Programme Director
Members of the EXCO
Hon Chairperson of Portfolio Committee - OTP
Members of the Provincial Planning Commission
HODs
Members of the Senior Management Services
Representatives of Labour
Ladies and gentlemen
Malibongwe igama lamakhosikazi!!

We meet here today during the women’s month when all South Africans are honouring the role played by women in the struggle for national liberation and emancipation of women from triple oppression. The country is celebrating the 58th anniversary of the historic women’s march to the Union Buildings in 1956 and 60 years of the women’s charter. We look back with pride on the advances the country has made to profile and realise the rights of women and gender equality. To all women managers in this room, I would like to salute you for your resilience and indeed you deserve encouraging words from one of the human rights activists and poet, Maya Angelou, when she says:

“You may write me down in history with your bitter twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt but still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Out of the huts of history’s shame, I rise.
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain, I rise”

That is the courage that you, phenomenal women, you need to have at all material times.

This is the first Senior Management Services Leadership (SMS) conference that has ever been convened in the provincial administration. It is coming almost two months after the State of the Province Address (SOPA) was delivered and after the President has pronounced that 2014/15 is the first year for the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP).

It also comes just few months after the 5th national and provincial elections that were characterised by a lot of contestation and service delivery protests arising from concerns about poor service delivery in some of the institutions of government. The protests and concerns on service delivery are an indication of the approval ratings and perceptions on the performance of the public service by the people that we are here to serve.

The Diagnostic report of the National Planning Commission identified the “uneven performance of the state” as one of the nine challenges that the SA developmental state needs to attend to in order to address poverty and inequality by 2030. Within the state, in all the spheres, there are centres of excellence like South African Revenue Service (SARS), National Treasury and Home Affairs whilst there are poorly performing departments and municipalities. This means that we have the potential to improve our performance and become a highly performing state. We also have the potential to expand the pockets into a blanket of excellence in the whole public service.

Both the NDP chapter on building a capable state and the 20 Year Review Report unpacked the major challenges confronting the public service. This conference needs to confront these challenges and find solutions than being comfortable with lamentations and dwelling on description of problems. Amongst the challenges raised by the Planning Commission are:

    Unevenness in capacity that leads to uneven performance in local , provincial and national government
    Tensions in the political-administrative interface
    Instability of the administrative leadership
    Deficits in skills and professionalism
    Erosion of accountability and authority
    Poor organisational design that is not aligned to the mandate and strategic direction of the institution, and
    Low staff morale

The 20 Year Review Report acknowledges the progress made in building a capable and efficient public service. However, the same report alludes to the fact that the improvement of operational management has remained elusive and has manifested itself in the following experiences:

    Poorly maintained or dirty service delivery sites, excessive queues and waiting times, long turnaround times for processing applications, shortage of drugs and poor budget expenditure on social infrastructure
    Poor audit outcomes ,non-payment of legitimate invoices within 30 days and large debts owed to municipalities by both national and provincial

These are indications of operational management weaknesses and ineffective management rather than a matter of budget constraints. These are the issues that have continued to dog the public service and in the process have eroded the confidence of the public on the democratic state. This conference must answer the question why this continues to happen after 20 years of our democracy. Secondly, how are we going to make things happen faster and instill a culture of execution and the discipline of getting things done. Thirdly, how do we achieve more with less resources, in the light of the fiscal constraints facing our country during this period. Fourthly, how do we overcome the deadly weakness that the Book of Common Prayer (Imibedesho yecawe) alludes to that “we have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done”.

The Ruling Party in this country envisaged a developmental state with the capacity to drive socio-economic transformation. The Strategy and Tactics document of 2007 elaborated on the character and attributes of the democratic developmental state. The first attribute of the developmental state should be its strategic orientation: an approach premised on people –centred and people-driven change and sustained development based on high growth rates, restructuring of the economy and socio-economic inclusion.

The second attribute is the capacity of the developmental state is to lead in the definition of the common national agenda and mobilising all of society to take part in in its implementation. The third attribute should be the state’s organisational capacity; ensuring that its structures and systems facilitate realisation of the set agenda. The fourth attribute should be its technical capacity; the ability to translate broad objectives into programmes and projects and ensure their implementation. The ANC further argues that this capacity will depend amongst other things on proper training, orientation and leadership of the public service as well as acquiring and retaining skilled personnel.

Ladies and gentlemen, the common national agenda has been developed in the form of vision 2030 or the National Development Plan (NDP). The NDP has set 14 clear outcomes to be achieved in 2030 and these have been translated into the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF).

Based on this MTSF we have developed Delivery Agreements that were signed by the members of the EXCO on 30 July 2014 with clear targets to be achieved at the end of this financial year. I need to mention though that the process leading to the signing of the delivery agreements has not been a smooth one and has actually revealed serious weaknesses in the planning process of government.

