REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO
The Portfolio Committee on Police
examined the Budget Vote 23 of the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) for
the 2011/12 financial year, including projections of the Medium-Term
Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for 2011/12 and 2012/13, as shown in the Estimates
of National Expenditure (ENE). Also examined, was the ICD Strategic Plan for 2011
– 2016 and the 2011/12 Annual Performance Plan. The Committee reports as
follows:
1. INTRODUCTION
The
Portfolio Committee on Police received the following submissions on the budget
of the ICD for 2011/12:
·
Overview of the 2010/11 Budget and
Strategic Plan of the ICD by the Research Unit of the Parliament of
·
Briefing by the ICD on the 2011/12 budget
and strategic priorities for 2011- 2016 on 15 March 2011.
2. OVERVIEW
OF THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND BUDGET OF THE INDEPENDENT COMPLAINTS
DIRECTORATE FOR 2011/12
The aim of the
Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) is to ensure independent oversight
over the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the municipal police
services, to conduct independent and impartial investigations of identified
criminal offences allegedly committed by members of SAPS and the municipal
police services, and to make appropriate recommendations.
The Independent Police
Investigative Directorate Bill has been passed by Parliament in 2011 and has
implications for the functioning of the ICD (which will be renamed as the
Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID)). These include obligations
to investigate additional priority areas (other than deaths in police custody
and deaths as a result of police action) including:
·
Discharge of an official firearm by a police officer
·
Rape by a police officer, whether off or on duty
·
Rape of any person in police custody
·
Complaints of torture or assault against a police officer in
the execution of his or her duties
·
Corruption matters within the police
·
Any other matters referred to the IPID by the Executive
Director, the Minister, an MEC, or the Secretary for the Police Service.
2.1. Strategic
Priorities for 2011
The ICD identified seven strategic
priority areas for the period 2011-2016 which are to:
·
conduct effective and impartial investigations;
·
combat corruption and systematic corruption within the SAPS
and the municipal police services;
·
co-operate with Civilian Secretariat for the Police Services;
·
develop and promote public awareness of the Directorate’s
functions;
·
develop policy, reporting frameworks and standard operating
procedures to regulate investigations;
·
ensure corporate governance; and
·
ensure effective financial management.
2.2. Focus Areas
The ICD reported its focus areas as:
compliance to legislative prescripts, rules, regulation and policies;
monitoring and evaluation of performance; case-flow management system;
investigators’ training, and implementation of the Independent Police Investigative
Directorate (IPID) Act and Regulations.
With regards to the Adjustment
Estimate period for October 2011, the ICD has indicated that it has prioritised
the appointment of nine Provincial Heads, the establishment of the Corporate
Governance Unit and the strengthening of Executive support.
The Plans differentiate between
current programmes and proposed programme changes to give effect to the new
mandate after the promulgation of the IPID Act as set out below.
|
PROGRAMMES PRE-IPID ACT
PROMULGATION |
STRATEGIC
OBJECTIVE |
PROGRAMMES
POST-IPID ACT PROMULGATION |
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE |
|
Programme 1: Administration Sub-programmes: 1.Corporate Governance (new) 2. Internal Audit 3. Financial Management 4. Corporate Management services (Administration) |
Management & support services. Corporate Governance is a new sub-programme to focus
on monitoring and evaluating performance, and reporting on the attainment of
strategic objectives. |
Programme 1: Administration Sub-programmes: 1.Corporate Governance 2. Internal Audit 3. Financial Management 4. Corporate Management services (Administration 5.
Executive Support (new) |
Management & support services Executive Support will provide strategic support,
media liaison services; establishment and maintenance of sectoral and
intergovernmental relations |
|
Programme 2: Complaints Processing, Monitoring
and Investigation Sub-programmes:
1 Complaints Processing, Monitoring and
Investigation 2. Legal Services |
· Receive
register and process complaints · Investigate deaths in police custody or as a
result of police action; · Investigate and/or monitor police
criminality and misconduct; · Monitor DVA implementation |
Programme 2: Investigation and Information
Management Sub-programmes: 1: Information Management 2: Policy development, strategic planning and
provincial coordination |
·
Co-ordinate and facilitate
investigative process ·
Develop investigative policy and
strategic framework to guide and report on investigations |
|
Programme 3: Information Management and
Research Sub-programmes: 1.
