Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government
WEDNESDAY, 8 JULY, 1998
DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN GRATUITOUS AND DISINGENUOUS ATTACK ON INDEPENDENT STATUTORY BODY
On Thursday 2 July, Peter Leon, on behalf of the Democratic Party, issued a media statement criticizing travel expenses incurred by the Gauteng Provincial Service Commission between its inception in March 1995 and the end of its term of office on 31 June, 1998. Despite the clear and transparent facts we provided to Mr Leon in regard to travel by the three commissioners and members of their office, Mr Leon manages to jumble, confuse and distort the information, due to his wish to mislead the press and public, his lack of understanding of the Commission's role and duties, his ignorance of government and public service rules and procedures, or some combination of the above.
Mr Leon demands that the Premier, Dr Mathole Motshekga, should answer his question as to, "why it was necessary for the commissioners to travel business class". This demand is in itself most revealing, as it confirms that in all his time as part of the Gauteng legislature and government system, the penny has not dropped in the mind of Mr Leon that the Provincial Service Commission was a constitutionally independent body; a body which reported, in terms of its constitutional and legislative duties, to the Gauteng legislature (in which he sits), and not to the Premier of the province. The Commission did not therefore need to request or receive permission from the Premier, but engaged in travel at its own behties and strategic business plans. Further, that rules, regulations and criteria pertaining to travel by Public Service Commissioners is determined by national norms and regulations over which the Premieil exercise no jurisdiction whatsoever.
Mr Leon is disturbed that on a handful of occasions two of the three Gauteng Commissioners traveled business class. He makes no mention that the three Commissioners, as the three most senior non-political officials in the Provincial government had the right in terms of government regulations to travel first class - a right never invoked during our entire term of office. He is also careful to obfuscate the fact that the overwhelming majority of trips were undertaken via ordinary economy class.
Much more dishonestly, however, he mixes up trips undertaken under the Gauteng budget with those paid for by other agencies entirely and without any expense to the Gauteng government; cases in point being Patrick FitzGerald's business class trip to Malta at the invitation and expense of the Commonwealth Secretariat and Luci Abrahams' trip to Ethiopia, undertaken in her capacity as Chair of the National Information Technology Forum and covered accordingly by that organisation.
Neither does he notice any distinction between trips undertaken for purposes of Commission work and travel undertaken as part of a broader government delegation and purpose, for example Mr Suleiman Patel's trip to Malaysia, this latter point being too subtle perhaps for the particular intent of Mr Leon's press release.
Even more interesting is the fact that in all cases of travel by the Commission or members of the Office of the Commission monies were budgeted for such travel and approved by the legislature finance committee, as well as a legislature committee overseeing public service affairs. Both of these committees are made up of members of all political parties including his own. At no stage of the three annual budgets presented by the Gauteng Provincial Service Commission did any member of Mr Leon's party query or object to these expenditure items. Mr Leon is in effect complaining that the Gauteng Provincial Service Commission has used money for the precise and exact purpose for which it was budgeted and approved.
As if all this was not enough, Mr Leon's position suffers from further hypocritical amnesia. He conveniently forgets that the Commission provides detailed printed Annual Reports to the legislature and formally presents these reports to a legislature committee on which the Democratic Party is again well represented. These Annual Reports provide information on all international trips, including the reasons of such travel as well as the gains, insights or purposes accomplished. These reports are intended to empower the legislature to exercise oversight over the Gauteng public service and administration and assess progress in terms of international standards and benchmarks, as well as to raise for consideration plans and programs for continuous management and organisational innovation and improvement. At no stage during our past presentations did Democratic Party members of the legislature indicate problems or objections to international travel undertaken or pending. Has Mr Leon even bothered to read these reports provided regularly to himself and all legislature members, and if so, why has he and his party belatedly discovered objections to travel and work long carried out and reported on?
Mr Leon has every right to hold intelligent opinions in regard to the usefulness of any international tours and investigations of government employees. We believe however that, to give three examples only, considerable value has been added through:-
Commissioner Abrahams' leading a broad Government Information Management Study Tour to Malaysia in terms of her input, leadership and guidance of the Gauteng Government evolving Information Technology strategy. The insights are documented in the widely distributed and frequently quoted printed publication Gauteng -" Intelligent Province", also provided to members of the Gauteng Legislature.
Commissioner Mbete's attention to the design and use of performance contracts during his visit to the U.K., and the fact that pilot performance contracts for certain senior officials have already been introduced in the Gauteng administration.
Commissioner FitzGerald's visit to the internationally renowned New South Wales Anti-Corruption Commission and the imminent publication of the Gauteng Government Green Paper on Anti-Corruption and Ethics.
If Mr Leon showed the slightest evidence of having actually applied his mind or even being aware of issues such as those above, one might be in a position to engage with his critique on a more serious basis. As it is, he and his party come across as provincial, parochial and seemingly uncognisant of the need to develop globally competitive knowledge organisations, based on comparative international experience and focused benchmarking exercises. He seems likewise unaware that the Gauteng Provincial Service Commission was statutorily mandated (among many other tasks) to ensure requisite standards, innovation as well as the adoption of international best practices in our public management system. His implication that we undertook international travel assignments in the spirit of casual and unproductive jaunts is insulting both to our office, as well as to ourselves as individuals and perhaps says more about Mr Leon's understanding of work ethics than our own. Does Mr Leon seriously believe that the Gauteng Commissioners had nothing better to do with our time than manufacture useless international trips, or does his accusations have more to do with his own political agendas of whatever kind?
