State of the Public Service Report 2006

1
State of the Public Service Report 2006

• Girding the Public Service with the appropriate
  capacity for effective service delivery and
  adherence to the Constitution

2
Presentation outline

• Background and purpose
• Methodology
• SOPS 2006
• Conclusion

3
Background and purpose of the SOPS Reports

• The SOPS reports provide a high-level overview of
  the state of the Public Service.
• The reports serve as an annual evaluative
  commentary on the Public Service's adherence to
  the good governance values enshrined in the
  Constitution.
• The 2004 report was retrospective and provided a
  10-year overview of the Public Service since
  democracy. The 2005 report was forward looking
  and presented a vision for the 2nd decade of
  democracy.
• The 2006 edition looks at the capacity of the
  Public Service to deliver on the development
  objectives of Government.

4
Methodology

• SOPS Reports draw on the vast amount of oversight
  work undertaken by the Public Service Commission
  (PSC). This is augmented by other appropriate
  research on public administration.
• The research is organised and presented according
  to the 9 Constitutional values and principles of
  public administration.

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SOPS 2006

• For each of the 9 values and principles, SOPS
  2006 looks at
• - Capacity in the context of the value/principle
• - Overview of recent research/initiatives
• - Capacity considerations for the challenges
  ahead
• While acknowledging the multifaceted nature of
  the concept of capacity, the report emphasises
  the importance of human resource capability.

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Principle 1 A high standard of professional
ethics must be promoted and maintained

• Capacity to maintain a high standard of ethics is
  key to the credibility, integrity and efficacy of
  the Public Service.
• The Public Service has generally responded well
  to demands for transparent government.
  Comprehensive legislation and regulations have
  been put in place.
• Through the NACF there is a collective approach
  to fighting corruption involving government,
  civil society and business.
• It is of concern that 30 of Senior Managers
  failed to declare their financial interests
  (February 2006). The PSC considers a 100 rate to
  be the only satisfactory benchmark.
• More commitment from Executive Authorities and
  Heads of Departments is required to ensure
  compliance.
• The culture of whistle-blowing needs to be
  instilled.

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Principle 1 continued

• The National Anti-Corruption Hotline promotes the
  perception of visible action by government
  against corruption, as reports are lodged and
  follow-up is made.
• The system has thus far referred 1 388 cases of
  alleged corruption and 608 cases of poor service
  delivery to departments for further
  investigation and reporting.
• The integrity of the system depends on how well
  feedback is provided. This is currently
  unsatisfactory.
• In terms of financial misconduct, reports reflect
  a substantial decrease (55) in fraud and theft
  cases. It is of concern that most of these cases
  occur at the supervisory levels of 6 and 7.

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Principle 1 Capacity Considerations

• The capacity to promote and ensure a high
  standard of professional ethics must continue to
  be developed.
• Early warning systems and the investigative
  capacity to deal with corrupt practices must be
  developed.
• Departments need to strengthen their capacity to
  process cases of financial misconduct within the
  timeframes set by regulations.
• The use of the NACH must be increased, as it
  provides a good barometer of the ethical
  awareness, pointing to areas of managerial
  deficiencies.
• There is a need to establish a comprehensive
  framework to manage conflicts of interest. The
  PSC has already completed a report in this regard.

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Principle 2 Efficient, economic and effective
use of resources must be promoted

• The Public Service requires the capacity to
  strategically deploy, manage and utilise
  resources in an efficient, effective and economic
  manner.
• The basis for systematic planning and better
  financial management has been laid by the PFMA,
  2000. Capacity to comply with the requirements of
  this Act is critical.
• The A-G has found that 61 of departments failed
  to align their strategic plans, annual and
  financial reports, or meet the time-lines set out
  in their Business Plans.

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Principle 2 continued

• There has been a decrease in unauthorised,
  fruitless and wasteful expenditure (R142,1 m in
  2003/4 to R83,8m in 2004/5).
• However these amounts are still significant in
  the context of a Public Service that promotes
  efficiency and effectiveness.
• Financial controls such as internal audit units
  and audit committees are not functioning
  optimally.
• It is encouraging that attention is being paid to
  building the capacity to monitor effectiveness
  through a Government-Wide Monitoring and
  Evaluation System.
• The prescribed reporting format for annual
  reports provides a mechanism to assess how well
  departments deliver and spend their resources.
  It is however of concern that in a study by
  National Treasury, it was found that a number of
  departments failed to meet their obligations to
  table their reports in the legislatures by 30
  September.

