FINAL REPORT ON THE SUPPORT INTERVENTION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS

PRESENTED BY: OR RAMSINGH: DIRECTOR-GENERAL

DATE: 14 March 2007

PRESENTATION OVERVIEW

· Background to the Support Intervention in Home Affairs

· Observations made

· Progress against the work plan in the focus areas of the Home Affairs support intervention

− Leadership and management

− Human Resources

− Information Technology Management

− Service Delivery Improvement

· Strategic considerations and recommendations

· Conclusion

BACKGROUND TO SUPPORT INTERVENTION

· The Minister of Home Affairs indicated in her budget vote speech on 30 May 2006 that she was enlisting external assistance to deal with various challenges faced by the Department.

· A Support Intervention Team (Team), comprising the Office of the Public Service Commission (OPSC), Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and the Accountant General, together with the Department, embarked on a collaborative effort to address these challenges.

· Support was provided to the Department during the period July to December 2006.

· The support intervention was categorised into the following five focus areas:

− Leadership and management To establish a stronger and cohesive management team.

− Human Resources: To provide focused support to particular human resources management issues.

− Information and Communication Technology: To provide support in Information and Communication Technology management matters.

− Service delivery: To strengthen service delivery improvement initiatives.

− Financial management To improve financial management and internal controls.

· The Team submitted a progress report to the Committee of Ministers in September 2006. The report was primarily based on the observations of the Team, challenges identified and interventions embarked upon, and progress made during the period July to September 2006.

· The final report of the Team mainly focuses on the strategic considerations and recommendations emanating from the support intervention. It also reflects the progress that has been achieved since the commencement of the support intervention in the Department.

· The Team also submitted a number of comprehensive reports to the Minister regarding various issues addressed during the support intervention, e.g:

− Report on the filling of critical vacant SMS posts.

− Audit into the granting of performance rewards.

− Report on the handling of Parliamentary questions and Cabinet Memoranda.

− Report on spending and claims for international travel for the 2005/2006 financial year.

− Report on the review of SMS appointments.

− Review of sick leave during the period 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006.

− Competency Assessment Management Assessment Report.

− Report on the backlog of permits for permanent residence and intra-company transfers.

− Report on the assessment of ICT management.

· These reports contain specific recommendations on corrective action to be undertaken by the Minister and the Department.

· The consolidated report is based, amongst others, on these various reports.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OBSERVATIONS

· The lack of strategic leadership and management capability continues to be a fundamental challenge facing the Department.

· The Department still lacks a cohesive management team that is capable of driving its transformation agenda and is able to cascade its change objectives to lower levels in the organisation.

· There is a lack of urgency and adherence to deadlines.

· There is a general crisis response to problems due to a lack of adequate management plans.

· Managers have developed a better understanding of the strategic and operational challenges facing the Department.

· The level of reporting by managers on programme performance has improved.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT PROGRESS AGAINST THE WORK PLAN

· 2006/ 7 business plan reviewed and submitted to the Portfolio Committee: The business plan was reviewed and presented to the Portfolio Committee.

· Branch and business units meetings with Support Intervention Team to understand the functions of the Department: Meetings were held to engage on key matters pertaining to the branches/ business units. An observations document was developed.

· Financial disclosure forms signed: All senior managers have signed financial disclosure forms for the 2005/06 financial year and the forms were submitted to the PSC.

· Spending and claims for international travel for the 2005/06 financial year assessed: The assessment identified a general trend whereby officials submitted incomplete claims and relied on the Directorate: Financial Management to calculate claims on their behalf. Findings and recommendations were made to improve internal controls, to recover funds in the case of overpayments, and for the Minister to consider taking disciplinary action in some instances.

