Title: The PSC
1The PSCs Public Administration Monitoring and
Evaluation System First Consolidated Report12
Nov 2003
2Structure of Presentation
- Introduction and Background to Project
- Purpose of the Public Administration M E System
- Unpacking the Nine Principles
- Conclusions
3Background to Project
- The PSCs Public Administration System
- Built up in phases
- Scoping exercise
- NC pilot
- Initial round in 2002/3 included research in
seven nat depts and seven prov depts in three
provinces - This report is an overview of the first 14
research projects
4Purpose of the Public Admin M E System
- Contribute to improved government and service
delivery - Problems are identified, priority areas are
communicated, good practice is noted - Departments reflect on own performance
- BUT
- Value and acceptance of findings and
recommendations remains a concern
5Assessment Framework
- How is it packaged?
- SA Constitution lists 9 principles that should
govern our PS - Assessing Departmental adherence to these
principles forms the framework - A high std of prof ethics must be promoted
- Efficient, economic and effective use of
resources - Public administration must be development
oriented - Peoples needs must be responded to and the
public must be encouraged to participate in
policy making - Accountability Transparency Good HRM and
career development practices Representivity
6The underlying programme logic
Overall result Better governance and service
delivery in South Africa
Problems are addressed
Achievements are affirmed and promoted
Departments focus on priority areas
Learning from Good practice examples takes place
FOLLOW UP
Problem areas identified
Good practice by others is identified and promoted
Priority areas in public administration Are
communicated
Departments reflect on their own performance
REPORTING
Public service monitoring
7Professional Ethics
- System Checks
- How cases of misconduct are handled
- Findings
- Basic infrastructure for promoting a high
standard of professional ethics has been created
BUT it is still rudimentary and not yet fully
effective
8Professional Ethics
- Strategy for improvement
- Depts need to develop a link to the National
Anti-Corruption Strategy - Capture ethics-related processes and procedures
in manuals and guidelines - Improve record keeping
- Shorten the time of handling cases of misconduct
9Efficiency, economy and effectiveness
- System Checks
- Expenditure is as budgeted
- Programmes are implemented as planned
- Findings
- National depts are generally spending within
their targets, although in some instances
variations were quite high. - In provinces, while expenditure is more or less
on target, there are more serious concerns around
alignment of departmental objectives with
strategic priorities. - Programmes are generally being implemented as
planned
10Efficiency, economy and effectiveness
- Strategies for improvement
- Research shows that the PS is starting to
overcome its difficulties in spending funds - BUT
- Management reporting systems in both national and
prov depts are unimpressive and can be improved - Prov depts need support in strategic planning
processes - Training will be required
- Key management concepts not well understood
(outputs, outcomes, activities, objectives, etc)
11Development Orientation
- System Checks
- Programmes targeting poverty are in place and are
successful - Beneficiaries participate in project design
- Good project management standards are maintained
- Poverty alleviation projects and programs are
integrated into local development plans
12Development Orientation
- Findings
- Most departments implement programmes that either
directly or indirectly seek to alleviate poverty. - Water Affairs and Forestry and Agriculture are
succeeding admirably in drawing a pro-poor,
developmental approach into their core business
strategy. - PROBLEMS
- Generally accepted development management
principles are not implemented. - Generally prov depts slower to support or
undertake such projects
13Development Orientation
- Strategies for improvement
- Absence of a single, national social development
strategy is felt by depts - Project management manuals and info systems must
be more widely available - Institutional learnings need to be captured and
shared
14Impartiality and Fairness
- System Checks
- Compliance with the Administrative Justice Act
- Prior notice of the nature and purpose of admin
action is provided - Opportunities are provided for people affected by
admin action to make representations - Clear statements are provided on admin actions
- Departmental policy for responding to requests
for the provision of reasons for admin decisions
is in place - Request for reasons are properly processed
- Reasons provided for decisions are fair and
reasonable
15Impartiality and Fairness
- Findings
- Performance by Depts is disappointing
- In most instances, low level of awareness of the
Act - Few efforts to ensure compliance
- Few depts have provided training to their staff
- Almost none have amended business processes
specifically in order to comply
16Impartiality and Fairness
- Strategies for improvements
- Widespread need for training and increased
awareness of the Act and its requirements is
needed - More effort is needed to monitor compliance with
this Act by the Dept of Justice and
Constitutional Dev - Need for a National campaign?