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Principle 2 Capacity Considerations

• There is a need to strengthen the capacity of the
  Public Service around strategic planning,
  financial management and reporting.
• Annual reports should begin to reflect a coherent
  link between plans and outputs, as reflected in
  the Estimates of National Expenditure.
• Current efforts to improve financial management
  capacity should be intensified. This becomes more
  critical in light of support to be given to local
  government.

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Principle 3 Public administration must be
development oriented

• The Public Service needs the capacity to
  formulate and enact policies that target the
  development priorities of government and
  contribute decisively to poverty reduction.
• A strong foundation was laid in the first decade
  of democracy, through restructuring the economy
  and integrating it into the global economy.
• This foundation has created a basis for increased
  social spending.
• Social assistance and social security has
  increased from R10 billion in 1994 to R70 billion
  in 2006, and from 2,6 to 10 million beneficiaries
  respectively.
• These grants contribute more than half of the
  income of the poorest 20 percent of households.
  They have doubled in real terms over the past 5
  years and has led to significant improvement in
  child nutrition, thus improving cognitive ability
  and school outcomes.

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Principle 3 continued

• The Private-Public Partnerships (PPPs) play a
  strategic role in addressing some of the
  infrastructure, healthcare and service delivery
  needs of Government. Managing these poses a
  challenge.
• An audit of poverty initiatives shows that there
  are diverse initiatives and interventions,
  relating to income poverty (grants), human
  capital poverty (education) and asset poverty
  (land reform). Collectively these have
  contributed towards the improvement of the
  quality of life of the citizens.
• More needs to be done to improve the planning,
  management and integration of development
  projects.
• A more collaborative approach (as opposed to a
  silo approach) is necessary to harmonize capacity
  throughout the three tiers of government.

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Principle 3 Capacity Considerations

• Service delivery should improve once the unified
  Public Service is operationalised.
• Poverty reduction efforts need to be integrated
  so at to optimise their impact.
• These efforts should also strike a balance
  between transfer payments and self-sustainability.
  

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Principle 4 Services must be provided
impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias

• Central to this principle is a commitment to Just
  Service Delivery.
• Capacity for Just Service Delivery is key to
  redressing the legacy of the past and
  legitimising public administration.
• The necessary legal, normative and regulatory
  framework to address the legacy of the past is in
  place to ensure that services are delivered in a
  manner that is impartial, fair, equitable and
  without bias.

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Principle 4 continued

• The Promotion of the Administrative Justice Act,
  PAJA of 2000 is central to achieving fairness, as
  it helps define what constitutes lawful
  administration and what does not.
• Adherence to the PAJA is still highly
  unsatisfactory. There are low levels of
  awareness, inadequate opportunities for
  representations and delays in the processing of
  requests.
• A study on Community Crime Prevention initiatives
  showed that although these have made good
  progress, resources for such work continue to be
  skewed disfavourably towards black communities.

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Principle 4 Capacity Considerations

• Departments need to improve communication
  procedures so as to communicate their decisions
  more comprehensively.
• They also need to institutionalize the
  requirements of PAJA into their management
  processes.

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Principle 5 People's needs must be responded to
and the public must be encouraged to participate
in policy-making

• The Public Service must have the capacity to
  promote participatory governance in order to
  match the policies and programmes of Government
  with the needs of the people.
• The Izimbizo programme has encouraged public
  participation and needs to be integrated
  systematically into the work of the Public
  Service.
• Mechanisms have been used to promote
  participatory governance in schools and crime
  prevention.

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Principle 5 continued

• Initiatives by the South African Police Services
  (SAPS) in community crime prevention initiatives
  have generally received community support.
• Factors such as resource limitations and the
  capacity of stakeholders to understand the
  strategies has undermined efforts to be fully
  effective.
• Citizens Forums and Citizen Satisfaction Surveys
  have also proved to be effective mechanisms
  through which to involve citizens.
• Findings from a Citizens Satisfaction Survey
  focusing on selected services of the Departments
  of Agriculture, Land Affairs, and Water Affairs
  and Forestry indicate that the satisfaction
  levels of citizens range between 62 and 81.
• The main concerns raised by citizens in the
  study, related to turnaround times and the number
  of staff available to attend to them.