· Performance Agreements (PAs) of SMS members for the financial years 2002/03, 2003/04 & 2004/05 assessed: The PSC presented a report to SCOPA. It was indicated that there appeared to be no regard for the due date by which PAs should be concluded, and that PAs were signed well into the financial year and even beyond the particular financial year

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT PROGRESS AGAINST THE WORK PLAN

· Assessment of SMS performance reviews (2005/06): Documentation did not meet the standards as contained in the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) for SMS members. A proposal was made to the Minister for the approval of a template to measure the performance of SMS members.

· Appointments of SMS members during the period 2004-2006 reviewed: 54 appointments were reviewed. Eleven (11) SMS members were appointed who did not meet the advertised requirements. This trend was ascribed to ineffective leadership, lack of knowledge of the prescribed recruitment and selection process 0 the Public Service, as well as fundamental problems within the Department

· Competency assessments for all SMS members: 56 SMS members were assessed. Severe gaps in the proficiency of managers at all levels were found. These gaps could be addressed through developmental programmes that may entail coaching, mentoring and formal training programmes.

· SMS Performance Agreements for the period 2006/07 reviewed, aligned with the business plan and signed: PAs were assessed and assistance was provided to individual managers who report to the DG to ensure that their PAs are aligned with the Business Plan. A random verification of the PAs of other SMS members pointed to various shortcomings, and the Department has been informed accordingly. The Department has verified whether the remaining PAs comply with the requirements of the PMDS.

· Strategic leadership at provincial and local offices assessed

− Provincial managers have inadequate time to deal with management issues in the provinces as a substantial amount of time is spent away from their offices.

− The Job Evaluation results of 90 posts of Deputy Director were verified.

− The outcome of the job evaluation process had not been submitted to the Minister for approval.

− All vacant and funded posts of Immigration Officer were identified and advertised. Trainees assumed duty in a staggered manner.

− A draft plan for the devolution of functions and powers to the provincial offices was developed. The plan focuses on the shorter-term devolution of aspects of functions and is expected to be rolled out in a phased approach.

· Strategic planning for the period 2007/8 - 2009/10 commenced The approach to developing the 2007/8 - 2009/10 strategic plan was defined. Planning commenced in November 2006.

· Organisational model of the Department reviewed The Team also worked closely with the Chief Directorate: SESS to review the current organisational model of the Department.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT: STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· Leadership and Management Capacity

− Urgent consideration should be given to the appointment of a DG who is able to address the current service delivery challenges in the Department.

− The DG should be appointed on a contract of 5 years.

− The profile of the DG required is that of a hands-on manager, transformational leader and excellent administrator

− No matter how strong or effective the new DG will be, he/she will need the support of a strong management team.

− Competency-based assessments should be included in the selection and appointment of all SMS members

· Leaving the selection and recruitment to the current management team may not attract the candidates needed to fill the strategic gap in the Department. If a new DG does not take office soon, the recruitment and selection process of the senior vacant positions should be undertaken by a department within the Public Service, but external to the Department.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT: STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· Performance management of SMS members

− The Branch: Corporate Services should playa more active role in the administrative management of the Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) of SMS members.

− Managers in the Department should take responsibility for the effective implementation of the PMDS.

· Strengthening the strategic management process

− The approach to developing the 2007/8 - 2009/10 strategic plan was defined. Strategic planning commenced in November 2006.

− The annual strategic planning process should begin with the review of the strategic objectives over the 5-year outlook.

− Strategic planning needs to be more structured and systematic.

− A rigorous system of regular monitorin9 and reporting of progress against the management plans should be Implemented.

· Review of the departmental budget structure

− The establishment of a separate budget programme for each of the three programmes, National Immigration Branch, Civic Services and Service Delivery should be considered.

− This will promote better planning and accountability for spending in each of the Branches.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· Reconfiguration of Home Affairs

− The Department is currently composed of two line functions, namely the National Immigration and Civic Services Branches. Both are specialised and diverse, and require unique sets of policies, strategic approaches and distinctive organisational arrangements. They also face different service delivery challenges. Such diversity places a heavy burden on the overall management of the Department.

