

Programme director

* The issue of turn around time in relation to the filling of vacant posts was also one matter that we committed ourselves to address. This is because in most cases, we usually seem to be caught off guard when employees retire, and vacancies have to be filled. We do not seem to have good HR planning mechanisms, which is the reason why in most cases, the process of filling these posts usually takes longer than anticipated.

* Similarly, there is a tendency to keep officials suspended for a longer period of time, whilst on full pay, which is counter productive and wasteful. We need to review, how far we have gone in addressing this challenge.

Programme director

We also committed ourselves to address the challenge of credibility of appointments at all levels of the public service. The fact remains that anyone who gets appointed should meet the requirements of the job. In other words, he or she must have the necessary competence and experience, and also must have relevant qualifications to do the job. We would obviously have nobody to blame if we opt for the appointment of less qualified officers, even when people with appropriate skills are available. In addition, it would also be important that we asses the extent to which we have moved in addressing the question of aligning training interventions with performance management system (PMS).

Programme director

It is our hope that next year when we hold the third SMS summit, early in the year, we would be able to feel proud about the milestones we have reached in improving our administration.

All of the things which remain the objectives of this government will not see the light of the day, if we consider things, to be business as usual. We therefore challenge you to work-harder, in your various departments in order to meet the targets that we have set, in all our clusters. The battle of fighting poverty and underdevelopment would not be won if senior public servants are not focused. Let us therefore, do our utmost, to strive to build a clean and efficient public administration that will serve the people of this province with diligence and integrity.

We wish this summit well in its difficult task of reviewing the progress that has been made, in building a caring state for the benefit of all our people.

Merry Christmas and happy festive season to you all!

I thank you

Issued by: Limpopo Provincial Government
6 December 2007