Amongst those weaknesses is lack of integration amongst departments both at planning and implementation level. This is a reflection of an entrenched silo mentality in the administration and this will have to be overcome sooner than later. The second weakness has been the lack of tangible deliverables in our plans.

Linked to this is the absence of project plans to achieve our goals and targets. From now onwards the phrase “high level” should be the thing of the past. We need detailed plans with clear implementation plans that are realisable and results oriented.

Our approach to the implementation of the Provincial MTSF in this term is going to be underpinned by three principles. The first one is sense of urgency in executing our responsibilities. Excuses for our failures are no longer plausible anymore. Lack of respect for time and its value has cost us dearly in achieving our set objectives.

The second principle is accountability. This requires us to take full responsibility for our actions and inaction. There needs to be consequences for our own inertia and poor performance. Thirdly is the need to strengthen partnerships with other role players. Our silo mentality and allergy to integration has unfortunately had its setbacks including wastage of resources and lack of impact in our interventions. The challenges facing the province cannot be resolved by government alone or one department but through collective effort and integrated approach.

In the past two weeks we received the audit outcomes for the 2013/14 financial year. The EXCO is quite impressed with the progress that the provincial departments and public entities have achieved. The province boasts of all three coordinating departments receiving clean audit. This is an indication of maturity with respect to financial management and compliance with the existing legal framework. As we continue to uphold the principle of accountability, there is a need to couple that with improved provision of quality services in all our institutions.

Whilst the province is making big strides on financial accountability, there has been slow progress at municipal level. The recently released MFMA report by AG identified six risk areas that require government’s attention given their materiality. These include supply chain management, quality of performance reports, human resource management, quality of submitted financial statements, information technology controls as well as financial health of the municipality. The root causes for these risks are sighted as:

    Slow response by the political leadership to address the root causes of poor audit outcomes
    Lack of consequences for poor performance and transgressions
    Key positions remaining vacant or key officials lacking appropriate competencies.

The AG has also singled out a number of municipalities in the province for special interventions. These are Alfred Nzo, OR Tambo, Emalahleni , Great Kei, Intsikayethu, Inxuba Yethemba , KSD, Koukamma, Kouga and Ngqushwa. This requires a different approach from the interventions we have been providing in these municipalities.

The risks and causal factors raised in municipalities are also experienced in a number of provincial departments and entities as well. More sustainable interventions are required to resolve these challenges once and for all. Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Treasury and OTP will have to work closely together to address these issues. The task of the Technical Support Unit established in the OTP will have to be expanded beyond the five areas i.e. Department Of Education (DOE), Department of Home Affairs (DOH), King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD), BCM and Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM).

These interventions may not be sustainable in the long term if we don’t address the fundamental causes of these problems. Changing the performance of the state at all levels will require radical mind set change and a new organisational culture. Our system must be seen to be functional, efficient and effective in the eyes of the people we are here to serve.

The Eastern Cape is known of its intellect in policy formulation and generation of ideas. This is an indication of the potential that the province has. The human capital that we continue to export to other parts of the country and pockets of excellence across the different spheres is a clear sign of what we are capable of achieving. It just needs our will and determination to do things differently such that we leave behind a living legacy.

History demands that we succeed as a nation. History demands that we make a difference in the lives of the people especially the poor majority and the vulnerable. Life demands that we fulfil our purpose in life. We don’t just live for ourselves but for the future generations to come. The time to make a difference in the E cape is now. Our own progress cannot be postponed any further. The critical question we need to answer is: what do we need to do differently now to achieve big and fast results? What is it that is holding us back from achieving what other provinces are capable of attaining?

The President launched Operation Phakisa on the 19 July 2014 in Durban. This Operation Phakisa is a South African version of the Malaysian model called Big Fast Results that has been used effectively by Malaysia to achieve faster and big results in the implementation of their long term development plan. Currently, the model is being piloted in the maritime sector to tap on the potential of the ocean economy in the more than 2 000 km SA coastline.

The multi stakeholder team has been working on this plan since 08 July 2014 and will present the final and detailed implementation plans on the 15 August 2014 to the national cabinet. This model is going to be replicated in the health sector and all other strategic priorities of government. As we plan for 2015/16 and beyond, we shall have to draw lessons from this model for our provincial plans to be implementable, realisable and achievable. Time is what we don’t have!! Big fast results is what the people of this province expect from all of us now not tomorrow!!

This exchange must and will be taken to all our work stations where as leaders you should disseminate.Hon MECs shall follow suite taking this further to all our sectors.

I look forward to an honest, frank and robust discussion characterised by self-introspection and constructive criticism.

Thank you.