− The Home Affairs portfolio needs to be reconfigured. However, an assessment should be done to determine whether adequate justification exists for doing so. The conducting of a functional analysis would assist in determining to what extent Home Affairs represents two different fully fledged functions or whether such functions merely constitute two sub functions of the overall Home Affairs portfolio.

· Review of the organisational structure

− The current organisational structure does not enable the Department to deliver on its core responsibilities and to adequately address the need for improving horizontal and vertical reporting and management accountability for service delivery. The review of the Department's organisational structure should be completed as an interim measure.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· Improving internal and external communication

− The manner in which internal and external communication is managed by the Department is inadequate.

− Internal communication is not utilised to promote certain events within the Department, as an effective tool to build morale of staff, the culture of the Department and to popularise the Departmental programmes and policies among its employees.

− Effective external communication is also lacking in that most reports in the media about the Department are negative and sometimes even inaccurate.

− The Department should conduct a thorough analysis of its communication challenges and develop a communication strategy addressing internal and external communication needs.

· Instilling a culture of compliance

− There is an unhealthy culture of non-compliance by SMS members within the Department, e.g. the failure by some SMS members to submit financial disclosure forms in terms of the Financial Disclosure Framework.

− The Department should internalise a culture of governance, ethics and compliance across through ongoing training and development and take disciplinary action as and when necessary.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT: STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· Monitoring and Evaluation

− A glaring weakness in the operations of the Department is the lack of internal monitoring. The Department should put in place adequate internal monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that can provide reliable and up-to-date management information for decision-making purposes.

− External monitoring and evaluation of the Department's performance could be conducted in the form of a peer review. This could avoid crisis management interventions and contribute to early warning signals to problems arising.

− The implementation of recommendations made in most support interventions is often not tracked. There is a need for strong monitoring to measure progress on the implementation of the recommendations of the Team.

HUMAN RESOURCES OBSERVATIONS

· The management of human resources is one of the weakest links within the Department. Senior managers tend to work at a very operational level and they lack a coherent and strategic approach to human resource management in the Department.

· There is a lack of a strategic, integrated approach and no cogent HR plan exists.

· Core HR functions are farmed out in other sections of the department e.g. job evaluation and job design are located in Strategic Executive Support Services, which creates serious non-compliance and accountability risks.

· The Corporate Services Branch is failing to ensure that regulatory requirements are met and managers continue to disregard or are ignorant of HR prescripts and practices.

· Line function managers need to playa more active role in determining future HR requirements.

· Corporate Services lacks the ability to give leadership in the area of HR management and has a partisan and inconsistent approach in dealing with matters.

· The engagement of the Department with the unions has in the past not been managed well. It appears that the unions have lost confidence in the ability of the Department to meet its undertakings.

HUMAN RESOURCES: PROGRESS AGAINST THE WORK PLAN

· Recruitment and selection policy and process reviewed

A report was submitted addressing various short-comings, such as the inconsistencies in the requirements relating to, for example qualifications, for similar posts and the long periods to finalise the short-listing process.

· Critical SMS appointments finalised

An action plan to fast-track the filling of SMS posts was developed. Progress on the implementation of the action plan has been slow, due to various reasons, such as the unavailability of panel members and outstanding job evaluation results.

· Internal training on Batho Pele and Code of Conduct

− Guidelines have been provided to the Department to develop a training strategy and workshops was held to improve the Department's understanding of Batho Pele.

− A twelve month theoretical and practical training programme for Trainee Immigration Officers was developed.

· Review of the professionalisation approach within the Department

The Team became involved in projects such as the job evaluation of posts of Immigration Officer and the migration plan of Immigration Officers. It also facilitated the assistance of the Public Service Education and Training Authority (PSET A) to develop unit standards for a suite of specialist qualifications for the occupational class of Immigration Officer.