17Public Participation in Policy Making
- System Checks
- Policy on public participation is formally stated
- A system for soliciting public inputs is
effectively implemented - All policy inputs from the public are
acknowledged and formally considered - Findings
- Most depts have a formal commitment BUT this is
not translated into formal policies and
procedures. - However, in some depts eg Justice and
Constitutional Dev, consultation does take place
regularly despite the absence of a written
policy. - DWAF has a well-structured and useful Guide.
18Public Participation in Policy Making
- Strategies for improvement
- Strategic direction and executive leadership is
required to ensure that there is formal interest
in community views, policies and procedures in
place - DPSA to lead process?
- Good practice needs to be shared more widely
(DWAF)
19Accountability
- System Checks
- The Auditor Generals assessment of financial
controls conclude that they are adequate and
effective - Fraud prevention plans are in place and
implemented - Key staff for ensuring implementation of fraud
prevention plans are in place and operational - Fraud prevention plans are based on a thorough
risk assessment
20Accountability
- Findings
- Most nat depts appear to have solid internal
control systems - In many instances fraud prevention plans had just
recently been adopted and are in the process of
being rolled out - Performance by provinces is less satisfactory
- In many instances the Auditor-General has issued
qualified audit reports with the lack of internal
controls a common concern - In some instances fraud prevention plans are not
in place
21Accountability
- Strategies for improvement
- National depts are more advanced in addressing
this area, but prov depts generally appear to
need extensive support and assistance. - Building provincial accountability structures and
systems will clearly be a long-term process that
needs to be tackled in a systematic and sustained
manner - Financial capacity programmes should be
accelerated - Consider accreditation for Public Service
Financial managers
22Transparency
- System Checks
- Compliance to Treasury-prescribed standards for
compiling of Annual Reports - Reporting on performance against predetermined
objectives - Quality of the reports
23Transparency
- Findings
- Annual Reports have improved in recent years BUT
many depts do not systematically report on their
results in achieving strategic objectives - Annual Reports of Depts of Agric and Social Dev
of a very high standard (egs of best practice) - Prov dpets Ars are less succesful in meeting the
prescribed standards
24Transparency
- Strategies for Improvement
- Distinct improvement in annual reports is a
positive trend that must be encouraged - Depts that do not meet the prescribed stds should
be advised and assisted - Now that basic compliance is being addressed,
more attention should be paid to the style and
language of annual reports simple and accessible
25Good Human Resource Management Practices
- System Checks
- Whether vacant posts are filled in a timely
manner - Implementation of the Skills Development Act
- A skills development plan is in place
- Activities planned for are implemented
- Results achieved through skills development are
monitored and recorded
26Good Human Resource Management Practices
- Findings
- Most nat depts have recruitment policies and
procedures in place - However, there are high vacancy rates
- Skills dev plans generally adopted but in many
instances implementation had not commenced - Prov depts are less effective in managing
recruitment processes - In some instance, take very long to fill posts
- Also less effective in implementing skills
development plans, with many depts having no plan
in place
27Good Human Resource Management Practices
- Strategies for improvement
- Policy and procedure issues need to be addressed
especially at the prov level - Implementation of skills development strategies
need improvement - Should be a systematic, widespread assessment and
general upgrade
28Representivity
- System Checks
- Whether depts are representative of the SA people
and diversity management measures are implmented - Findings
- PS is successful in overcoming racial imbalances
in a fairly short space of time BUT - Attracting and retaining women into senior posts
remains a challenge - Depts are finding it difficult to meet their
disability targets. - Few prov depts have diversity management measures
in place
29Representivity
- Strategies for improvement
- Attracting and retaining disabled people is an
area that needs dedicated attention - Depts should prioritise recruiting and retaining
women in senior managerial levels - Diversity management is an area that is
relatively underdeveloped and needs to be better
promoted
30Conclusions
- Need for a government wide M E framework
- National depts
- Research results depict a diverse and complex PS
- Appear to be performing better than prov
counterparts - Closer compliance to prescribed stds
- Provincial depts
- Tend to be large
- Are often in need of support and development both
in their management and delivery of core services - Using research findings in a constructive and
positive way
31Conclusions
- Using research findings in a constructive and
positive way - To be valuable and useful, findings and
recommendations must be taken up or alternatives
put in place - Not clear whether depts are using the research
findings - Need for a better and sustained relationship
between the depts and researchers