MINISTER OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION BUDGET VOTE 2000/2001

Issued by Ministry of Public Service and Administration

National Assembly 13 April 2000

Madam Speaker
Chairperson,
Honourable Acting President,
Members of The House and
Those who have joined us from various Local communities.

I present my first Budget vote before this house as Minister of Public Service and Administration. This vote covers the departments of Public Service and Administration, South African Management Development Institute, the Public Service Commission (an independent body) and the State Information Technology Agency.

At the opening this year's parliamentary session, the President in his state of the nation address said: "we are yet to complete the task of restructuring the machinery of government". Why is this such an important challenge for the country?

Role of the public service

South Africa has declared war on poverty and under-development. Unless underpinned by a public service that is effective, developmental and efficient, our country cannot rise to the occasion of defeating poverty.

All South Africans have a vested interest in what happens to the public service. The public service is the visible face of the state for every citizen, from cradle to grave: be it registering births, educating our children, getting identity documents, or any such services, we all interface with the public service in one way or the other. We are therefore obligated to take an active interest in the process of public service transformation.

Each and every public servant should become a patriot and a role model of the values that Government stands for.

My input today will report on progress made and outline the plans for restructuring the public service.

What we mean by transformation

In transforming the public service, we should ensure that:

• The needs and convenience of citizens drive the provision of services
  
• The services that are provided are of a high quality
  
• Services are accessible to those for whom they are intended

Above all, services should be delivered in a manner that empowers the user. Information about choices and consequences must be easily available so that citizens can make their own informed decisions around the accessing and use of services.

Although cost-containment is a key feature of the restructuring process, it is not be the sole criterion through which we judge the performance of the public service. This is important because when public service organisations, such as schools, clinics, and police stations are effective and developmental, they contribute to society many times more than they cost.

We are not advocating change in pursuit of simplistic notions, favoured by certain theorists, that the state should be rolled back in favour of market forces; it must be a change whose principal motive is to afford our country a human face. We are not removing the responsibilities of the state in relation to social and economic development. We are rather looking at building a strong effective developmental state. We are making changes that give the state capacity to deliver services better. We are improving the systems and infrastructure of the state to incorporate modern technology and systems. We are ensuring that more money gets spent on development rather than on administration. We want citizens to expect and in future receive services comparable to the best anywhere in the world.

Progress over the last four years

We have succeeded in removing historical inequalities in the legislation and exercise of government affairs, including equalisation of wages and benefits as well as on increasing the accessibility of public service employment to allow for greater representivity.

• Women now make up 51% of the total public service (there is still under-representation on senior management and technical levels). African women are the fastest growing component in the public service.
• We have developed policy, legislation and regulations, to allow for the decentralisation of management in the public service and the creation of a more flexible and responsive framework for service delivery.
• We have introduced modern systems and practices in all spheres of management
• We have launched the Batho Pele programme to build a culture of customer service among public
• servants, and encourage departments to set quality standards against which they can be judged by their customers.
• We are increasing the application of information technology in the management of public service organisations.

We have to build on the solid foundation that has already been laid.

Our future efforts will be focused on the following issues: -

• Intensifying the modernisation of public service systems and practices
  Continue the quest for better quality services,
  Stabilising personnel expenditure

Let us look at these issues in detail

Strengthening management capacity

Of all the key challenges facing the public service today, none can be said to be more central than the need to attract, develop and sustain capable managers.

We are currently reviewing our approach to the senior management corps. Among the key changes that we will introduce are:

• Establishing a separate and professional Senior Management Service (SMS). We need to attract and retain the very best citizens and patriots to run our public institutions and ensure that all Departments have a uniformly high standard of management. Went to enable mobility between Departments, where appropriate, in the highest ranks. A special focus will be on the following: -
• Improved pre-recruitment screening to ensure that only the very best individuals enter the Senior Management Service.
• Remuneration of management should be risk based and linked to performance
• There should be greater contract flexibility with a transparent salary package.
• A tighter system of performance assessment with suitable bonuses for top performers.
• All management positions in the public service will be subjected to competency profiling.
• Greater powers for Heads of Departments to hold senior managers responsible for outputs, to reward performance and discipline for poor performance;
• Introduce clearly established guidelines regarding conduct of senior managers. We have recently introduced regulations governing the financial interests of senior managers and plan to cascade this downwards and to extend the regulations to other aspects of conduct.
• Broadening the definition of management to include managers of service delivery institutions such as hospitals, prisons, schools and other operational entities.
• Strengthen the capacity of our Accounting Officers through the Presidential leadership development program for Directors General and HoDs that we will be launching in May this year.