HUMAN RESOURCES PROGRESS AGAINST THE WORK PLAN

· Sick leave trend analysis conducted

A report shows that the statistics obtained from various sources reflected variances in the number of persons that took sick leave. Recommendations were therefore made to ensure the availability of more accurate and reliable statistics in the Department.

· Evaluation of the jobs of Immigration Officers

− Job evaluation of the jobs of Immigration Officers for salary levels 1-12 was conducted and verified.

− A migration plan for Immigration Officers developed and implemented.

− A delegation met with unions operating in the sector to share with them the approved outcome of the job evaluation process as well as the placement strategy for Immigration Officers.

· Conducting of a staff headcount

− The tendering process to appoint an external service provider to assist the Department to conduct the headcount is underway.

· Conducting of a skills audit

− The PSETA has begun the tendering process to appoint a service provider to assist the Department with the conducting of the skills audit and the audit should commence early in 2007.

HUMAN RESOURCES: STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· Re-organisation of the Corporate Services Branch

− In order to ensure that organizational improvement becomes a critical driver in ensuring that the Department is focused on delivering in terms of its core business objectives and in enhancing its services, the Corporate Services Branch should be re-organised to ensure a stronger emphasis on policy, planning and performance management of the Department.

· More structured approach to training and development

The Department should consider adopting a more structured approach towards training through the development of an integrated training and development strategy, the development of formal training courses and the certification of qualifications through SAQA, and the possible establishment of an internal training college.

· Dealing with grievances lodged by employees

In order to promote fair and sound labour relations a mechanism should be put in place to deal with the grievances of dissatisfied employees within the prescribed time frames in the Grievance Rules.

HUMAN RESOURCES: TRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· Integrity, accountability and anti-corruption

− Corruption in the Department has emerged as a persistent challenge. The focus on counter-corruption remains vital to deal with the scourge of corruption in the Department. There is also a need for a stronger proactive approach in the building of integrity systems.

− The Department should implement an internal programme that is dedicated to building ethics and accountability among staff

· Recruitment and selection process in the Department

− The Department has an exceptionally high vacancy rate but does not have the capacity to conduct the screening and preliminary short listing for such a large number of vacant posts.

− An external service provider should be appointed to assist the Department in a recruitment and selection drive to fill funded vacancies. The duty to manage the service level agreement rigorously should be allocated to a specific manager.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT OBSERVATIONS

· The organisational impact of IT projects needs to be automational, informational, sequential, analytical, integrative and intelligent.

· IT projects have to reshape and facilitate the quick flow of information. Heads of Branches need to champion change processes in their units and not expect the IS Branch to do so on their behalf.

· There is a lack of a common understanding at all levels about how ICT will serve as an enabler for organizational improvement and process innovation.

· Spending on information services has not yet resulted in a coherent system that is ensuring greater efficiency and effectiveness within the Department.

· Line function managers are beginning to realise that they need to take more responsibility for systems development projects pertaining to transformation initiatives in their Branches and that they cannot abdicate such responsibilities to the Information Services Branch.

· The IS Branch is over dependent on the services of external ICT consultants and the Branch lacks the necessary internal lCT capacity.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT PROGRESS AGAINST THE WORK PLAN

Management of information and communication technology assessed a An assessment raised concerns, amongst others, about-

− the lack of a coherent and strategic approach to the use of ICT

− the absence of a consolidated and sequential ICT systems implementation plan that supports the strategic business case of the Department

− A high level delegation met with SITA to discuss the findings of the assessment The possible support that SIT A could provide in facilitating the conducting of an in depth assessment of the progress of ICT systems projects was discussed. It was agreed that SIT A should collaborate with the Department early in 2007 to develop the terms of reference for an assessment

− It was decided that SIT A should fast track the development of an interim Track and Trace system.

