Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report of the
Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration on the Performance of
the Department of Public Service and Administration for the 2010/11 Financial
Year, dated 19
October 2011
The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration
(the Committee), having assessed the performance of the Department of Public
Service and Administration, reports as follows:
1. Introduction
1. Mandate of the Committee, including
provision of Section 5 of the Money Bills Amendment Procedures and Related
Matters Act, No. 9 of 2009.
The mandate of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and
Administration (DPSA) is underpinned by the provisions of the Constitution of
the
·
conduct oversight on behalf of the public, over the Department of
Public Service and Administration, to ensure executive enforcement of delivery
of services to the people, as enshrined in the Constitution of the
·
oversee
and review all matters of public interest relating to the public sector and
economic development to ensure service delivery;
·
ensure
compliance by the Department and its entities to relevant legislation
(financial and other); and
·
monitor the expenditure of the Department and its entities and
ensure regular reporting to the Committee, within the scope of accountability
and transparency.
According to Section 5 of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and
related Matters Act, the National Assembly, through
its Committees, must annually assess the performance of each national
department. The Committee must submit an annual Budgetary Review and
Recommendation Report (BRRR) for each department that falls under its oversight
responsibilities, for tabling in the National Assembly. The Committee on
Appropriations should consider these when it is considering and reporting on
the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) to the House.
The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration
considered and adopted the Budget of the Department of Public Service and
Administration on 20 April 2011. The Committee, in
compiling this report, interacted and engaged with the following source
documents:
·
The
report of the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) on the financial statements
of the DPSA for 2010/11
·
The
Annual report of the DPSA for 2010/11, in terms of Section 65 of the Public
Finance Management Act of No.1 of 1996, which requires the Ministers to table
the annual reports and financial statements for the department and public
entities to Parliament
·
Section
32 Expenditure reports, in terms of the Public Service Finance Management Act,
1999 and reports of the first quarter of 2011/12 financial year.
A strategic workshop was held with the Department and all
public entities reporting to it, which included the Ministry and all senior
managers
The Committee reviewed the annual reports of the Public
Administration Leadership and Management Academy (PALAMA) and the Public
Service Commission (PSC). The two entities received transfers from DPSA Budget
vote 12 for 2011/12. The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) was also
reviewed, despite it not receiving public funds directly from DPSA. It receives
public funds indirectly, as it provides ICT Services to Government. It is, as a
result, accountable to the Minister of Public Service and Administration.
1.2 Mandate of the Department of Public Service and
Administration
The Department of Public Service and Administration is a
state department dealing with Public Service personnel matters relating to
conditions of service, management of compensation, human resources, labour relations, Public Service governance, service
delivery, state information technology, capacity building, and skills
management. The Department has technical oversight over all state departments,
as they deliver a service to the people of
The Department is consequently responsible for providing the
institutional arrangements and governance frameworks to ensure an efficient and
effective Public Service by, among other things, ensuring that its
people-processes and technologies are aligned to support the fundamental
requirement of government for good public administration.
2. Strategic Priorities and Measurable Objectives of
the Department
2.1 Strategic Priorities of the South African
Government
·
Improving
education.
·
Improving
healthcare.
·
Creating
decent work.
·
Fighting
crime and corruption.
·
Rural
development and land reform.
2.2 Strategic Priorities of the Department set
against priorities of Government
These are:
·
Service
delivery quality and access.
·
Developing
effective systems, structures and processes.
·
Leveraging
information communication technologies (ICT) as a strategic resource (enabler)
·
Ensuring
effective employment entry into the Public Service and human resource
development / cadre development.
·
Developing
efficient human resource management practices, norms and standards.
·
Promoting
healthy and safe working environments for all public servants.
·
Ensuring
appropriate governance structures and decision-making.
·
Encouraging
citizen engagement and public participation.
·
Tackling
corruption effectively.
·
Contributing
towards improved public service and administration in
2.3 Specific Outcomes of the Department set against
Outcomes 12
These are:
·
The
delivery of a quality service and access.
·
The
development of effective systems, structures and processes.
·
The
leveraging of information communication technologies (ICT) as a strategic
resource (enabler)
·
The
ensuring of effective employment entry into the Public Service and human
resource development / cadre development.
·
The
development of efficient human resource management practices, norms and
standards.
·
The
promotion of healthy and safe working environments for all public servants.