More alarming still however is Mr Leon's claim that the functions and powers of the Gauteng Provincial Service Commission "terminated legally on the promulgation of the 1996 Constitution". It is indeed disturbing that as a qualified lawyer and practicing politician, Mr Leon is blissfully ignorant of the transitional arrangements pertaining to the New Constitution. These arrangements promulgated with the New Constitution, provide for (among other things) the continued existence, with full powers and functions, of the Provincial Service Commission system, until replaced by the new National Commission by promulgation of the President. In point of fact the Gauteng Commission operated with full constitutional mandate until our last day in office on June 30, 1998 and continued to take authoritative and legally binding decisions up until the end of our last formal Commission meeting on that day. We are happy to advise Mr Leon at any time on issues of constitutional law pertaining to public administration issues in order to improve and empower his parliamentary performance.
Finally, we would like to express our bafflement, as to why Mr Leon, chose to attack a constitutionally neutral and non-political body, with such vociferousness and cynicism at this final stage of its term of office. The Gauteng Provincial Service Commission has always cherished our constitutional independence and while cooperating with the government of the day, has never served party political interests. We have conscientiously and regularly reported to the Gauteng Legislature and have paid close attention to the views and perspectives of that body. We have carried out investigations in regard to public service issues and affairs at the behest of legislature members, including members of Mr Leon's party.
We have exercised our powers to ensure effectiveness, efficiency and productivity in the Gauteng administration and have designed systems, structures and procedures pertaining to all Gauteng departments. We have screened and authorized thousands of appointments, investigated hundreds of grievances, considered scores of formal disciplinary appeals and conducted high-level conflict resolution exercises in several instances. We have carried out innumerable internal consultancy tasks saving government hundreds of millions of Rands. We have at no time exceeded our budget or committed unauthorised expenditure.
We strongly believe that vigorous criticism of government and the performance of state institutions is the lifeblood of democracy and democratic debate, ideals some of us made consie believe, however, that next time Mr Leon indulges his spleen on a gratuitous and disingenuous attack on a constitutionally independent statutory body, he remembers to make two important checks; one check on his facts and another on his ethics. Should he fail to do this, he will continue to play into the hands of those who regard all criticism of government as unpatriotic, negatively destructive and concerned only with narrow and sectarian interests. We hope that Mr Leon will do his reading, preparation and homework more conscientiously in regard to the incoming Public Service Commission, in order that a more informed and intelligent debate on its purposes, functions and activities may take place.
Patrick FitzGerald (Out-Going Chair) Gauteng Provincial Service Commission
Contact: Patrick FitzGerald Cellphone: 083-250-3209 Phone: 648-5808
Attached is a media statement from the Democratic Party dated 2nd July 1998
Thursday 2nd July 1998
GAUTENG PROVINCIAL SERVICE COMMISSIONERS ON GLOBE TROTTING SPREE
In a reply to a question asked by Mr Peter Leon, Leader of the Democratic Party in the Gauteng Legislature, the Premier of Gauteng has revealed substantial travelling expenses incurred by three Commissioners and six officials of the outgoing Gauteng Provincial Service Commission of R354 387.30 recently in its brief three year existence from 1995 to June 1998.
The Commission ceased to exist on Tuesday this week.
"Ms Luci Abrahams travelled to Canada, Malta and Scotland, Singapore, Malaysia and Ethiopia, costing the taxpayer R39 790.46," Leon said.
"Furthermore, Commissioner Patrick Fitzgerald has trvelled to England, Malta and Australia, business class, at a cost to the taxpayer of R74 967.27, while Mr Lulamile Mbete found it necessary to travel to Malta and the United Kingdom, all in business class, at a cost to the taxpayer of R66 413.54," Leon pointed out.
Gauteng Provincial Service Commission officials, Mr Suleiman Patel travelled to Singapore and Malaysia in March 1996 at a cost to the taxpayer of R13 033.32, Mr Robinson Ramaite travelled to the United Kingdom and the United States in April and May 1996 at a cost to the taxpayer of R 20 313.62. Ms Aspasia Karras was sent to Beijing, China in October 1996 at a cost of R 18 836.25 and furthermore had to travel to Canada and Washington in the USA in July 1997 at a further cost to the taxpayer of R 17 952.17.
Mr Erick Phenya also travelled to Beijing in China in October 1996 at a cost to the taxpayer of R 17 881.43. Ms Susan Pienaar had to attend a course in the United Kingdom during June and July 1996 at a cost to the taxpayer of R 67 224.65. Ms Samantha Harrison travelled to Canada and Washington in July 1997 at a cost to the taxpayer of R 17 954.59."
"In total one is looking at travelling costs over three years of R 354 387.30 which is hard to justify, particularly for a commission whose existence terminated legally on the promulgation of the 1996 Constitution, although for reasons best known to the national government, only terminated factually on 30 June, 1998" he said. "The question that clearly needs to be answered by Gauteng Premier Mathole Motshekga is why is was necessary for the commissioners to travel business class," Leon said.
Contact: Peter Leon, MPL Tel.: (011) 498-5961 or 240-5248 Cell: 083 250 9781 For further information contact Margie Leitner: 498-5463