Information Management system 2. Research |
·
Manage all information needs ·
Conduct proactive research and
various oversight activities · Manage
all communication and marketing of activities and products to stakeholders |
Programme 3: Legal
Services Manage and facilitate the provision of investigation
advisory services and legal and litigation services |
·
Manage department’s legal and
contractual obligations ·
Co-ordinate civil and labour
litigation proceedings with State Attorney’s office ·
Coordinate granting of policing
powers to investigators ·
Provide legal advice and guidance
to investigators |
Because of the envisaged change in
Programme structure after promulgation of the Act, as well as changes in
responsibilities and focus areas for the Directorate, the 2011/12 Plan provides
for performance indicators and targets pre-implementation of the Act as well as
post-implementation of the Act.
2.3. Challenges
The ICD indicated that it has faced
problems in the past which will be addressed in the following manner:
·
Strengthening of Finance
·
Internal Audit. Money
allocated to fill four posts in 2011
·
Focusing on issues of corruption and maladministration
·
Strengthening of the National and Provincial offices.
3.
EXPENDITURE FOR 2010
3.1 Analysis
of second quarter spending
In terms of the Revised
Estimates for 2010, the Independent Complaints Directorate’s main appropriation
budget of R129.3 million for the 2010/11 financial year was adjusted upwards by
R2.1 million during the adjustments period, due to the higher-than-anticipated
increases in personnel remuneration costs, including housing allowances. There
were, however, no roll-overs, virements or shifts of funds during the
adjustments period.
In terms of spending trends, the
ICD spent R48.1 million or 37.2% of its main appropriation budget by the end of
September 2010 (i.e. in the first six months of the financial year). However,
the preliminary expenditure rate of the adjusted budget was only 36.6%, due to
the additional allocations. Expenditure in the first six months of the 2010/11
financial year was also lower compared to the mid-year expenditure rate of 41.4%
of the 2009/10 adjusted budget. This can be ascribed to the delay in the relocation
of the national office, which only took place in September 2010 although it had
been budgeted for since 2008/09. Another contributing factor was the Basic
Accounting System (BAS) “being ‘off-line’ for long periods prior to and during
the relocation, resulting in delays in the processing of invoices and claims on
BAS throughout September. Expenditure is expected to increase since the
relocation has been completed in October 2010”.
3.2. Analysis
of third quarter spending for the period ending 31 December 2010
The ICD had spent R93.4 million
or 71% by the end of the third quarter, which is lower than the projected 77.1%,
but higher compared to the same period in 2009/10 (63.5%).
The spending pattern differs
greatly in respect of programmes, as Administration spent 82.8% compared to the
53.3% spent by Information Management and Research. Only 66.1% was spent in the
Complaints Processing, Monitoring and Investigation Programme of a projected 75%.
Under-expenditure in the Programmes was attributed to a number of factors
including the relocation to new
offices, and late invoices from the Department of Public Works (DPW) and the State
Information Technology Agency (SITA).
Only
58.8% was spent in respect of capital assets, which was far below the projected
90.2%. The low spending is ascribed to the delayed relocation of the national
office, which delayed payment of claims on the transversal system.
In terms of spending on identified items, lease payments (129.8%) and audit costs (109%) increased
significantly in the third quarter. However, cost-saving measures resulted in
lower spending on catering (38.5%), inventory: stationery and printing (44.3%).
4.
BUDGET ANALYSIS
It is important to note
that the ICD Budget Vote does not cater for the envisaged changes that will
occur as a result of the implementation of the IPID Act. The Directorate
indicated that it will get financing for the new structure and responsibilities
emanating from the Act during the October Adjustment period. The ICD indicated that it does have a costing
document for implementation of the Act which has been developed closely with
National Treasury, but which had, at the time of the briefing, not been
approved by the Minister of Police.