·
The
ensuring of appropriate governance structures and decision-making.
·
The
encouragement of citizen engagement and public participation.
·
The
effective tackling of corruption.
·
The
contribution towards improved public service and administration in
3. Analysis of Strategic Plans of the Department
1. Service delivery quality and access
Quality of service in the Public Service is improving
relatively. People are able to access requisite services. The challenge is in
turnaround times to access the full service. These turnaround times affect the
quality of service, even as people have access.
2. Leveraging ICT as a strategic
enabler
This is an important strategy for effecting
the e-governance programme of Government. SITA plays
an important role in this regard as an entity in the public service and
administration. The provision of equipment in the Thusong
Service Centres leaves much to be desired. Therefore,
the enablement of e-governance will not manifest in
the desired output. But there is collaboration between the Department and the
Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
3. Developing effective systems,
structures and processes
There are still challenges in government systems, regarding
signing of performance contracts, supply chain management and turnaround times
to deliver a particular service. The Department has a role to play in this
regard, and these issues are work in progress.
3.4 Ensuring effective employment entry into the
Public Service and human resource development / cadre development
The Department and the entire Public Service have the
internship and learnership programmes
to ensure effective employment entry into the Public Service. This strategy
also helps in ensuring a constant pool of human resources for succession. The
Job-Access Strategic Framework also assists in giving access to employment for
women and people with disabilities, although people with disabilities are
minutely represented in the Public Service across all sectors. This is where
the Department has failed to show exemplary and enforcing leadership.
3.5 Developing efficient human resource management
practices, norms and standards
There is still much to be desired regarding this strategy.
Personnel in the Public Service still flout straightforward procedures and
human resource requirements. For example, tender procedures are still not
followed to the letter. Some directors-general do not sign performance
agreements with their respective Ministers and file these with the Public
Service Commission. It is an anomaly that Parliament has to hear about these
simple omissions from the PSC, when the Ministers should have been able to
enforce these procedures on their directors-general.
3.6 Ensuring appropriate governance structures and
decision-making
Appropriate governance structures are impossible in the
midst of directors-general who still omit to sign and file performance
agreements. They cannot require proper accountability of those under their
charge if they cannot honour a performance contract
themselves. But the Department and PALAMA are working together to implement the
cadre development programme, so that all and sundry
understand that there is a responsibility to serve the people.
3.7 Encouraging citizen engagement and public
participation
The Department hosts an annual Public Service Week to make
people aware of what the Public Service does and the procedures to follow in
seeking recourse to their complaints. Senior managers are dispatched annually
for a week, through Project Khaedu, to go to the
front office in regional offices to deliver and monitor a service in order to
understand the nature of challenges experienced by both the front office staff
and the recipients of the service (the public). The Department also annually
hosts the Batho Pele
Learning Network and at times the Community Development Workers’
3.8 Effectively tackling corruption
The Department is driving two projects to assist departments
to build institutional capacity in order to address the issue of corruption in
the Public Service. These projects are Minimum Anti-Corruption Capacity (MACC)
Audit and the newly established Special Anti-Corruption Unit (SACU). During the
2010/11 financial year, the Department was verifying the MACC Audit reports
from state departments. The Department developed a Code of Good Practice, which
was approved by the Minister in order to instill and inculcate good and ethical
conduct in the Public Service.
4. Analysis of Section 32 Expenditure Reports
4.1 The Overall Departmental Allocations and
Expenditures 2010/11
The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA)
was allocated an amount of R659 million in the 2010/11 financial year of which
R628 million or 95.4% has been spent at the end of the fourth quarter. The
Department has underspent by R30.5 million, or 4.6%
of the budget. A significant amount of this underspending
occurred in programmes 3 and 4, which spent 86% and
85% of their adjusted budgets, respectively. In terms of economic
classification, underspending is notable under goods
and services (R24.485 million) which was due to delays in departmental projects
and payments to service providers. Below is the analysis per departmental programme:
4.1.1 Programme 1:
Administration
This Programme was allocated a
total budget of R146.5 million after the adjustment. The Programme
managed to spend R135.5 million, which is 95.5% of the final appropriation. The
Department has underspent its budget by R6.45
million; this is as a result of savings realised
under current payments resulting from delays in receipts of invoices from the
Department of Public Works for lease agreements. A virement
of R4.1 million was applied, most of which was shifted to Programme
5 to fund the administration of Public Service Education and Training Authority
(PSETA).