· Relationship between SIT A and Department stabilised

The relationship between SIT A and the Department was discussed at the Portfolio Committee meeting on 23 August 2006. During a meeting between the Team, SITA and the Department it was confirmed that the relationship is healthy in practice. However the Portfolio Committee still appears to be unhappy with the explanation.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· Development of a coherent ICT strategy

− A committee of experts, either internal or external to government, should be appointed to advise the Minister at a high level on the future strategic ICT approach (beyond ten years) that the Department should follow as well as the key thrusts that will support the implementation of the approach, taking into account the costs and benefits involved.

− The IS Branch should follow up on the progress that has been made by SIT A with the development of a Master Information Systems Implementation Plan and a comprehensive audit should be conducted, into the ICT systems solutions that the Department is currently implementing. SIT A should be requested to assist in facilitating the conducting of such an audit.

− The Department should consolidate and fast-track the implementation of short term initiatives that are aimed at addressing critical service delivery pressures, for instance the cabling and connectivity of all Home Affairs offices in the country and the development of an interim track and trace system.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· Filling of vacancies in the Information Services Branch

− SIT A or another ICT expert should be approached to assist the Department in the filling of the vacant posts of Deputy Director-General: Information Services (GITO) and Chief Director in the Information Services Branch, as the Department cannot afford to make "wrong" appointments to address the information technology challenges it is facing.

− The GITO should not only be a good strategist, but should also be able to translate strategy into clear implementation plans.

− Interaction and management of such an incumbent must not result in the incumbent becoming "all powerful" because of his/her IT expertise and which expertise intimidates managers into abdicating responsibility to the Information Services Branch.

· ICT budgetary arrangements

− The Department should consider the establishment of a separate budget programme for information services in the budget of the Department in order to improve transparency and accountability in the use of funds.

SERVICE DELIVERY OBSERVATIONS

· There is a lack of a co-ordinated framework for standard operating procedures from Head Office (HO).

· HO does not analyse and follow up on the huge volumes of statistics and reports submitted by provinces every month.

· The delivery of Civic Services continues to be plagued by a broad range of serious challenges that include, amongst others, the over-centralisation of functions in the head office, inadequate management, fragmented and outdated business processes and the lack of standardised operating procedures, outdated ICT systems, inadequate mechanisms to control fraud and corruption, low staff morale and poor work ethic as well as poor customer management and customer care.

· Although the Department is making some progress with the development of a transformation strategy for the Civic Services function, much stronger transformational leadership and urgency to drive the process is required.

· The National Immigration Branch needs to develop a comprehensive programme for implementing the Immigration Act.

SERVICE DELIVERY OBSERVATIONS

· The introduction of a process of regular quarterly reviews of the performance of the Department against the annual strategic and business plans is assisting managers across the Department to develop a better understanding of the strategic priorities and service delivery challenges facing the Department

· The lack of a rigorous monitoring and evaluation system that provides sound management information for decision-making continues to hamper the adoption of a more proactive approach to identifying blockages in the service delivery chain.

SERVICE DELIVERY PROGRESS AGAINST THE WORK PLAN

· Detailed transformation framework for civic services finalised

− The following additions to the draft transformation plan have been included-

− determining the linkages between various projects that are currently underway in the Department

− the identification of further interventions which are required to transform Civic Services

− the development of a schedule that will assist in the overall co-ordination of the various projects and sub-projects

· Processing of applications for permits

− Recommendations aimed at achieving uniformity in the processing of applications and improving leadership and management of the immigration processes have been made.

− A template was developed to record the status of all types of applications for permits.

− A draft procedure manual and process flow has been developed for the processing of applications for intra-company transfers and permanent residence permits.

SERVICE DELIVERY: STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· Development of interim solutions for service delivery challenges

− Up until recently the Department has been focussing strongly on the development of longer term ICT solutions to service delivery and internal operational challenges and in the process it has failed to give adequate attention to the need to relieve bottlenecks and growing service delivery demands.