In 2011/12, the ICD
receives an increased budget of R151.6 million, which represents a R20.2
million nominal rand change; or a R13.3 million real rand change from the adjusted
R131 435 million appropriated in
2010/11.
The budget reflects a
nominal increase of 15.37% and a real increase of 10.09%.
|
Programme |
Budget |
Nominal |
Real |
Nominal % change |
Real % change |
|||
|
R million |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2010/11-2011/12 |
2010/11-2011/12 |
||
|
Administration |
50.8 |
59.8 |
65.6 |
69.2 |
9.0 |
6.3 |
17.72 % |
12.32 % |
|
Complaints
Processing, Monitoring and Investigations |
64.6 |
74.2 |
75.8 |
80.5 |
9.6 |
6.2 |
14.86 % |
9.60 % |
|
Information
Management and Research |
16.0 |
17.6 |
19.6 |
20.7 |
1.6 |
0.8 |
10.00 % |
4.96 % |
|
TOTAL |
131.4 |
151.6 |
161.0 |
170.4 |
20.2 |
13.3 |
15.37 % |
10.09 % |
Programme allocations: Budget Vote 23 has only three
programmes, namely: Programme 1: Administration; Programme 2: Complaints Processing,
Monitoring and Investigation; and Programme 3: Information Management
and Research. The biggest allocation (R74.2 million or 48.9%) goes to Programme
2, which is responsible for the ICD’s core business, namely investigating
deaths in police custody or as a result of police action; and investigating
criminal offences and serious misconduct complaints against SAPS and Metro
Police members. Programme 2’s nominal rand value allocation is 14.86% higher
and real rand value 9.6% higher than in 2010/11. Programme 1 gets an allocation
of 39.4% of the budget; and the remaining 11.7% goes to Programme 3. The
percentage allocation for Programme 3 has decreased from the previous Budget’s
allocation of 14%.
Additional allocations for 2011/12 and the MTEF: Provision is made for
additional allocations of R7.9 million in 2011/12, R9.1 million in 2012/13 and
R10.1 million in 2013/14 in respect of salary adjustments, increased financial
management capacity, opening satellite offices in Western Cape (George) and
Mpumalanga (KwaMhlanga), and developing a monitoring and evaluation component
to improve reporting on performance.
More specifically additional
allocations have been made as follows for the 2011/12 financial year:
·
Improved conditions of service (salary adjustments): R2.9
million (increasing to R3 million in 2012/13 and R3.1 million in 2013/14)
·
Strengthening financial management: R3.564 million (R2.605
million in 2012/13 and R2.761 in 2013/14)
·
Opening of new satellite offices: R1.436 million (increasing
to R2.128 in 2012/13 and R2.771 in 2013/14)
The additional allocation for a
monitoring and evaluation component will only be allocated in 2012/13 (R1.346
million) and 2013/14 (R1.468 million).
Economic
classification: The allocation to Current Payments, which includes Compensation of Employees
and Goods and Services, has increased by R19.5 million to R147.6 million. Compensation of Employees receives an increase of
R10.8 million; while Goods and Services increased by R8.7 million to R61
million. All increases in the Current Payments allocations are higher when
compared to the increases received in 2010/11.
In terms of payments for capital
assets, it should be noted that there is no allocation in the ICD budget for
‘Buildings and other fixed structures’ which means that all buildings are
leased. According to the ENE, the allocation of R3.95 million for capital
assets in 2011/12, which includes only ‘Machinery and Equipment’, will decrease
at an average annual rate of 44.2% between 2010/11 and 2013/14, as the ICD will
not replace its capital assets over the MTEF.
Key line
items under Goods and Services and the allocations for 2011/12 include the
following:
·
Computer services: R4.6 million for
2011/12 (Adjusted Appropriation for 2010/11 was R4.3 million).
·
Consultants and professional
services: R552 thousand for 2011/12 (Revised estimate for 2010/11 was R471
thousand)
·
Fleet services: R2.613 million for
2011/12 (Revised estimate for 2010/11 was R2.373 million)
·
Lease payments: R10.037 million for
2011/12 (Revised estimate for 2010/11 was R9.990 million)
·
Travel and subsistence: R20.875
million (Revised estimate for 2010/11 was R14.754 million).