Managing Personnel Expenditure downwards

Personnel expenditure has increased immensely over the last five years for the following legitimate reasons: the rationalisation and incorporation of the homelands system into one South African public service, expansion in the use of benefits, and substantial increases in the minimum salaries for lower graded workers. These are further exacerbated by the automatic rank and leg promotion system in the public service.

This pattern of growth is neither affordable nor sustainable. Although we understand the reasons behind the increases in personnel expenditure there is clearly a need to manage, control and stabilise expenditure.

To stabilise expenditure levels a number of strategies are necessary. These include: -

• The scrapping of automatic rank and leg promotion system which is costly, unmanageable and not linked to service delivery. In its place we propose that a pay progression system linked to performance and career pathing be introduced. The details of thiatter will be negotiated with our social partners, i.e. the trade unions.
• More cost effective benefits and allowances are being explored - housing, pensions and medical assistance,
• Systems will be put in place to curtail the abuse of the leave dispensation in the Public Service. This will include capping leave accumulation, and complying with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
• Develop a labour relations framework suitable to the public service sector. Review the application of certain aspects of national labour legislation, in particular the Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, to the public serv, especially the health and security services sectors.

Retrenchment Tool

The current Voluntary Severance Package framework is not cost-effective and has not achieved the desired results. It has therefore become necessary to develop a tool that will serve as the basis for managing personnel in excess to operational requirements in order that the public service operate as a skilled, cost-effective and efficient organisation.

To achieve the above objective, the following measures are necessary: -

• That the Voluntary Severance Package in its current form be terminated with immediate effect
• That a retrenchment tool be put in place which should comply with the provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Labour Relations Act and other regulations in the public service
• That the retrenchment tool should be supported by a clear social plan.
• That structuring should alleviate the impact of retrenchments in the regional and local economies protected procurement arrangements that benefit workers and suppliers in these areas.

Social Plan

A number of departments face the problem of personnel in excess to service delivery requirements. Strategies have to be developed to address this challenge. These include re-skilling, re-training, re-deployment, and retrenchments. Retrenchments will always be the last option.

The social plan should incorporate a number of initiatives, some of which are: -

• Advice on financial management to affected individuals,
• Counselling for retrenchees,
• Assessment of the individual skills and identification of areas for further training.
• Advice on and facilitation of employment opportunities elsewhere in the economy.
• The above advise and the relevant departments would provide information.

Impact on the regional economies

Retrenchments in the public service would clearly have an impact on the regional and local economies, as in some of the provinces the public service is the principal employer.

It is therefore imperative that we take this fact into account as we move forward. What is key is to put in place alternatives to mitigate the negative effects on these economies and communities.

We have worked on the possible proposals to this end. These include:

• Private public partnerships, which benefit local and regional economies; and
• Outsourcing, which in some instance will both increase quality and volume of service delivery, as well as retain jobs that may have been lost.
• Agencies, which at some point may be brought back to government

Rooting out corruption and theft

The Public Service Commission (PSC) as designated by Cabinet, co-ordinates the monitoring of the implementation of resolutions that emanated from the 1999 National Anti-Corruption Summit. In discharging this responsibility the PSC is establishing a crosscutting national co-ordinating structure that is required to manage the National Anti-Corruption Programme. The ongoing campaign was launched by the summit under the auspices of government's National Anti-Corruption Initiative (NACI).

The PSC is at present running a series of provincial anti-corruption workshops that are intended to lend support and mobilise vigilance of provincial administrations in implementing their plans to curb corruption and to promote professional and ethical conduct among senior public officials. A Risk Management programme designed to forecast and control corruption trends is being developed.

The PSC is offering support and assistance for drafting and development of Codes of Conduct for Parliamentarians and employees of local governments. Systems for monitoring the implementation of and adherence to codes by national and provincial departments are being put into place, which would lead to a reliable measure of adherence.

