Public Service Commission Reports; Public Service & Administration Budgetary Review & Recommendations Report 2010

Meeting report

Public Service Commission (PSC): Briefings on various reports
Ms Pheleli Tengeni, Deputy Chairperson, Public Service Commission, thanked the Committee for its constructive working relationship with the Public Service Commission (PSC) and for the oversight it conducted. The PSC was hindered by resource constraints that prevented it from extending its monitoring and evaluation function to the local government level.

Service Delivery Sites : South African Police Service
Mr Indum Naidoo, Deputy Director General: Monitoring and Evaluation, PSC, tabled the Consolidated Report on Inspections of Service Delivery Sites of the South African Police Service (SAPS). These inspections had been conducted in the run up to the World Cup 2010, and the PSC had taken a sample of ten police stations in each province, carrying out both announced and unannounced inspections. For the former category, PSC had, amongst other indicators, measured awareness of the event (80%), the percentage of dedicated division staff (50%), adequacy of personnel (20%), availability and adequacy of vehicles (10%). None of the stations surveyed had a budget to specifically enable them to prepare for the World Cup 2010.

He then indicated the findings on the unannounced inspections. 54% of the visited stations had Service Charters displayed. 60% of the citizens visiting the stations were not happy with the waiting period. The PSC had made various recommendations, which included making personnel and vehicles available (which in many cases did then happen), and that stations should be encouraged to display the requirements that clients needed before they could access services. It also recommended that complaints or suggestion boxes should be displayed. There were province-specific reports done. SAPS had replied to the recommendations within 30 days, which was in compliance with the PSC’s policy.

Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme
Mr Naidoo then presented the Report on the Evaluation of Integration and Coordination in the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme (ISRDP). This programme was intended to facilitate the coordination of other programmes in various districts. It did not have its own budget. The study found that stakeholders found it difficult to understand the value of the programme, as it was based upon an abstract notion of integration. The Interdepartmental Task Teams ended up as information sharing channels, and no real planning decisions, such as approval of budgets or objectives, were taken at that level. The programme was generally seen to be a duplication of existing Integrated Development Programme (IDP) processes within government. The PSC report argued that the devolution of development planning to local government level was necessary. In the absence of such planning at local government level, then integrated units needed to be in place at district level and heads of units should be empowered to develop district development plans. The PSC further said that policies should be flexible enough to adapt to local guidelines and conditions, and should be broken down into programmes and subprogrammes, and split spatially, according to district.

Mr Naidoo noted that the PSC was currently looking at the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) and would build on these issues.

Human Resource Management in the Public Service
Ms Mmathari Mashao, Acting Deputy Director General, PSC, then presented the Report on the Assessment of the State of Human Resource Management in the Public Service. There were concerns about inadequate organisational development (OD) skills and poor organisational design. There remained challenges relating to the employment of people with disabilities and the integration of women into the workplace. Currently, the disability statistics showed only 0.22% employment, and women represented only 35% of the workforce. There was a disregard for elementary processes, such as compiling job descriptions, and doing evaluations, and although a framework for the recruitment of scarce skills was in place, the development and retention of priority skills still required attention. As of February 2010, only 65% of Performance Agreements (PAs) for Heads of Departments (HoDs) were filed with the PSC. By March 2010, only 51% of the HoDs had been evaluated. There was a lack of commitment in implementing Employee Health and Wellness Programmes (EHWs). Management of discipline and grievances was another challenge. Recommendations were made to deal with all these issues.

Public Service Leadership in Intergovernmental Relations
Ms Mashao then provided feedback on the Report on the Effectiveness of Public Service Leadership (PSL) in the Promotion of Intergovernmental Relations (IGR). This report was based upon the role played by PSL in promoting IGR through coordination of the development of the public transport infrastructure necessary for the FIFA World Cup 2010. PSL established specific institutional arrangements, which enhanced effective coordination. Implementation Protocols (IPs) that were required for effective coordination through the IGR Framework Act of 2005 were not always developed as required, nor were they adequately coordinated. Municipalities appeared to know little about them. The absence of appropriate accountability regimes meant that the government’s ability to track progress and address challenges was severely compromised. PSC had made recommendations, which included the need for a review of existing systems for managing and reporting on performance, the immediate alignment of planning frameworks, and the strengthening of the PSL in the Office of the Premier, to ensure sufficient capacity to monitor and support provincial departments.