− The Department should in the short term take the following steps to improve service delivery:

− Shorten turnaround time for the processing of applications for enabling documents, e.g. processing of applications for IDs.

− Develop standard operating procedures and norms and standards that can be applied across all the regions to ensure greater consistency and uniformity in the delivery of services.

− Develop a Service Delivery Improvement Plan that focuses on the improvement of priority services, in accordance with the requirements of the Public Service Regulations.

− Improve customer relations through, for instance, innovative queue management.

SERVICE DELIVERY: STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· Implementation of differentiated services approach

− The Department has in the past been accused by its customers of being insensitive and unresponsive to their needs in the way that services are provided to them.

− It should consider the adoption of a life-event approach as well as the provision of differentiated services for its various cohorts of customers. Amongst others, a differentiated approach to service delivery provision would enable the Department to package its services in accordance with the needs of its various cohorts of customers, e.g. such as citizens, foreign visitors and business sector. The Department would also be able to provide services in a more effective and efficient manner.

· Management of programmes and projects

− A tendency has developed in the Department for programme managers to abdicate responsibility for driving critical turnaround programmes and projects in their units to others.

− The Department should ensure that Programme Managers set priorities and time frames for projects and ensure necessary synergies across business units where various units are involved in undertaking different aspects of the same project.

SERVICE DELIVERY STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

− PAs of managers must fully reflect their programme and project management responsibilities to facilitate accountability for implementing key turnaround programmes and to prevent programme managers from abdicating their management responsibilities and undergo project management training.

· Delegation of responsibilities to the regions

− Responsibilities for approvals have in the past been centralised within the head office even though the bulk of services are provided in the regions. This practice has led to slow turnaround times and inconvenience to the customers of the Department.

− Consideration should be given to decentralising certain services to improve the interface with the public. Such decentralisation should go hand-in-hand with the necessary readiness and capacity to handle the responsibility .

− The Department should ensure that regions are properly capacitated before new responsibilities are delegated to them by the Head Office.

SERVICE DELIVERY: STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

· Dealing with service delivery backlogs

− The efforts of the Team have shown that it is possible to effectively deal with such backlogs through proper co-ordination, putting in place structured systems or processes in order to promote uniformity, active leadership from the Head Office and a collaborative effort from dedicated staff.

− The Department should address various service delivery backlogs through structured systems and process, with dedicated leadership from the Head Office

CONCLUSION

· Recapping priority issues in taking the Department forward

− An action plan on the implementation of the recommendations in the final report, as well as those in the individual reports is included in the final report.

− Urgent consideration should be given to the appointment of a DG.

− A recruitment drive should be initiated to fill current senior management vacancies.

− Senior managers in the Department must be held accountable for the effective implementation of the PMDS.

− The review of the organisational structure should be completed as soon as possible to enable the Department to carry out its current responsibilities.

− The Department should fast-track the implementation of short term initiatives that are aimed at addressing critical service delivery pressures. They include the project to connect all Home Affairs offices and service points, the development of an interim track and trace system and the implementation of the infrastructure roll out plan.

− Monitoring and evaluation capacity should be established in the Department to provide up-to-date management information for decision-making purposes, to identify areas for urgent intervention and to improve the management of performance.

− A comprehensive audit should be conducted, as soon as possible, into the ICT systems solutions that the Department is currently implementing.

− A longer term ICT strategy needs to be developed and an integrated implementation plan is required. A committee of experts should be appointed to advise the Minister at a high level on the future strategic ICT approach (beyond ten years).

· This final report shows that 90% of the initiatives of the support intervention were completed by the combined OPSC/DPSA Support Intervention Team.

· Where initiatives have not been completed, the Team has provided guidance and assistance to such an extent that the Department should be in a position to take the processes forward.

· The Team would like to thank the officials within the Department for their assistance, hard work and dedication displayed during the support intervention.

· The time spent within the Department was difficult, but rewarding.

Thank you!