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Public servants are set to benefit from a skills programme to be introduced to ensure the efficient delivery of services to citizens in the country.

Plans include a compulsory induction and reorientation programme and management and leadership development programmes to strengthen the ranks of middle and senior management.

Skills development and support were some of the issues highlighted at the Parliamentary Monitoring and Evaluation Briefing of the Governance and Administration Cluster in Tshwane yesterday.

Speaking at the briefing, Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi said her department, in conjunction with South African Management Development Institute (SAMDI), was also looking at implementing a mentorship programme.

"A programme of this nature has been in existence where interns were the ones to be placed in it, now it will be extended to public servants," said Minister Fraser-Moleketi.

This as capacity and organisation of the state was a key focal point at the January Cabinet Lekgotla.

"In taking the January Cabinet Lekgotla forward the President gave the Forum of South African Directors-General (FOSAD) the task of conducting a review of the functioning of government with proposals on the capacity of implementing agents, competence, alignment of planning and implementation, and the mobilisation of the public service to speed up social transformation," said Ms Fraser-Moleketi.

In this regard a paper has been drafted, revised and presented to FOSAD, and to an extended Cabinet meeting in April.

The paper will again be discussed by Cabinet this month.

Work is also underway to strengthen the human resource function in government and a review of total remuneration packages of certain occupations is underway.

This entails amendments to the Senior Management Service (SMS) performance management and development system, and a simplified system has been developed for other levels.

An integrated system of capturing and tracking skills development is to be piloted in selected departments.

Meanwhile, to strengthen implementation capacity, seven national departments and all provinces have made dedicated personnel available to support the Project Consolidate initiative.

The initiative is a hands-on engagement by government to strengthen implementation capacity at municipalities.

Fraser-Moleketi said a monitoring and evaluation system for Project Consolidate had been developed while audits of the capacity of municipalities to sustain Project Consolidate were being undertaken.

Deadlines have been met for March and April and the FOSAD report has being submitted to Cabinet for consideration, and having held a Presidential Imbizo, and allocating personnel to Project Consolidate; Minister Fraser-Moleketi declared that good initial progress had been made. - BuaNews

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