Training: Training expenditure
increases only slightly in 2011/12 at R1.239 million (it was R1.167 million in
2010/11). Training expenditure as a percentage of compensation of employees
decreases from 1.5% in 2010 to 1.4% in 2011.
Human Resources: The ICD had a total staff component of 292 funded
posts (95 in Programme 1; 155 in Programme 2; and 42 in Programme 3) as at 30
September 2010. The number of funded posts will increase to 301 in 2011/12 (104
in Programme 1; 153 in Programme 2 and 44 in Programme 3) mainly to strengthen
the financial management function. The budget provides for increases in staff
primarily to the Administration programme (to increase audit capacity and other
finance functions, as well as four staff members for the George satellite
office). The actual number of vacant positions in the Department is currently
twenty (20), and all the vacant posts are approved and funded. Only 95 of the
155 posts in Programme 2 are currently filled by Investigators.
The ratio of support staff
to function line staff is approximately 1:3. In other words, 1 in every 3 staff
members is administrative staff. National Treasury has raised concerns in this
regard and identifies that a more suitable ratio would be 1:5 or more.
4.1. Programme 1: Administration
|
Programme |
Budget |
Nominal Increase /
Decrease in 2011/12 |
Real Increase /
Decrease in 2011/12 |
Nominal Percent change
in 2011/12 |
Real Percent change in
2011/12 |
|
|
R million |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sub-programme
1: Management |
10 088.0 |
10 757.0 |
669.0 |
176.3 |
6.63 % |
1.75 % |
|
Sub-programme
2: Corporate Services |
32 624.0 |
40 379.0 |
7 755.0 |
5 905.6 |
23.77 % |
18.10 % |
|
Sub-programme
3: Office Accommodation |
8 125.0 |
8 633.0 |
508.0 |
112.6 |
6.25 % |
1.39 % |
|
TOTAL |
50 837.0 |
59 769.0 |
8 932.0 |
6 194.5 |
17.6 % |
12.19 % |
The objective of Programme:
Administration is to provide overall accountability and strategic direction to
the Directorate. Administration received 39.4% of the total budget of R151.6
million. Over the medium term, expenditure is projected to increase from R50.8
million to R69.2 million, at an average annual rate of 10.8%. Expenditure will
focus further on increasing capacity in support services, particularly finance and
internal auditing.
4.2 Programme 2:
Complaints Processing, Monitoring and Investigation
|
Programme |
Budget |
Nominal Increase /
Decrease in 2011/12 |
Real Increase /
Decrease in 2011/12 |
Nominal Percent change
in 2011/12 |
Real Percent change in
2011/12 |
|
|
R million |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sub-programme
1: Complaints Processing, Monitoring and Investigation |
62 744.0 |
72 247.0 |
9 503.0 |
6 194.0 |
15.15 % |
9.87 % |
|
Sub-programme
2: Legal Services |
1 857.0 |
1 998.0 |
141.0 |
49.5 |
7.59 % |
2.66 % |
|
TOTAL |
64 601.0 |
74 245.0 |
9 644.0 |
6 243.5 |
14.9 % |
9.66 % |
Programme 2 comprises two
sub-programmes, namely Complaints Processing, Monitoring and Investigation, and
Legal Services.
Complaints Processing, Monitoring
and Investigation is responsible for the ICD’s core business, namely
investigating deaths in police custody, or as a result of police action; and
investigating criminal offences and serious misconduct complaints against SAPS
and Metro Police members.
After promulgation of the IPID Act,
all matters that relate to service delivery complaints of the SAPS will be
transferred to the SAPS and, where appropriate, to the Civilian Secretariat for
Police Service. The conducting of station audits and cell inspection in
compliance with the Domestic Violence Act will be transferred to the Civilian
Secretariat for Police Service. The new Programme 2 will be called
Investigation and Information Management, and its purpose will be to co-ordinate
and facilitate the investigative process through the development of
investigative policy and strategic frameworks that will guide and report on
investigations.