4.1.2 Programme 2: Human
Resources Management and Development in Government
Programme 2 was allocated a total amount of
R49.2 million and only spent R44.6 million or 93.6 per cent at the end of the
fourth quarter. The underspending occurred under
goods and services, and is mainly due to delays in finalising
the last phase of the HR Connect project. The Department has requested a
rollover to complete this project. A virement of R1.5
million was applied, reducing the adjusted budget to R47.7 million. The funds
were moved to Programme 5 to fund the administration
of PSETA.
4.1.3 Programme 3: Labour Relations and Compensation Management in Government
Programme 3 was
allocated a total amount of R60.5 million and only spent R49.096 million or 86%
of the final appropriation. Underspending amounts to
14% of the final appropriation, and was mainly due to delays experienced in
commencing the Single Public Service Change Readiness Assessment
(R7.138 million). The Department managed to make savings of about R5.270
million under compensation of employees. Most of this amount funded the
All-Africa Public Service Innovation Awards (AAPSIA) Conference, hosted by
Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI), and also the establishment of the
Special Anti-Corruption Unit.
4.1.4 Programme 4:
Information and Technology Management in Government
Programme 4 was
allocated a total budget of R44.3 million and only managed to spend R35.120
million or 84.9% of the final appropriation. The underspending
was observed more under current payments. Savings were however realised mostly
under goods and services (R5.575 million), due to slow progress with
information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure projects. The underspending in this programme was due to delays in the
processing of payments for the Control Objectives for Information and related
Technology (COBIT) training. The Department has requested a rollover in order
to finalise this payment. A virement of R3 million
was applied to move funds from goods and services to fund expenditure relating
to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Conference (R2.3 million) and the
African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) Conference
(R700 000) in Programme 6.
4.1.5 Programme 5: Service
Delivery Improvement throughout Government
Programme 5 was
allocated a total amount of R181.9 million and spent R188.728 million or 99.8%
of the final appropriation. Most of the budget has been spent in this programme
with minimal funds having been shifted within and between the programmes.
4.1.6 Programme 6: Governance
and International Relations
Programme 6 was
allocated a total amount of R171.7 million and managed to spend R181.505 million
or 94.5% of the programme’s final appropriation. The underspending
was mostly observed under current payments. Savings were realised mostly under
goods and services (R4.898 million), due to slow spending under travel and
subsistence.
4.2 Virements and Shifting
of Funds from and to, within and between Programmes
during the Adjustment Period in line with the Legislative Framework (PFMA)
Though section 43 of the Public Finance Management Act (No
1. of 1999)1
makes provision for virements and the shifting of
funds from one programme to another, as well as
movement of funds within the programme, there are
certain requirements that need to be met by an accounting officer. These
conditions are as follows:
Section 43 (2) of the Public Finance Management Act provides
that “the amount of a saving under a main division of a vote that may be utilised in terms of (1) may not exceed 8% of the amount
appropriated under that main division.”2
Moreover section 43 (4) states that this section does not authorise
the utilisation of a saving if:
(a) An amount is specifically and exclusively appropriated
for a purpose mentioned under a main division within a vote;
(b) An amount is appropriated for transfers to another
institutions; and
(c) An amount is appropriated for capital expenditure to
defray current expenditure.
4.3 The First Quarter Expenditure Report for
Financial Year 2011/12
4.3.1 The Overall Departmental Allocations and
Expenditures 2011/12
The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA)
was allocated an amount of R690 million in the 2011/12 financial year, of which
R125 million or 18.1% has been spent at the end of the first quarter. The
Department has spent far less than the general expenditure benchmark of 25%
expenditure for the first quarter. It’s important to note that most of the
economic classification categories have reported under-expenditure in the first
quarter, the exception being Payment for Capital Assets (CAPEX), which
registered extremely high over-expenditure in this regard. The
under-expenditure in the first quarter emanated from the following departmental
programmes:3
4.3.1.1 Administration: This Programme
was allocated R165.2 million for the 2011/12 period and spent R37 million or
22.4% at the end of the first quarter. This is below the general benchmark of
25% per quarter. The under-expenditure was due to the reduced travelling costs during the first three months.