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Principle 5 Capacity Considerations

• Involving the public in policy making is critical
  for the stability of our democracy.
• The capacity for this in the Public Service is
  sporadic and rudimentary.
• Capacity must be built to monitor the
  effectiveness of systems for public participation
  to ensure that break downs in these are
  pre-empted.

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Principle 6 Public administration must be
accountable

• The developmental state requires a commitment to
  accountability since public institutions have
  been delegated important management and
  regulatory powers.
• Accountability implies that public servants
  should be held answerable to government and the
  public for the achievement of service delivery
  objectives and the proper utilisation of
  resources.
• Essential for this is the capacity to account in
  the various ways set by legislation and
  regulatory prescripts.

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Principle 6 continued

• External accountability has been facilitated
  through stakeholders such as the Parliamentary
  Portfolio Committees and obligations posed by the
  Annual reports and work of the Auditor-General.
• The Auditor-General's Audit Outcomes Report for
  the year ending March 2005 has shown a decrease
  from 11 to 7 of national departments that
  received qualified audits.
• Of concern is that there has been an increase in
  the number of matters emphasised from 150 in
  2002/3 to over 300 in 2004/5.
• A 23 increase in over expenditure from 30,2
  million to 37,4 million, has occurred at the
  National level.

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Principle 6 continued

• The number of national departments that received
  qualified audit opinions for consecutive years
  rose from five (2003/4) to seven (2004/2005).
• Qualified audit opinions across the Departments
  of Education, Health and Social Development are
  commonly found in most of the 9 provinces.
• This is of concern given that these departments
  normally receive the largest share of the budget
  and are also at the core of the poverty reduction
  programmes of government.

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Principle 6 continued

• The PSC continues to play its role in
  facilitating the evaluation of the performance of
  Heads of Department (HoDs). In the 2003/4 period,
  only 46 of HoDs were evaluated countrywide. This
  is a sharp decrease from the 2002/3 financial
  years.
• Performance Agreements between the EA and HODs
  are at the heart of the HoD evaluations. There
  has been an uneven rate of submission of these,
  which raises concern about the capacity to
  contract for performance.

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Principle 6 Capacity Considerations

• The accountability that is fostered through the
  HOD evaluation process must permeate the entire
  organisation.
• Performance management systems must be put in
  place with their application mainstreamed into
  the work of the departments and not done
  occasionally for compliance purposes.
• Capacity needs to be developed to address
  recurring weaknesses identified in the reports of
  the Auditor-General.

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Principle 7 Transparency must be fostered by
providing the public with timely, accurate and
accessible information

• For the citizenry to enjoy their right to
  transparent government, the Public Service must
  have the capacity to open itself to public
  scrutiny.
• Promotion of Access to Information Act and the
  Promotion of the Administrative Justice Act are
  the cornerstones of transparency.
• The capacity of the Public Service to implement
  them is therefore important.

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Principle 7 continued

• An analysis of Annual Reports shows that
  reporting still largely focuses on activities.
  There is also lack of reporting on reasons for
  non-performance against planned objectives.
• The Government wide ME System should further
  foster transparency as it puts pressure on
  departments to improve upon their own ME
  systems.
• An audit conducted by the PSC on departmental
  reporting and ME systems shows that ME systems
  are not incorporated into the overall strategy of
  departments.
• A study by the Open Democracy Advice Centre
  conducted across 14 countries tested
  responsiveness of government to information
  requests.

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Principle 7 continued

• SA falls behind the international average for
  obligatory responses of 14 days (the legal
  requirement is 30 days). Even with this, only 13
  of queries lodged were actually responded to in
  time, in comparison to the 25 internationally.
• The results indicate that a lot more effort must
  be made to build capacity to actually implement
  PAIA.

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Principle 7 Capacity Considerations

• The responsiveness by the Public Service at the
  level of the Public Service-Citizen Interface
  must be improved.
• To strengthen transparency, ME must be given
  more priority by departments.

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Principle 8 Good human resource management and
career development practices, to maximise human
potential, must be cultivated

• The ability of the Public Service to achieve its
  objectives depends critically on Human resource
  capacity.
• Leadership and managerial capacity is required to
  catalyze, sustain and manage change, as well as
  cultural diversity.
• To maximise human potential areas such as
  recruitment and selection, performance
  management, human resource planning, the
  challenge of HIV/AIDS and employment equity must
  be addressed.

