SECTION 8

MANAGEMENT MATTERS

Introduction

The descriptions of all the management issues in each of the nine provinces have been extracted from the reports as accurately as possible. Any changes have been largely editorial without changing the content of the reports.

Eastern Cape

The Provincial Executive Council approved the establishment of two posts at the level of Deputy Director-General. These posts will be advertised as soon as Treasury approval has been obtained.

The Department instituted disciplinary proceedings against 30 officials. The charges vary from absenteeism to murder. 11 cases have been finalised. The remaining cases are at different stages of processing. The breakdown of the alleged offences and the status of proceedings are indicated in Table 8.1.

Free State

All senior posts at Head Office have been filled. The next vacancy list for promotional posts at school/college level will include current vacancies and new posts. These will be filled from 1 April 2000. The next vacancy list will be issued in August 2000.

Disciplinary proceedings have been instituted against the Director: Logistical Services. The last witnesses testified on Wednesday 9 February 2000 and the recommendation of the committee was expected on 16 February 2000. No information was requested on the final outcome of the proceedings.

Gauteng

Progress with the filling of senior posts

All senior posts were filled in June 1999. The Superintendent-General resigned in January 2000 after five years in the service of the department. The post has been advertised.

Status regarding disciplinary proceedings against officials

The table below gives the breakdown of the outcome of the hearing on the 175 cases.

Table 8.2 Breakdown of outcome/sanctions for the 175 cases

2000 statistics (for both CS and PS staff)

Organisational Restructuring

The GDE embarked on a restructuring exercise to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the department. The restructuring proposal was based on the following principles:

• Redistributive justice
• Cost-effectiveness
• Enhancing educational goals
• Long-term strategic perspective
• Efficiency and effectiveness

The Superintendent-General (SG) appointed a team in September 1997 to develop a framework for the restructuring of the department. Proposals by this team were tabled in December 1997. In February 1998 the SG appointed a Restructuring Project Management Team (RPMT) to coordinate the process of developing detailed proposals for implementing the proposals contained in the framework. A consortium of consultants was commissioned in November 1998 to support the department with its restructuring exercise. At the end of October 1998 the MEC approved the conducting of three pilot projects aimed at designing a methodology for developing, in a participative manner, the new structure for the GDE. The consortium commenced work at the end of January 1999.

The work of the pilot projects resulted in the appointment of four additional teams in April 1999, to commence with developing detailed proposals for the new GDE structure. In November 1999 the RPMT tabled a proposal at the Broad Management Team (BMT) detailing a new structure for the GDE (see Report of the RPMT dated 22 November 1999). BMT members were requested to submit written comments to the RPMT, which were to be studied and incorporated into the new organisation design. In addition PriceWaterHouse Coopers were contracted to do the costing of the proposed staff establishment.

GDE opted to take a broader view in respect of "restructuring". Instead of narrowly focusing on the "shifting around of boxes", a holistic approach to transforming GDE was adopted. In addition restructuring was seen as part of a continuous process of reviewing and improving the GDE as an organisational system. This approach essentially targeted the following organizational systems:

• Organisational culture
• Management systems and management style
• Business processes
• Information systems and technology
• Skills
• Structure

Although the "Restructuring" of the GDE is by no means complete (it is not a once-off exercise) some useful gains have been made. Achievements thus far include:

• The implementation of a Corporate Balanced Scorecard – A system of objectives, measures/indicators and targets aimed at implementing corporate strategy;
• Conducting senior management training
• Conducting adult literacy training for general workers in offices.
• Conducting change management training for senior and middle managers
• Re-engineered twenty business and support processes. (e.g. the delivery of learning support materials is being automated);
• The development of a comprehensive IS/IT strategy, which is currently being implemented;
• Conducting an organisation-wide skills (competency) audit
• Adopting a Matrix management approach
• The development of an organisational design which supports the corporate strategy, re-engineered processes and matrix management approach and reduces the hierarchical levels, is being finalised
• Aligning district boundaries to coincide with municipal boundaries

The RPMT is poised to commence with implementing the new organisational structure, pending a final decision on the proposal. It is expected that such a decision would be made by the MEC during the first week of February 2000. To this end the following teams have been established:

• Movement of functions and systems: This team has as its primary objective the devolution of functions and systems from Head Office and Regions in terms of the new organisational design.
• Labour Relations: This team are focused on developing and managing the necessary Labour Relations strategy and processes required during the re-deployment of staff and the filling of new posts.
• Human Resource Management: This team is tasked with identifying staff development needs, providing for the addressing of those needs and in general facilitating the smooth movement of staff to their new workstations.
• Infrastructure: This team is responsible for ensuring that the necessary infrastructure (IT cabling, office space, telephones, PERSAL) connections, and so on, are in place prior to receiving re-deployed staff.

KwaZulu-Natal

Progress with the filling of senior posts

One Deputy Director-General post is vacant. All Chief Director posts have been filled. The remaining few vacant Director posts are in the process of being filled.

Status regarding disciplinary proceedings against officials

A tender is in the process of being advertised by EDSU to clear approximately 600 misconduct cases. Once these have been cleared the department will be able to handle new cases. One Director is on leave pending disciplinary proceedings. This case has been outsourced.

Mpumalanga

Progress with the filling of senior posts

As on 11 February 2000 only 6 of 13 posts are filled in the management echelon i.e. 54% of the posts in the management echelon are still vacant. The post of Head of Department was still vacant at the time of reporting. The latter post was advertised during January 2000. The Department is currently engaged in a restructuring process. The filling of the remaining posts will be executed as a matter of priority after restructuring process is completed.