4.3.1.2 Human Resources Management and Development in
Government: Programme 2 was allocated a total amount of R33.9 million
and only spent R7.4 million or 22% at the end of the first quarter of the
2011/12 financial year. The expenditure is still below 25% benchmark. The
under-expenditure was attributed to the following:
·
The
Department has made some savings due to the reduction in costs of travelling in the first three months.
·
The
salary increase was projected to be effected from May 2011 onwards. This is
indeed reflected under goods and services of this programme.
4.3.1.3 Labour Relations
and Compensation Management in Government: Programme 3 was allocated
a total amount of R23.2 million and only spent R3.8 million or 16.4% in the
first three months. The under-expenditure was due to the delays in finalising the appointment of the service provider to
conduct Health Risk Management Audit DPSA. The major part of the
under-expenditure was reported under goods and services of this programme.
4.3.1.4 Information and Technology Management in
Government: Programme 4 was allocated a total budget of R40.8 million
and only spent R3.9 million or 9.7% of its budget. The under-expenditure was due
to the following reasons:
·
The
resignation of three senior staff members, which resulted in unfilled
vacancies.
·
The
outstanding and unpaid invoices for State Information Technology Agency (SITA),
for the Thusong Centres.
4.3.1.5 Service Delivery Improvement throughout
Government: Programme 5 was allocated a total amount of R204.8 million
and only spent R27 million or 13.2% at the end of the first quarter of the
2011/12 financial year. The under-expenditure was mostly reported under
transfers and subsidies of this programme. Of this
amount, only R12 million or 10.1% was transferred to PALAMA and R3.9 million or
18.6% to PSETA. Since transfers and subsidies account for the biggest share of
this programme’s budget, under-expenditure in this
regard compromised the whole programme.
4.3.1.6 Governance and International Relations: Programme 6 was allocated a total amount of R221.8 million
for 2011/12. At the end of the first quarter, the Department only spent R45.7
million or 20.6% of the allocation. The under-expenditure was due to the
following areas:
·
Delays
in the development of the web page for the African Peer Review Mechanism
·
Delays
in making payments to the State Information Technology Agency (SITA).
4.4 Rollovers of the Unspent Funds to the
2011/12 Financial Year
The level of under-spending in the above section
is an indication that the Department might apply for rollovers to the National
Treasury for the 2011/12 financial year. Depending on the circumstances,
certain rollovers will be approved by the National Treasury whilst others will
never be approved. Looking at Table 1 below, R1 350 million rollovers were
requested at the end of the 2010/11 financial year and was approved by National
Treasury.
Table 1: Approved Rollovers for the
Department
|
R Thousand |
Requested |
Approved |
|
Department
of Public Service and Administration |
1 350 |
1 350 |
|
Human
Resource Connect project |
860 |
860 |
|
COBIT
Training |
490 |
490 |
|
Total |
1 350 |
1 350 |
Source: DPSA (2011)
5. Analysis of the Annual Reports and Financial
Statements of the Department
5.1 Department of Public Service and Administration
(DPSA)
5.1.1 Programme 1:
Administration
The Department was able to table its 2010-2014 Strategic Plan and its revised Strategic Plan for 2011/12 on 09 March
2011 in Parliament. It also managed to develop its Annual Performance Plan
(APP) and align it with the Delivery Agreement for Outcome 12. The seven
outputs in the Delivery Agreement for Outcome 12 are:
·
Service
delivery quality and access
·
Human
resource management and development
·
Business
processes systems decision rights and accountability management
·
Reduction
of corruption in the Public Service
·
Nation
building and national identity
·
Citizen
participation
·
Social
cohesion.
The first progress report on the implementation of the
Delivery Agreement for Outcome 12 was presented to the Cabinet Committee on
Governance and Administration on 08 March 2011.
5.1.2 Programme 2: Human
Resource Management and Development in Government
The purpose of this Programme is
to develop and implement an integrated strategy to monitor employment
practices, conduct human resource planning and diversity management and to
improve the health and well-being of Public Service employees.
Regarding the Information Management System (IFMS), the
Department, developed and completed the Human Resource Generic Template and has
implemented the Human Resource Solution. The Department provided technical
support to PALAMA to assist in the development of the Human Resource Management
and Development training programmes to be implemented
within the Public Service with effect from 2012. The Department also extended
its support to the Administrator of PSETA. Technical support was provided to
the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) towards the
development of an Institutional Performance Assessment Tool (PAT) which will be
used to assess the performance of heads of department (HoDs)
in corporate services management.