4.3 Programme 3: Information
Management and Research
|
Programme |
Budget |
Nominal Increase /
Decrease in 2011/12 |
Real Increase /
Decrease in 2011/12 |
Nominal Percent change
in 2011/12 |
Real Percent change in
2011/12 |
|
|
R million |
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sub-programme
1: Research |
1 642.0 |
1 803.0 |
161.0 |
78.4 |
9.81 % |
4.78 % |
|
Sub-programme
2: Information Management System |
14 355.0 |
15 783.0 |
1 428.0 |
705.1 |
9.95 % |
4.91 % |
|
TOTAL |
15 997.0 |
17 586.0 |
1 589.0 |
783.5 |
9.9 % |
4.90 % |
The
Information Management and Research Programme currently consists of two
sub-programmes: Research and Information Management System. After promulgation
of the Act, the entire programme will be subsumed under Programme 1:
Administration and Programme 2: Investigation and Information Management. The
research function will be moved to the Civilian Secretariat for the Police
Service. The new Programme 3: Legal
Services will be responsible for managing the provision of investigation
advisory services and litigation advisory services.
5. COMMITTEE
OBSERVATIONS AND
ISSUES OF CONCERN
The Chairperson commended the ICD
for tabling their Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan on the 9 March
2011. The Committee highlighted the following observations and issues of
concern:
Strategic
priorities
Members raised concerns that the
strategic priorities and focus areas identified in the presentation and in the
Plans do not clearly address the changes in the functioning of the ICD that
will occur on implementation of the Act.
The continued focus in terms of strategic priorities on capacitating of
the Head Office, for example, seems to reflect a ‘business as usual’ approach,
rather than a clear strategic rethinking on what the effect of the Act will be
on the ICD. Neither the presentation nor
the Plans, spell out a clear strategic redirection of the ICD.
Measurement
of Outputs and Outcomes
Members identified some areas of
concern with regard to the performance indicators and targets included in the
two planning documents. These included:
In response to the concern that
there is a focus on outputs rather than outcomes, the Directorate stated that
it had focused on outputs rather than outcomes based on the guidance given to
them by National Treasury. The Committee agreed to discuss this issue further
with National Treasury, but it was clear from a cursory reading of the National
Treasury guidelines that the ICD was not prohibited from measuring outcomes.
In addition, a written response was
received from the Directorate on this issue. In the response, it was stated
that ‘it is therefore the humble
submission that the department’s performance can indeed be measured by
referring to the technical indicator descriptions included in the Annual
Performance Plan’. The Directorate
also noted that:
‘in
cognisance of the commentary by Members of the Committee, the Department will
consider to include an extra column on the tables in the main part of the
document that sets out each programme’s strategic objective annual targets and
indicators for the MTEF period in order to provide for the outcomes thereof as
well’.
In response to concerns that the
staff will be spending too much time in workshops and team building, the
Directorate stated in its written response that there is a need for employees
in the Department to be trained on various issues such as Ethics and Risk
Management Policies and security risks, as well as compliance
with the Minimum Information Security Standard (MISS) document. The ICD have
ten (10) offices around the country, i.e. nine (9) Provincial Offices plus the National
Office. The target is that there will be one (1) workshop per Office per annum,
which brings the total number of workshops to ten (10) per annum in each of these areas. All
workshops are done in-house, during working hours, without incurring any
expenses on accommodation, travelling and food.
In response to concerns around the
forty team-building sessions per annum, the Directorates stated that they are
expecting each of the ten (10) offices to conduct at least one (1) team-building
session per quarter, and these will add up to four (4) sessions per annum per
office. The Directorate noted that these
sessions are critically important particularly for Investigators, because of
the stressful work that they are involved in.