Status regarding disciplinary proceedings against officials

As indicated in the previous report, the Department of Education seconded one of its senior officials as Acting Head of Department in Mpumalanga from August 1999 to January 2000. The secondment has since been terminated. A notice of termination of service was issued to the former Head of Education with effect from 14 January 2000 and the post was subsequently advertised.

Northern Cape

Progress with the filling of senior posts

The senior management posts in the Northern Cape Department of Education are as follows:

The position of Deputy Director-General was filled on 1 December 1999. The post then became vacant due to the tragic and untimely death of the incumbent on 8 February 2000. The vacant post of Director was advertised during January 2000. The post will be filled by 1 March 2000.

Status regarding disciplinary proceedings against officials

The summary below refers to disciplinary proceedings against both CS and non-CS personnel

Northern Province

The following posts have been vacant and steps have been taken to fill them.

102 cases were reported against members of the support staff. 59% of them are at a disciplinary stage, 25% have been finalised and 16% are being investigated.

132 cases were reported against educators. 41% have been finalised, 14% have been given charge letters and 45% are in the Disciplinary Tribunal stage.

North-West

The historic divide in the department resulted in much time being spent on setting up effective and efficient systems. This impacted negatively upon the efficiency of the department and has compromised the systems approach to develop a sectoral approach to education. Consequently co-ordinated delivery of services has been hampered.

The department has undertaken a comprehensive re-structuring exercise, in an attempt to address the issue and a quest for regionalisation. It is anticipated that such regionalisation will improve delivery and take services closer to the schooling system and an interaction within communities. The first phase, in respect to design, has been completed through funds from DANIDA. The department now awaits approval from the Provincial Executive Council to begin the implementation programme with the new budgetary cycle beginning on 1 April 2000

The department has completed the rationalisation and redeployment exercise. Some problems exist in respect of teachers in scarce subjects. The department will be advertising these posts in the near future. Promotional posts that were advertised are now being rapidly filled. A serious problem is the fact that 52% of the educators remain unqualified or under-qualified.

In terms of Human Resources only the planning of the workplace analysis has been done due to regionalisation and is currently being worked on comprehensively. Having undertaken a comprehensive rationalisation and redeployment exercise of CS educators, the province still has to carry 2 500 excess teachers on its budget and this affects morale, brings about its own problems at schools and therefore a retrenchment tool or exit strategy is urgently required from the DPSA and national Ministry.

Implementation of the Norms and Standards for Funding Schools is a very complex exercise and is proceeding slowly but steadily. The core objectives based on constitutional and other legislative mandates have been done and approved by the Provincial Cabinet Committee. With respect to the MTEF, the budget has been markedly adjusted and visible progress has been made in respect of streamlining the budget and dealing with wastage. This is exemplified by massive saving within the budget over the last two years. In 1998/99 an amount of R156 million was saved while in 1999/2000 after the mid-term appropriation budget, an amount of R32 million was returned to Treasury and R18 million via savings was appropriated for intervention in Farm schools with regard to maintenance and upgrading of such schools.

The IIP plan has been submitted to the DPSA and will change drastically once restructuring and regionalisation is changed. Performance agreements with Chief Directors have been entered into. In many ways parts of management are still dysfunctional. This will be rectified once the new structure is in place.

In strategic positions within the public service component, there are vacancies between 40 – 60%. This seriously hampers a coordinated and sustainable management system. Large components of staff are not trainable. A skills audit will be conducted soon to be completed by 31 March 2000, which will assist a coordinated process of delivery.

Service delivery improvement programmes have been published and launched in respect of Batho Pele initiatives. Management is hampered further by a lack of an integrated government approach and the bureaucracy is generally slow to react. The lack of finance and many demands on the budget also impact negatively. Of serious concern is the poor infrastructure, firstly at the level of departmental infrastructure in respect of dilapidated buildings, shortage of office space, inadequate IT systems and a host of inter-related problems hampering delivery of education and lowering management morale. Across the sector, infrastructure problems at schools compounds management problems.

Management is further hampered by dysfunctionality at certain points, indecisive management, disparity demands, too many meetings and so forth. Labour problems pose their own demands and affect the department negatively. The law is too slow in dealing with serious cases which hampers normal delivery and further lowers morale. Given the current structure, there is a lack of support in vital areas which compounds dysfunctionality. Racism is also a factor that needs to be looked at in respect of integration of schools and indeed this is a serious issue that requires our combined resolve. Transport poses a serious problem and needs to be looked at very seriously.

Although an equity plan has been partly developed, not much work has been done in this area but there is hope that the new structure will deal with this issue. In respect to Employment Equity, the previous management paid not attention to this parameter and the issue is currently being worked on.

It is not possible to outline all the weaknesses in respect of the education sector of the province. But in spite of the pressures, constraints, and the dysfunctionality of part of management, we firmly believe that under the current prevailing circumstances much has been achieved. We are hopeful that even more will be achieved once regionalisation has been effected. The gains have been massive. This is seen by the greater acceptance of this department by the general public, an incident-free Matriculation examination, a greater sense of purpose in respect of delivery of school furniture and learning support materials, more hands-on leadership and a constant public relations exercise by both the MEC and DDG of the department.

Western Cape

The province did not supply information regarding management matters.

Summary and conclusions

Five provinces have vacant positions in their respective management echelons. In the Eastern Cape two posts at Deputy Director level are still to be filled. In Gauteng, the post of Superintendent-General was in the process of being filled at the time of reporting. In KwaZulu-Natal a few Director level posts are still to be filled. Mpumalanga has 54% vacant posts to be filled (7 vacant out of 13). The vacant posts include the post of Head of Department. In the Northern Cape the post of Head became vacant in February owing to the tragic death of the Head of Department. There is also one Directors post to be filled.

Northern Province has three Posts at Chief Director level and five Regional Director level posts to be filled. No information was supplied in this regard by North West and the Western Cape.