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Principle 8 continued

• Inappropriate recruitment decisions undermine the
  credibility of the Public Service as an employer
  committed to objective and transparent
  recruitment practices.
• Most departments lack procedures on recruitment
  and selection resulting in flawed processes.
• Political office bearers sometimes deviate from
  the recommendations of the selection panels
  without recording their reasons. This can be
  perceived as undue influence.
• The manner in which departments conduct
  performance management remains a problem (forming
  52 of grievances lodged).

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Principle 8 continued

• There is still insufficient compliance with the
  new Grievances Rules, relating to the
  non-adherence to timeframes and the premature
  referral of grievances for consideration by the
  PSC.
• The PSC handled 431 grievances compared to 392
  last year (9.9 increase). This may be
  attributed to the new grievance rules, which have
  stringent time frames.
• The role of the labour relations officers is
  often not understood, and labour relations
  officers often perform functions that are within
  the domain of line managers.

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Principle 8 continued

• Workplace management of HIV/AIDS is important and
  could compromise service delivery. A policy
  framework for HIV/AIDS in the Public Service is
  in place. Preliminary findings of our research
  indicate that while HIV/AIDS Committees are in
  place, there is a lack of programmes targetting
  HIV/AIDS (including counselling and support).

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Principle 8 Capacity considerations

• Maximising human potential through sound human
  resource management requires a sound
  understanding of human resource management
  issues, the complex environment within which
  people operate and a willingness to adapt to
  change.
• There must be a more proactive approach in
  implementing the HIV/AIDS framework and ensuring
  that effective HIV/AIDS related health and
  counselling infrastructure is in place.
• Given the centrality of recruitment and selection
  in creating capacity within the Public Service,
  the most suitable persons must be employed.
• The Public Service should be viewed as an
  employer of choice.

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Principle 9 Public administration must be
broadly representative of the SA people

• The effects of discriminatory exclusion have
  resulted in difficulties by designated groups
  that compete for employment in certain
  occupational categories.
• The necessary legislative framework is in place
  but its effectiveness is best tested against
  application.
• Implementing affirmative action is fraught with
  tensions and care is required for implementing
  standards objectively in a situation of open
  competition.

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Principle 9 continued

• A comprehensive review of Affirmative Action in
  the Public Service completed in 2005 shows that
  overall numeric targets for race have been met.
• The progress for female representativity was 27
  at the national level and 26 at the provincial
  level, short of the 30 target set.
• The current progress of 0,16 for persons with
  disabilities falls short of the 2 target for
  this group.
• Gender equity in the workplace is important and
  questions of capacity are critical for women to
  fulfill their roles as leaders in the Public
  Service.
• The current work on gender mainstreaming
  initiatives across Government should assist in
  identifying the barriers that may contribute to
  the inequalities that women are faced with in the
  Public Service.

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Principle 9 Capacity Considerations

• Statistics continue to show that while the Public
  Service has made progress in achieving numeric
  targets for employment equity, women still need
  to be better represented at leadership levels and
  that people with disabilities are still
  underrepresented.
• Increased representivity in the Public Service
  should translate into increased delivery capacity
  as issues such as language and cultural
  sensitivity are addressed.
• More work needs to be done for designated groups
  around induction, training, mentorship and
  performance management.

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Conclusion

• Addressing the capacity challenge in the Public
  Service requires dedicated leadership from the
  Executive and Senior management levels. This
  requires a capacity to build on existing
  legislative, normative and regulatory frameworks.
  
• The report indicates that significant progress
  has been made. However, more needs to be done to
  ensure higher levels of responsiveness,
  effectiveness and efficiency.
• To ensure that there is a clear line of sight
  throughout the Public Service, consistent and
  integrated monitoring and evaluation systems must
  be put in place.
• The PSC will continue to monitor the performance
  of the South African Public Service and through
  its reporting generate a broader discussion and
  debate in the service delivery discourse.

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Conclusion continued

• The report will be presented to a number of
  stakeholders to ensure wider discussion of its
  findings and recommendations.
• At the same time, the PSC will be collecting and
  analyzing information for its 2006/7 oversight
  cycle on the state of the Public Service.
• Accordingly, themes for framing the next SOPS
  report are being explored.
• Currently under consideration is a theme that
  looks at the role of the Public Service in the
  promotion of growth and development.
• The theme would involve an assessment of how
  adherence to the nine Constitutional values and
  principles enables the Public Service to promote
  growth and development.

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Thank you!