In response to concerns raised
around HIV/AIDS campaigns, the Directorate noted that the conducting of
HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns is one of the many workplace programmes as per the
policy, and it is a mandatory function of the Department’s Health and Wellness
Sub-Directorate. One campaign will be held per office. The Department has a
comprehensive HIV/AIDS policy, which contains guidelines on issues like
recruitment and employment, workplace health and safety, voluntary counselling
and testing, employee assistance programmes, termination of employment,
responsibilities of the employer and the employees, etc.
Measurement
of Backlogs
Members raised concern that there is
no separate indicator in the Plan for the reduction of case backlogs. In
addition, the Committee noted that the targets for investigations are low -
between 55 % and 65 % – which means that the Directorate is in fact working
toward the creation of backlogs rather than the reduction of backlogs. The
Committee recommended that a separate indicator for reduction of case backlogs
be included in the Annual Performance Plan.
The Department acknowledged that
there were problems with case backlogs in some of the provinces and that the
backlog strategy was not identified in the Plan.
The
following written response was received from the ICD in response to this
concern:
‘In the 2008/09 financial year, the ICD had a backlog of 4
060 cases that were carried over into the 2009/10 financial year. In 2009/10, the ICD received 6 377 complaints
resulting in a total workload of 10 437 cases.
A total of 7 946 cases were completed during that financial year. As such only 2 491 cases were carried over
into 2010/11 – the majority of these cases are cases received during 2009/10.
Due to the targets set in our strategic plan, it is
inevitable that the ICD will carry over
cases into the new financial year. It is
these cases that are catered for on page 12 of the ICD’s Strategic Plan
2011/16, as one of the seven strategic outcome oriented goals of the department
for the next five years.
The strategy to reduce backlogs is implemented as follows:
·
At the beginning of every financial
year, provincial offices are required to do an audit of all incomplete cases in
order to determine and verify the number of cases that will be carried over
into the new financial year. National
office reconciles these figures with
those in the Case Management System and Monthly Reports;
·
These cases that are carried over
(backlog) are prioritized for completion by provincial offices within the first
6 months of the new financial year;
·
Depending
on number of cases carried over (backlogs), those provinces with a higher
number of cases will be required to dedicate a team of investigators on a
project basis to complete the cases.
Those provinces with fewer cases will then deal with the cases in the
normal way. On a monthly basis each
province is required to submit a report on the status of the backlog cases to
the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee;
·
The Monitoring and Evaluation
Committee monitors the performance of each office on a monthly basis and
recommends intervention to the Executive Director where necessary.
·
As
part of strengthening the investigation component in all provinces, the ICD
will be converting Case Monitors and Case Analysts to Investigators and Senior
Investigators on completion of the training that they are currently
undergoing. This will also be dependent
on the financial support from National Treasury, to ensure that the conversion
into the investigation component is realized.
The aim is to commence with such conversion in the 2012/13 financial
year. Currently, this core assists in
dealing with those matters that do not require policing powers, for instance
following up on feedback or outstanding reports, under the supervision of
investigators.
Low
targets set for priority focus areas
Members raised concerns that the
targets set in some of the priority areas for the ICD, as defined by their
amended mandate in terms of the Act, are too low. The target, for example, of
investigation of deaths in police custody, or rape by a police officer should
be 100 % and not 65 % as stated in the Plan. Members reiterated that a number
of functions had been taken away from the ICD in the IPID Act precisely so that
the ICD could focus on some core priority areas. In the opinion of Members,
this concentration of focus should be reflected in the Plan.
The Directorate stated that the ICD
is required by the IPID Act to report on new focus areas, and that they project
an increase in the number of these cases received. If they increase their
targets for these cases, then they may find that they will not be able to meet
these targets. They thus made a decision to keep the targets low until they
have assessed the actual workload that will arise from implementation of the
Act. Once this assessment has been done, the Directorate stated that the
targets may then either increase or decrease substantially.
In their written response the ICD
stated that:
‘In cognizance of the commentary by
Members of the Committee, the department will review the annual targets for the
completion of investigations as stipulated on pages 13 and 14 of the Annual
Performance Plan 2011/12, when we commence with the drafting and compilation of
our Annual Performance Plan 2012/13 during September 2011.’