The Department finalised a report
on organisational skills requirements and Senior
Management Service (SMS) skills gaps for 40 departments and it has been signed
off by the Director-General. But the Department has reported that it could not
complete the following activities, as they were dependent on the outcome of the
same report on the analysis of organisational and SMS
members’ skills gaps:
·
Policy
on mandatory programmes.
·
Training
of Public Service employees in mandatory training programmes
where 25% of identified public servants would have completed mandatory programmes by the end of 2011.
·
Determination
of the average annual training days per public servant; and the policies and
guidelines for compulsory SMS capacity development programmes.
The Department could not complete the revision of the SMS
Handbook aligned to new Regulations due to the DPSA Governance Branch not
finalizing the Ethics and Integrity Framework.
A draft policy document on Reasonable Accommodation and Assistive Devices was completed following extensive
consultations with departments. The Minister approved the Employment Equity
Guide for the Public Service. The national targets of 50% women and 2% of
persons with disabilities in senior management have not been achieved since
2005. Presently, only 34% representation of women and 0.22% for persons with
disabilities have been achieved.
5.1.3 Programme 3: Labour Relations and Compensation Management in Government
The purpose of the programme is to
develop and implement compensation policies and guidelines for the public
sector. It also ensures co-ordinated bargaining and
effective programme management for the establishment
of the single Public Service.
All occupation-specific dispensations (OSDs)
were finalised, except the one for Medical and
Therapeutic Services, which was supposed to be finalised
by April 2011. OSD for engineer occupations was implemented in 80% of
departments. In July 2010, the Department commissioned the review of the housing
allowance and policy in order to formalise an
investigative study on the development of a pension secured housing finance
scheme.
The Department was not able to conclude the multi-term
agreement on wage increases for the Public Service for 2010/11 and 2011/12
financial years, due to ongoing consultations with labour
unions. As a result, only a single term agreement for 2010/11 was signed. Late
in August 2011, the 2011/12 agreement was finally signed.
5.1.4 Programme 4:
Information and Technology Management in Government
The purpose of this programme is
to ensure the effective use of information technology (IT) in government and to
facilitate the use of information technology for modernizing government. It
also establishes e-government practices within an acceptable information
security environment.
The Department developed a blueprint for a government-wide
security policy which will be integrated across departments and spheres of
government. The Department optimized the IT infrastructure project for the Nama Khoi municipality, a project
funded by the same municipality. This will help improve the facility for
payment for services which had been hindered by slow IT systems in the past.
The model can be replicated at other municipalities of a similar profile and
rural nature.
The draft Security Governance Framework has been completed.
The Department has consulted with stakeholders such as the Government
Information Technology Officers Council (GITOC) Standing Committee on
Information System Security (SCISS) and the Department of State Security was
briefed through workshops and presentations. The development and adoption of
the IT Security policy could not be completed by the end of 2011, because the
Department is experiencing internal human resource constraints. The Public Key
Infrastructure (PKI) strategy for the Public Service could not be achieved
because the Department of State Security wanted to be fully involved; and this
would have meant that DPSA would have to adjust its deliverables on the
project.
The renewal of all expiring transversal tenders could not be
completed as a result of limited resources within SITA procurement processes.
The CEO of SITA was made aware of this challenge. IT Vulnerability Assessments
in the Public Service could not be done across the board, and was successful
only in one national department. This was caused by the delays in the planning
process and discussions which took longer than expected. Also, this is caused
by the fact that technical human resource are only allocated on an ad hoc
basis.
The Department facilitated the connectivity of 100 Thusong Service Centres to the
Local Area Network (LAN) and 60 centres were
connected to the Wide Area Network (WAN).
5.1.5 Programme 5: Service
Delivery Improvement throughout Government
The purpose of this programme is
to engage in supportive interventions and partnerships to improve efficiency
and effectiveness. It also improves on learning and knowledge-based modes and practices
of service delivery in the Public Service.
The Department trained 500 practitioners on the rollout of
service delivery improvement plans through the Batho Pele change management engagement programme.