The PSC has done an investigation into the management of dismissals as a result of misconduct. They have looked at 2 247 cases of misconduct. Of these, 281 were related to corruption (i.e. fraud, embezzlement of funds, misappropriation, theft and acceptance of commission or fee to carry out official duties). These investigations led to the dismissal of 102 officials.

The PSC in collaboration with the DPSA has developed a Framework for the Disclosure of Financial Assets (Assets Register) by Senior Management. The Assets Register is a mechanism for accountability and prevention of corruption aimed at deputy directors and higher-level officials in the public service. The process of consulting with all relevant stakeholders is currently underway. Implementation has been effective from 1 April 2000. The PSC will monitor the process but Executing Authorities will manage the Asset Register.

Improving management skills throughout the public sector

Although SAMDI experienced discontinuous leadership, re-establishment and structural changes during 1999/2000, the organisation played a very critical role in developing and improving the management skills in the public service. SAMDI managed to train about 9 500 public servants between March 1999 - March 2000.

Senior Management training and development, lies at the core of high performance and improved service delivery to the people of South Africa. The Strategic Leadership Development Programme is an executive senior management programme aimed at improving management skills and learning and specifically designed for DGs and other senior managers

The African Co-operation Programme seeks to link SA 's public service transformation within the context of the African Renaissance to that of other African states. This programme now forms part of the Strategic Leadership Development Programme for Directors-General and other senior managers.

Improving quality of services

A recent DPSA analysis of the way government delivers services has highlighted the following amongst other challenges related to the improvement of service delivery. That:

• The separation of government into different units, though necessary for administrative purposes, often means that people do not receive services in the most convenient manner.
• People often have to give the same information more than once to different government units or sometimes to the same unit.
• There is lack of information on government services, no clarity of where to go or person to help. Government institutions are not friendly and the Batho Pele principles are far from being implemented.
• Most government services are not accessible and people have to travel long distances to access them. There is no reliable information on location of government offices and government offices are usually far from each other.
• Accessing services is time consuming and there is not sufficient advice on the requirements for accessing such services. Most people spend time in the queue only to be told that additional information is required.
• In almost all cases, no services can be transacted telephonically, on line or through mobile units. Forms necessary to access government services are often difficult to find and complex to complete.
• There is no information on business hours for most government offices and almost all services are provided during business hours. Other than Health and Police Services, there are very few other services provided around the clock or after hours.

A key strategy for improving the quality of public services is the development of a culture of accountability to citizens and consumers of government services. Our agenda for action will therefore build on the Batho Pele principles and focus on practical initiatives to ensure that services are convenient to the needs of citizens. In addition to the Batho Pele initiatives, some of the practical actions will include:

• Greater use of information technology in the delivery of services. Government will identify services that can be provided on-line and without visiting a government office, capitalising on the Internet, telephone and postal services. The launch of the lic Information Terminal by the Post Office and the provision of universal telecommunications services will ensure increased electronic access to services by most communities.
• Identification of services that can be made more accessible through collaboration with the private sector and other state institutions such as the post office, police stations, mobile units, etc. Focus will also be on increasing information about goveent services and the location of offices, as well as information about procedures for accessing services.
• Efforts will be made to streamline information required to provide services and make better use of advances in information technology. Better integration of government databases will eliminate the need for citizens to provide the same information to m than one government agency. The advent of smart cards will be exploited to ease the burden on users of government services and citizens.
• Intense focus on generally improving the accessibility of government services by reviewing business hours, developing one-stop shops, mobile units and other measures.
• To ensure that services are of the appropriate quality, there will be greater focus on soliciting the feedback of users of services through surveys and focus groups as well as instituting mechanisms for recourse when the government bureaucracy frustra citizens. There must be greater need for motivation, empowerment and incentives for front-line staff.

Increasingly, departments are exploring innovative ways to deliver services. Methods such as shared services, outsourcing, greater use of agencies, commercialisation and public/private partnerships are being investigated and piloted. The problems related to this have been the absence of frameworks and guidelines for how to deal with staff transfers, pensions of transferring staff and relaxation of procurement processes. In the course of the year, remaining legislative and regulatory barriers for innovative service delivery will be attended to.

Better people management

A core component of our efforts to transform the public services are the quality of our human resources.