The 2011/12
budget in relation to the IPID Act
Members raised concerns that the
minimal increases to the budget for 2011/12 and for the MTEF do not reflect the
implementation of the IPID Act, and the fact that the changed focus of the ICD,
as outlined in the IPID Bill, is not reflected in the budget allocated to the
ICD. For example, the budget increases for Programme 1: Administration (to deal
with the acknowledged need to improve financial and internal audit functions)
is the focus of the 2011/12 budget. The
presentation also highlights that nine additional posts will be created in
2011/12 in this Programme. In contrast, the number of posts in 2011/12 for
Programme 2 (which is the core investigative function of the Directorate) is
stated to decrease from 155 posts to 153 posts, and the increases to Programme
2 for 2011/12 are minimal.
Members also noted that the focus in
implementation of the Act should not only be on more staff, but also on the
implementation of systems and processes to ensure effective implementation of
priority areas of focus. This does not necessarily require additional budget,
and work could have been done on putting these systems in place before the Act was
actually passed. Members also noted that, while the budget increases are
relatively small, the Directorate does not seem concerned about this. The
Directorate was urged to approach the Committee if they felt that their budget
inhibited effective service delivery.
The Directorate stated that National
Treasury sits on the Steering Committee for implementation of the Act. The
Directorate can only ask for funding when the Act is promulgated, and they thus
plan to do so in the October adjustment period. Budgeting for the IPID Bill has
been done (in conjunction with the Department of Public Service and
Administration and National Treasury) and has been submitted to the Minister of
Police for approval. The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA’s)
drafted Guidelines and wanted to know what steps would be taken by the
Directorate to ensure that there were more staff working in the core
investigative functions.
The Directorate noted this concern and
subsequently provided the following written response: ‘The Provincial ratio of Administrative Staff against the Line Function
Staff is 1: 5. This is in line with
DPSA’s draft Organisational Development Guideline of 2009.
The
National ratio is influenced by the fact that certain components are the
competencies of National Office, and there is no discretion whether to
establish them or not. Even then, the Department has been conservative in
staffing those components. The following
are examples of such components:
·The Internal Audit Unit has only 3 staff members to service
the entire Department
·The Ethics & Risk Management Unit has only 1 staff
member
·The Labour Relations Unit has only 2 staff members
·The Training Division has only 2 staff members
·The Employee Wellness Unit has only 2 staff members
·The Legal Services Directorate has only 2 staff members
·The Security Management Section has only 3 staff members
·The Library Services Unit has only 1 staff member
·Communication Unit has only 2 staff members
·Research Unit has only 3 staff members.
All these
Support Units are generic and necessary in every Department.’
NB: The Committee noted that the
information provided differs from the information given under Human Resources.
Refer to page 6 of this report
Capacity
building of investigators
Members raised concerns that the
training allocation as a percentage of compensation of employees has actually
decreased in 2011/12 in comparison to 2010/11. This is a particular concern in
relation to the need to ensure that investigators are fully trained and
capacitated to effectively implement their duties under the IPID Act.
The Directorate noted that in 2010
they focused on capacitating monitors and case analysts by sending them to an
investigative training programme. This is a one-year, fully fledged diploma,
and this project will end in October 2011. A three-day programme per year will also
be delivered. In 2010 the focus was on pathology and forensics, and this will
continue in 2011/12. A budget has been set aside for this programme. The
Directorate is also developing an Investigation Manual which will be issued to
all investigators. The Directorate stated that it was committed to ensuring that
all investigators were ready to implement the Act on promulgation.
Retention
of staff
Members raised the issue of
retention of staff, which has been an ongoing challenge within the ICD.
In their written response, the
Directorate stated that they have a Retention Policy which has just been
reviewed recently and has just been tabled at the Departmental Bargaining
Chamber for ratification. The implementation thereof is a continuous
process. The staff members that are
leaving the Department are largely entry level (level 4) employees in Programme
1: Administration. The Department is currently in the process of doing away
with level 4 as an entry level.
Case Management
System
Members raised questions around
progress with the Case Management System and the projected travel costs that
will be associated with this system in 2011/12.