A concept document on National Knowledge Management Framework was developed,
which resulted in a consultative workshop held in November 2010. The Department
also developed and completed a concept document on the development of generic
structures including organizational development (OD). To this effect,
consultative workshops were held with the Departments of Health; Social
Development, Education and Offices of the Premiers.
In collaboration with PALAMA, the Department developed
training modules for the capacitation of Organisational Development practitioners and the piloting
of the training programme was scheduled for April
2011. The Department is in the process of creating an enabling environment for
the Community Development Workers (CDWs) by drafting
regulations for approval by the Minister. After this process, the CDW policy
will be developed.
The Department was unable to conduct change-readiness
assessments regarding institutions and departments that would be impacted by
the Single/Integrated Public Service concept or legislation. According to the
Department, they are awaiting the finalisation of the
Public Administration and Management Bill in Parliament. As a result of this
delay, the Department resorted to developing a draft strategy framework on
managing change in the Public Service. By December 2010, the Minister announced
that the Department would be introducing the amendment to existing legislation
instead of introducing new legislation. The draft Public Service Amendment Bill
will soon be submitted to Cabinet for approval, after which it will go to
NEDLAC and other stakeholders for further discussions.
5.1.6 Programme 6:
Governance and International Relations
The Department drives this programme
to improve governance and public administration for enhanced service delivery
in
6. Monitoring and Evaluation
The Department conducted four Employee Satisfaction Surveys
in the Offices of the Premier in
The remaining provinces will get their share during the
2011/12 financial year. The M&E human capacity questionnaires were piloted
in the provinces visited. A total of 23 officials from different branches of
DPSA were trained on the Introduction to M&E course facilitated by PALAMA.
The Department developed a strategy to improve and maintain the quality of data
in the PERSAL system. The system is meant to strengthen the monitoring of human
resource policies within the Public Service.
7 International and African Affairs
The Department hosted and co-ordinated
a number of international events as follows:
·
Southern
African Development Community (SADC) Senior Officials Steering Committee to
develop a strategy on the establishment of a SADC Public Administration
Cluster.
·
Continental
Capacity Developmental Programme to develop a
strategy on continental capacity building programme.
·
Co-ordinating
DPSA representation at Champion and Bureau Meetings in
·
Co-ordinating
the implementation of All-Africa Public Sector Innovation Awards (AAPSIA) and
the 32nd African Association of Public Administration and Management (AAPAM)
Roundtable Conference.
·
Eleven
officials from the Vietnamese Ministry of Home Affairs to learn about SA HR
Performance Management System and current remuneration approach.
·
Six
Zambian officials to learn about SA’s Senior
Management benefit packages.
·
Six
Zimbabwean officials to learn about conditions of service and good labour standards.
·
Six
French officials to learn about recruitment and selection processes.
8. African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)
The APRM Plan of Action was developed and the 2010 Annual
Report was submitted. The DPSA made inputs into the following continental
projects to influence public service reform:
·
Final
draft of the African Public Service Charter.
·
Final
draft of the Long-Term Strategy for the Implementation of the Continental
Governance and Public Administration Programme.
·
AAPSIA
Marketing and Adjudication process.
·
Strategy
for the Continental Capacity Development Programme.
9. Integrity and Ethics Management
The Department undertook the following projects under this
sub-programme:
·
Launching
of the Special Anti-corruption Unit on 25 November 2010. However, a target to
conclude 70% of disciplinary cases could not be achieved due to capacity
constraints.
·
Finalising the draft of the Public Sector Integrity Management
Framework.
·
Assisting
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to develop the anti-corruption strategy.
·
Developing
the NQ4 Anti-corruption Training Programme by 31 May
2010 and subjecting to training 1 081 officials nationally.
·
Developing
the NQ5 Anti-corruption Training Programme and
submitting it to the PSETA for accreditation by 31 March 2010.
10. Report of the Auditor-General
The Auditor-General expressed an unqualified audit opinion
on the performance of the Department and its entities for 2010/11. It remains
to be seen how the Department will address the concerns raised by the
Auditor-General, and whether it aims to ensure that these problems do not
recur. A breakdown of detailed findings by the AGSA is provided below for each
entity:
10.1 The Department of Public Service and
Administration
·
The
Department received an unqualified audit opinion similar to the 2009/10 outcome.
·
In terms of presentation of information, about 27% of reported
targets with major variances could not be explained.