Performance Management Systems: Limpopo
Ms Mashou also briefed the Committee on the Report on the Implementation of the Performance Management System for senior managers in the Limpopo province. The Department of Public Services and Administration (DPSA) had introduced a Performance Management Development System (PMDS) to assist government and senior management in fulfilling their mandate. Its implementation had been studied in the Eastern Cape, North West and Northern Cape provincial administrations, which had found that the departments, for the most part, did not comply with the basic tenets of the PMDS. In Limpopo, it was found that an average of 66% of the PAs did not include Key Reporting Areas (KRAs). The majority of the PAs were not linked to Batho Pele Principles. The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture had not entered into any PAs by 30 April 2010. PSC recommended that the Limpopo Provincial Government should take urgent steps to comply with the mandatory elements of PMDS. Training was needed to capacitate HR and management on the system, senior managers needed to take responsibility for entering into PAs, and the KRAs in the performance agreements needed to be aligned with strategic objectives and incorporate Batho Pele principles.

Financial Misconduct Report: 2008/09
Ms Fienie Viviers, Chief Director: Special Operations, PSC, presented the Overview of Financial Misconduct for the 2008 / 2009 financial year. A total of 1 204 cases of financial misconduct had been reported, of which 22% were in national departments, and 78% were in provincial departments. There had been a 28% increase in the number of finalised financial misconduct cases reported. 53% of the cases comprised of fraud. The number of senior management charged with financial misconduct had increased from 21 to 40. 86% of those charged in the financial year were found guilty, and she noted that this could be an indicator that the capacity of the departments to deal with allegations of financial misconduct was improving. The sanction of discharge had decreased from 47% in 2002 / 2003 to 11% in 2008 / 2009, while final written warnings had increased from 10% to 36%. There had been a substantial increase in the cost of financial misconduct. In 2007/08 it amounted to R21 776 949, but in 2008/09 it amounted to R100 111 076. The total number of cases reported to the PSC had risen by 28%.

Implementation of Section 195 of Constitution
The PSC Report on the Implementation of Section 195 of the Constitution, 1996, was then presented. It concerned the three entities DPSA, Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy (PALAMA) and the State Information Technology Agency (SITA). The PSC’s transversal monitoring and evaluation system (M&E) had been applied to DPSA. The indicators applied to each entity included financial management, service delivery outputs, HR management and labour relations, and ethics and anti-corruption.

The DPSA’s performance and compliance with nine Constitutional values and principles was assessed at 82%.This Department had received an unqualified audit. 57% of the strategies in the Fraud Prevention Plan had been adopted. The average time taken to fill a vacant position had improved from nine months to 82 days. There was, however, room for improvement with regard to representivity. In 2009/2010, DPSA incurred irregular expenditure of R4 464 000. In regard to performance management, DPSA had not reported on all the predetermined objectives and performance targets were not specific, measurable and time bound. The reasons for non-achievement were not mentioned. Vacancy rates as at March 2010 were 17.8%, compared to the ideal of between 7% and 10%.

PALAMA had received unqualified audit opinions for the preceding three years. In the 2009/2010 financial year, the Auditor General (AG) found that PALAMA’s strategic plan did not include measurable objectives, expected outcomes, programme outputs or indicators for all of the objectives. 51% of service delivery outputs were fully achieved, with a further 44% being partially achieved. In March 2010, there was a 29% vacancy rate. There was room for improvement with regard to employment equity. There were no finalised financial misconduct cases reported to the PSC in the preceding three financial years.

SITA had obtained unqualified audit opinions in the preceding three financial years, but in all three years the AG noted that a contract management system was not in place. In the 2009/2010 financial year, irregular expenditure to the amount of R214 million was incurred when proper procurement and provisioning processes were not followed. There were instances of non-adherence to financial management legislation. 59% of the service delivery outputs were achieved. In March 2010, there were twenty corruption cases under investigation by the internal audit unit.

