GCIS on its Quarter 4 performance

Meeting report

Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) on its Quarter 4 performance
Acting Director General of GCIS, Ms Phumla Williams, assisted by other members of the GCIS delegation,  briefed the Committee on GCIS strategy, overall performance, performance per programme and the expenditure report (see document). She noted that of a total of 51 targets, 49 (96%) had been achieved. The two not achieved were in Content Processing and Dissemination and Intergovernmental Coordination and Stakeholder Management.

Acting GCIS Deputy Director-General: Content Processing and Dissemination, Ms Tasneem Carrim, said GCIS had not met the annual target to provide 12 reports per year on its weekly social media account performance as in the fourth quarter, the monthly reports had not all been signed off by Manco. It had also fallen short as it had conducted 108 marketing events for the Thusong programme while the fourth quarter target was 121. The reason given was 13 Izimbizo and digital terrestrial television (DTT) events required the re-deployment of staff.

Acting GCIS Chief Financial Officer, Mr Hennie Bekker, presented the Quarter 4 Expenditure showing it had spent 98.7% of the R385 million fourth quarter budget leaving R5 million available. He said funding pressures over the 2017 Medium Term Expenditure Framework were facilities management which required R1.5 million; external audit fees (R1 million) and office accommodation R3.5 million. National Treasury allows inflation projections of 6.2% in 2017/18; 5.9% in 2018/19 and 5.6% in 2019/20 while the Head Office lease contract increases 9% per annum.

Discussion
Members were in general happy with the presentation and congratulated GCIS. However concerns were raised.

Mr M Kalako (ANC) wanted to know why R13 million had been spent on information management and technology and a further R2.9 million on services for external audit fees for internal audit processes.

Vacant posts were also raised and it was pointed out that senior delegates before the Committee were in the most in acting posts.

Mr M Gungubele (ANC) focused most of his questioning and comments on the effectiveness of government communications to the people; with a specific focus on government’s Vuk’unenzele newspaper. One of his issues was that it continued to be distributed in English in rural areas where English was not the mother tongue.

Parliamentarians were also kept out of the loop by GCIS. They only received information and press statements about their specific portfolios. This created a problem when members were out in the field and could not respond to questions about other unrelated but important issues.

Ms N Tolashe (ANC) agreed language had to be addressed but perhaps at a later stage.

She said it was also high time that a permanent Director General be appointed to be held to account. There was no point in the Committee being briefed by acting officials only.

She also argued that GCIS had done little to communicate government’s stance on gender-based violence. There was no coherent message unlike the communication on HIV/Aids which had proved to have an impact.

Mr Maxegwana agreed a permanent Director General had to be appointed and gave the department 30 days to make it happen.

Ms V Van Dyk (DA) said the budget sounded controlled and asked what the main challenges GCIS faced.

Another ANC member questioned why Vuk’unenzele was lying around offices when the print communication could be better distributed. It was critical that GCIS follow up where those copies were going.

The sharing of offices with the DoC was also questioned as to how it affected the effectiveness of the GCIS. Vacant posts were also raised.

Ms Williams responded to most of the questions raised.

She said one of the incoming Communications Minister’s priorities was to fill acting posts. Funded posts had to be re-advertised. Then members may be looking at a “different Hollywood”.

Reaching out to all rural communities via events had been problematic because of budgetary issues. Information such as job availability and what government was doing about it was not reaching the neediest.

She said the public also needed to realise that corruption was not a government-only phenomenon and this had to be communicated and part of the reason was because of public graft. It was not downplaying that corruption was going on in government but even minor to major theft and fraud in the private sector could similarly not be overlooked.

Ms Williams said she was aware of how important Vuk’unenzele was to people in rural areas.

In terms of office space, Treasury had allowed for 15 000 square feet but GCIS had not anticipated that that would be enough. Even with an adjustment of 20% growth over five years there still was not enough space and not enough of a maintenance budget. Treasury would be approached again.

Mr Maxegwana said advertisements for key positions also had to be advertised in Vuk’unenzele.

Acting GCIS Director: Provincial and Local Liaison, Geraldine Thopps, said GCIS was trying to get more newspaper distribution to the most rural areas. GCIS had approached the post office; provincial offices; clinics; Thusong and local schools amongst others.

She said GCIS was also talking to telecommunication companies like Vodacom and MTN to allow data-free access to the newspaper.

People were “chasing after Vuk” trucks because they were hungry for information.

Ms Thopps said about 850 000 copies were printed twice a month but more research had to be done to find the target appropriate readers in the deepest of the rural residents. This required more funding.

On the financials, Mr Bekker said he did not foresee any hurdles to achieving a third-in-a row clean audit from the Auditor General on performance to date. This was even though the financials had yet to be audited. The target for the GCIS Annual Report is for it to be tabled in late September.

Mr Kalako said he did not understand why problems were only pointed out after the fact. “It’s always useless after the effect to tell us where we have gone wrong.”

Just before Mr Maxegwana brought the meeting to a close; Ms Williams urged Parliament to intervene to assert its important purpose as a communications tool for all; government and public; be recognised as a forceful platform.

Mr Maxegwana said the Committee wanted a constant progress report about vacancies but said on a positive note that GCIS should continue to do the job it was doing.

After GCIS left, the Committee discussed transport and accommodation arrangements for its oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal later in June.

The meeting was adjourned.