·
Reported targets were not consistent with the approved strategic
plan.
·
Changes to objectives
and targets were not disclosed and explained in the annual report.
·
Planned performance measures for 56%
of selected programmes were not clear to ensure consistent data collection.
·
Validity of 44% of selected targets
could not be established due to a lack of sufficient audit evidence.
·
In
terms of procurement, goods and
services were procured without inviting three quotations.
10.2 The
Public Administration Leadership and
·
PALAMA
received an unqualified audit opinion on financial statements similar to the
2009/10 outcome.
·
Employees of PALAMA performed other
remunerative work without prior permission of the relevant authority.
·
Irregular expenditure was incurred.
·
Fruitless and wasteful expenditure
was incurred.
10.3 Public
Service Commission
The AGSA
reported on the following pertaining to the PSC audit outcome:
·
PSC
received an unqualified audit opinion similar to the 2009/10 outcome.
·
Fruitless and wasteful expenditure
was incurred.
·
All payments were not settled within
30 days of receipt of invoice.
10.4 State
Information Technology Agency
·
SITA
received an unqualified audit opinion on financial statements similar to the
2009/10 outcome
·
SITA is hailed as the procurement
agent on behalf of other government institutions; however it was found that in
several instances non-compliance with laws and regulations pertaining to the
procurement process, contract management and adherence to internal control was
identified as a challenge. These issues of non-compliance could have resulted
in modifications to audit reports of other government institutions.
·
The strategic plan was not submitted
on time to Minister.
·
Quarterly reports were not prepared
and submitted to Minister on time.
·
A risk management strategy was not
developed.
·
40% of service level agreements with
other government entities were not signed.
·
Documentation for tenders
quotations etc was not always available.
·
Bid invitations were not signed by
designated officials from other government departments, as required by SITA Act
Regulation 8.1.7(a)
·
There was no proof that bids were
advertised, as required by SITA regulations.
·
Declaration of interest forms were
not signed by members of various procurement committees.
·
Approval for deviation from
prescribed competitive bidding process was not obtained.
11. Consideration of Reports of Committee on Public
Accounts
The Department did not appear before the Committee on Public
Accounts. The Department did not apply any SCOPA Resolutions.
12. Consideration of other Sources of information
The 2011 State of the Public Service Report would have been
handy in assessing some Government programmes, but it
was not yet available at the time of the drafting of this report.
13. Committee’s Observations
The Committee observes that the Department and its entities
have promptly appeared before the Committee whenever required to do so,
notwithstanding the fact that, at times, the information provided might be
shoddy and insufficient. The Portfolio Committee will continue to make
follow-ups where necessary, until issues are finally resolved.
The following needs to be highlighted:
·
The culture of virements and shifting of
funds is still continuing since the last financial year (2009/10). Even during
the first quarter of 2011/12 financial year, some funds have been shifted from
one programme to another. Though the Public Finance
Management Act allows this conduct, it is subject to abuse in a number of ways.. Furthermore, it is indicative of lack of proper financial
planning in the Department
·
The Committee noted that a number of programmes
have under-spent their budget. However the Department provided adequate
information to support the expenditure patterns.
·
It was also noted that most of under-spending in various programmes was as a result of invoices not being submitted
on time, as well as vacant posts not being filled.
·
The
Portfolio Committee encourages continuous efforts aimed at ensuring service
delivery of quality and at granting access to services for communities in
far-flung rural areas. The Committee believes that Thusong
Services Centres should be extended to areas where
they are non-existent. These centers should also be well equipped and manned by
competent personnel.
·
The
Portfolio Committee notes that the vetting processes remain a challenge,
especially for officials recruited in supply chain management. This works
against the zeal to pre-empt and prevent corruption in the Public Service.
·
The
Portfolio Committee realizes that the Executive has not been vigilant in
ensuring that senior management service signs performance agreements on time
for proper evaluation and accountability.
·
The
Portfolio Committee wishes to highlight that turnaround times in the filling of
vacancies have improved, but the ideal state has not yet been realised.
·
The
Portfolio Committee wishes to highlight that the spirit to implement the Job-Access
Strategic Framework has not been efficiently carried through to ensure that
women and people with disabilities have access to employment in the Public
Service and that these vulnerable groups are promoted to senior management
positions, so that their constitutional rights are upheld.