Discussion
Ms A Dreyer (DA) noted that the increased fraud could be attributed also to better detection and reporting mechanisms. However, she was concerned about the disciplinary sanctions imposed, noting that more people were being given a written warning and were not being discharged. This seemed to be a wrong trend. Fraud was a serious crime, and corruption was rife. She wondered why those who had committed fraud were merely given “a slap on the wrist”.

Ms Tengeni agreed that the rise in cases indicated that the system was working, and said that more cases were investigated to finality. PSC recommended stronger, and not more lenient sanctions. She agreed that the trend towards giving too lenient a sanction was worrying.

Ms Dreyer noted that the comments about human resources and the lack of performance agreements indicated bad management of the civil service, and she wondered if poor management could have been a factor in the recent public service strikes.

Ms Tengeni said that it was possible that bad management and departments not handling grievances properly could have affected the strikes. However, there may have been bigger issues.

Ms H Van Schalkwyk (DA) asked if the PSC had a presence in every province, and if its provincial departments conducted each survey in their own province. She also enquired if the PSC itself managed the implementation of its recommendations.

Ms Tengeni responded that the PSC had a presence in every province. The PSC did track the implementation of its recommendations and asked for reports on progress. PSC also summoned departments to appear before the Commission.

Mr Mashwahle Diphofa, Director General, PSC, added that PSC had also noted that where its recommendations were ignored, performance became worse.

Mr L Suka (ANC) commented that there was no sense in devolving powers if the people on those levels did not have the capacity to handle the work. He agreed that departmental budgets should be broken down, and had concerns over inadequate OD. He wondered how the PSC could ensure that the senior managers were doing the necessary work, and ensuring adherence to PMDS.

Mr Suka also noted that job-hopping was rife across the public service and wondered if the regulations or tools to assist with the vetting process did not need to be tightened.

Mr Suka noted the reports on the situation in Limpopo and wondered if this was a fair reflection of the position in other provinces also. He recommended that all provinces should be visited to try to isolate and prevent problems.

Mr Suka noted the comments on financial misconduct, and asked what needed to be done to improve upon the financial management legislation to rectify the situation. He urged that Parliament should be told where improvements were needed. He also said that the slow pace of recovering funds was a problem.

Mr Diphofa emphasised that departmental heads needed to be held accountable for the implementation of existing policy. It was also crucial that provincial managers complied and performed. He highlighted the problem of malicious non-compliance.

Ms F Bikane (ANC) emphasised that the PSC had limited powers. She felt that these reports were becoming routine. There was a need for comparative research on central issues, and for the PSC to really address the legislative issues around non-compliance. Most of the issues that were raised through the reports were for DPSA to deal with. She thought that this Committee needed to become more assertive.

Mr Diphofa agreed that it was important to monitor improvements over time and note what was lacking. That had been done in some cases, especially for grievance management.

The Chairperson highlighted the fact that the PSC was an independent public service Commission supporting democracy. It was for this reason that the Department had not been invited.

Ms Mohale expressed her concerns about the rise in financial misconduct, final written warnings and the decrease in numbers of people discharged. She asked for comment on the seriousness of these cases, and an indication of what was being done to address the issues.

The Chairperson said that the PSC would be asking DPSA to give a response to the Committee on the issues highlighted.

The Chairperson welcomed the Deputy Minister to the meeting and asked him to comment.

Hon Roy Padayachie, Deputy Minister for the Public Service and Administration, welcomed the reports of the PSC, saying that they played an important role in supporting democracy. The PSC had raised many issues for discussion, which included a consideration of whether the State was sufficiently organised to meet its mandate. He agreed that implementation of policy instructions was a major issue, and that effective coordination through all levels of government was vital. Without that, outcomes at the local and provincial level could not be guaranteed. Effective training was very important. He said that the reports would be sent to the respective entities so that they could prepare for a response.

Ms Van Schalkwyk asked when the State of the Public Service Reports would become available.

Ms Tengeni replied that these would be ready the following day. A round table on the Report would be held on 4 November.

Other Business: Committee’s Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report
The Chairperson tabled the second draft of the Committee’s Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report.

The Committee voted to adopt the Report.

The meeting was adjourned.