The following measures, some articulated in the wage policy, will be consolidated to ensure that our human resource practices support the development objectives of government and our efforts at transforming the system of government.

• Replacing automatic promotions with appropriate career-pathing and pay progression systems linked to performance.
• Introducing a range of flexible employment practices, including greater use of fixed term contracts for senior appointments, secondment to and from the private sector where appropriate.
• Nurturing a culture of performance management by developing and implementing performance management systems and instituting appropriate mechanisms to reward performance.
• Promoting ethical conduct by advocating adherence to the code of conduct.
• Develop a labour relations framework suitable for the public sector.
• Intensify the program to develop skills and empower public servants. Through the implementation of the Skills Development Act, sectors are finalising skills development plans and the restructuring of the South African Management Development Institute l lead to more development activities for public servants. There is continuing interaction with technikons, universities and schools of public management to inform public management curriculum and also attract internships of graduates to the public service.

We must change current practices where supervisors and heads of Department simply fail to enforce the disciplinary systems that exist. We must avoid situations such as in Mpumalanga where a disciplinary action is halted and R2, 6 million in public funds is offered as a settlement. This is irregular and sending the wrong message to public servants. It also displays a cavalier attitude to public money.

Electronic government

The new millennium heralds an era where information and knowledge are fast becoming the new forms of capital. We have the highest number of Internet connections in Africa; our technology sector is not only growing fast but also attracting international attention. We are exporters of information technology skills. Our key challenge is that levels of access to technology for the majority of our citizens is low and there is a desperate need for increasing our investment on skills development in information technology.

Government is a major player in the development of electronic commerce, not only as policy maker and regulator, but also as an actor in the market. Government procures more than half of information technology services and infrastructure in the country and the number of public service workstations connected to the Internet is quite high. As part of the effort to extend services to more citizens, government will be exploiting the advantages of using information technology to deliver services. Such efforts begin by:

• Increasing the number of departments participating in the State Information Technology Agency, thus leading to greater economies of scale and reducing duplication.
• Rationalising information technology infrastructure by sharing networks, applications and systems
• Streamlining the procurement of information technology to provide for more co-ordination, efficiency and reduce duplication of cost and effort
• Setting national norms and standards for information technology systems across the public service

As we continue laying the building blocks for electronic government, government will also finalise policy on information technology in the course of the year. Such policy will provide for the integration of existing government systems and databases, map out a single coherent window for providing government services online, address issues of certification and security in the conduct of government business electronically, paperless administration, and generally suggest strategies for increasing the rate of information technology use by government agencies.

HIV/AIDS and the Public Service

The HIV/Aids prevalence is increasing all the time in our society, this has implications for public service. The impact will be felt on the Government Employers Pension Fund, human resources and training, medical aid, and remuneration and leave. A major project has been launched to assess the current status of HIV/AIDS in the public service. The objective of project is to ensure that the public service is able to sustain a quality service in spite of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa.

The project comprises three main phases that are inter-related and will in some respect run concurrently.

The first phase, a priority for 2000, will be an Impact Study that will include research into the direct and indirect costs of the disease, impact on human resources, services and service delivery and the capacity of public service management to manage the impact of HIV/AIDS.

The second phase will focus on design and planning.

The third phase will include the piloting of interventions and the implementation of effective programmes throughout the public service.

Conclusion

In any ascent to a mountain, things seem more difficult. Prior to the ascent, we may have the full plan and vision of the journey, but as we go through the journey some of us may also lose sight of the broader range and get overly focused on the areas we find ourselves in. We need to always remind ourselves of the overall purpose of the climb. We always need to contextualise the steps we take and the pain we endure. It is only when we stand at the summit that the whole picture can be appreciated. But we need to always keep this picture in mind as we go along, otherwise we may lose our way.

We believe that the summit that we are aspiring for is worth the steep ascent we have to endure.

Closing Prose

Special thanks to the Chairperson of the portfolio committee, the honourable Nathi Nhleko, members of the portfolio committee, the Directors General of the Departments of Public Service Commission, Public Service and Administration, South African Management Development Institute, Chairperson and Commissioners of the Public Service Commission, Chairperson of the State Information Technology Agency, and all other patriots involved with provision of public services.