·
The
Portfolio Committee notes that the Auditor-General’s Report had so many
reservations concerning governance issues. The Committee would like to see
these challenges promptly addressed before they become endemic.
·
The
Portfolio Committee also notes that the spending trends do not paint a good
picture, and this will impact on service delivery and its quality.
14. Conclusions
The Portfolio Committee is of the view that some goals and
objectives might not be met, given the rate of spending in the Department.
However, the Committee is satisfied that the attainment of most of the goals
and objectives of the Department is still work in progress. The Portfolio
Committee believes that, given the pace of implementation of some programmes, value for money may not be realized.
The Portfolio Committee concludes that, in terms of
available information and efforts by the entities to address outstanding
matters, budgetary review should be supported to execute the entities’ mandated
programmes.
15. Recommendations
·
Continuous
efforts should be made to ensure service delivery of quality and to grant
access to services for communities in far-flung rural areas. Thusong Services Centres should
be extended to areas where they are non-existent. These centers should also be
well equipped and manned by competent personnel.
·
Vetting
processes should be improved and be vigorous, especially for officials
recruited in supply chain management, so that corruption can be pre-empted and
prevented.
·
The
Executive should be vigilant to ensure that senior management service signs
performance agreements on time for proper evaluation and accountability.
·
Turnaround
times in the filling of vacancies must be significantly improved.
·
The
Job-Access Strategic Framework must be vigilantly implemented to ensure that
women and people with disabilities have access to employment in the Public
Service, and that these vulnerable groups are promoted to senior management
positions, so that their constitutional rights are upheld.
·
The
Portfolio Committee recommends that all outstanding issues that are supposed to
be addressed by the entities in the financial year under review, should indeed
be addressed; and the current programmes should continue
to receive due attention in the 2011/12 financial year.
·
The
Portfolio Committee is of the view that the position of the Director-General
should be filled immediately so that governance issues, as outlined in the
Auditor-General’s Report, are speedily resolved.
·
The
Portfolio Committee recommends that the Suspensions Guideline should be
effectively used; and that all government institutions should be made aware of
it in order to minimize the time lapse between the suspension period and the
finalization of an alleged misconduct.
·
Connectivity
to Thusong Service Centres
should be given urgent attention in order to accelerate service delivery and
access to government services.
·
The
PERSAL clean-up process has taken too long. This matter should be speeded up in
order to have an effective information management system. The setting up of
an effective information management system would help improve the turnaround
times in the filling of vacancies in the Public Service.
·
The
Department must work vigorously towards the attainment of multi-year wage
agreements.
·
PALAMA
should ensure that it gives necessary and urgent focus on skills development
and the capacitation of the employees of the Public
Service at all levels.
·
The
Public Service Commission should sharpen its Monitoring and Evaluation
Strategy, so that the impact of service delivery in the Public Service can be
objectively assessed.
·
The
Department should improve on its Human Resource Development Strategy, so that
skills in the Public Service can improve; and also so that civil servants can
have decent work as their skills improve.
·
The
Department should allocate more financial, technical and human resources to the
Specialised Anti-Corruption Unit, so that corruption
can be decisively uprooted in the Public Service.
·
The
Department should urgently table before Parliament their proposals regarding
legislation to bring about an integrated and seamless Public Service.
·
SITA
should urgently table before Parliament their proposals regarding legislation
to regulate National Data.
·
The
Department needs to give necessary attention to the issue of public
participation regarding systems and operations between itself and its entities,
and also among state departments in the forefront of central government
administration and service delivery.
·
The
Committee requests that the Department provide it with a list of those
Departments in which performance agreements are routinely not filed on time or
at all. The Committee will then undertake to follow up with the relevant
Executive Authorities about why this is so.
·
The
Committee requests that the Department, in collaboration with the Public
Service Commission, gives an overall report on progress made by the entire
Public Service regarding Government’s Five Priorities. This should happen by
the first quarter of 2012.
In light of the above
recommendations, the Portfolio Committee recommends the medium-term review of
the Department and its entities’ budget; so that the mandate of the Department
can be carried through, subject to spending on services and programmes
for which the funds have been allocated. The Portfolio Committee is of the view
that it will be impossible to ensure the constitutional rights of recipients of
service and uphold the rights of state employees without the review of the
medium-term budget. These rights are captured under Section 33 of the
Constitution of the
Report to be considered