In its written response the
Directorate stated that, in 2008/09,
the ICD started a process to replace its Case Management System, which no
longer met the requirements in terms of reporting and integration with the
latest technology. The ICD is nearing
the completion of developing a New Case Management System for the registration,
allocation and processing of cases. The
system is a work-flow system which provides for the various stages of
investigation to flow from one case worker to another until the investigation
is completed. The system also provides
for stringent supervision of investigations in that if certain processes are
delayed, such delays are escalated to the relevant supervisors. The new system has a business intelligence
tool that will assist the ICD with reporting more easily than the current
system allows. Other functionality
includes the ability to provide feedback to complainants via SMS and emails.
Since this is a new
system that integrates the processing of complaints all over the country, there
is a need to ensure that all the users are sufficiently trained. This training is vital in order to ensure
that the system functions optimally and that it does not fail due to staff not
having been trained. The training will be done at provincial level by the
service provider (FlowCentric) and will be completed by the end of March 2011. The travel costs
associated with this project arise as a result of the implementation and
training that will be conducted in the roll out of the New Case Management
System.
Use of consultants
Members raised questions about the use of consultants and why
consultants seem to be used for some functions that ought to be done internally.
In written response the
Directorate stated that consultants are utilised in the following situations:
·
When
the Department does not have the capacity, expertise or specialized skills to
perform the required task; and/or
·
When
an external review is needed for quality purposes.
Currently the consultant fees
represent 0.19% of the Department’s total budget. These are preliminary figures,
as the financial year 2010/11 will be ending on the 31 March 2011.
6. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUESTED
The following additional information was requested at
the meeting from the ICD:
·
Copy of the costed operational plan
(Business Plan) for 2011/12
·
Copy of the budget for
implementation of the IPID Act, once this has been approved by the Minister of
Police
·
Clear indication of how the ICD will
address case backlogs
·
Written response to additional
questions which were not responded to in the meeting.
Written responses to the issue of case backlogs and
additional questions not responded to in the meeting were received on 25 March
2011.
7. RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee recommends the
following:
Measurement
of Outcomes:
The Committee recommended in
the meeting with the Directorate that the ICD review its Annual Performance
Plan, specifically in terms of ensuring that the Plan effectively provides for
monitoring of the performance of the ICD in terms of its ‘refocus’ emanating
from the IPID Act. In addition, the Plan should be reviewed to ensure that the
targets measure useful information in terms of performance - i.e. outcomes as
well as outputs.
The Committee takes note of
the response by the Directorate with regard to the issue of whether targets are
correctly defined to measure outcomes rather than outputs. The Committee will
approach National Treasury to get clarity on whether the Plan of the
Directorate can measure outcomes as well as outputs. The Committee does not
believe that targets that measure only outputs (such as the number of workshops
held) are useful in the assessment of the performance of the Directorate during
the year.
The Committee notes that the
Directorate will ‘consider’ whether to add an extra column on the tables to
provide the outcomes thereof, but does not believe that this accurately
reflects the concern of the Committee.
The Committee will expect the
2012/13 Annual Performance Plan to accurately reflect the new strategic
direction of the Directorate and to include additional targets that measure
outputs, especially for Programme 1.
Backlogs
in Investigations:
The Committee recommends that
a target on reduction of case backlogs should be included in this Plan and
future plans. In addition, while noting the responses of the Directorate, the
Committee recommends that the targets for all priority investigations be
increased (ideally to 100%) in future Plans.
Planning and Budgeting for
implementation of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate Act:
The
Directorate should provide the Committee with a copy of its costing document
for implementation of the IPID Act when this costing document has been approved
by the Minister. In addition, the Committee will expect the Directorate to
appear before it in the Adjustments period in order to present on their submission
to National Treasury with regard to the funding required to implement the IPID
Act.
8.
CONCLUSION
The
Portfolio Committee on Police supports the budget allocation of the Independent
Complaints Directorate for 2011/12 and the 2011 MTEF and recommends that Budget Vote 23
be adopted.
Report to be considered.