Policy Assessment and Recommendations (PAR) reports

Meeting report

The Chairperson recalled that when the Committee had received the annual performance plan (APP) of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), it had requested a legal opinion on the reporting obligations of the Public Service Commission (PSC) to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).

Legal opinion on reporting obligations of PSC to NCOP

Adv Frank Jenkins, Senior Parliamentary Legal Advisor, noted that section 196(5) of the Constitution stated that the PSC was accountable to the National Assembly (NA), creating the impression that only the NA and not the NCOP had oversight of it. However, while this applied to functions and powers of the PSC, its budget was part of an appropriation bill, which required approval of both the NA and NCOP. Therefore, it would be appropriate for the PSC’s planning documents to be presented to the Select Committee. Meanwhile, the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) provided only for departments to submit measurable objectives to the NA. For this reason, specifically, the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act required that public entities and constitutional institutions, such as the PSC, also present measurable objectives ‘to the relevant committee.’ He concluded that the PSC must present its budget, APP and strategic plan to the NA and the NCOP.

Mr M Rayi (ANC, Eastern Cape) appreciated the clarity. Could Adv Jenkins confirm whether the Select Committee would be able to engage the PSC on non-financial issues, not just the budget?

Adv Jenkins confirmed that this was his view. The PSC reported on its functions and powers to provincial legislatures, as well as to the NA. The function of the NCOP was to represent provinces at the national level, and he therefore saw no problem in the Select Committee calling the PSC to provide information on matters pertaining to the provinces.
Report of the Select Committee on Transport, Public Service And Administration, Public Works and Infrastructure on Budget Vote 40
The Committee observed that:
- The pace of filling vacancies in the Department and its entities was slow;
- Critical pieces of legislation had been submitted to Parliament late in its term;
- The condition of provincial and municipal roads was poor;
- Strategic passenger rail routes had been restored, flood damage to rail infrastructure in Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) had been extensive, and more should be done to restore important rail services, such as the eThekwini-Msunduzi route; and
- Delays in the printing and delivery of driving licence cards and the development of a new card format continued.

The Committee recommended that the Department:
- Provide quarterly updates on the filling of senior vacancies;
- Submit legislation no later than the first quarter of the fourth term of its strategic plans;
- Provide quarterly reports on pothole repairs and related matters;
- Provide quarterly reports on progress made by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) toward restoring all passenger rail services, rolling out new services and securely storing train sets; and
- With the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA), provide quarterly reports on clearing the backlog of driving licence card production and on progress toward finalising the new card format.

The Chairperson, Mr Rayi, Mr M Dangor (ANC, Gauteng), Ms M Moshodi (ANC, Free State) and Mr C Dodovu (ANC, North West) voted in favour of the report.

Mr T Brauteseth (DA, KZN) and Ms S Boshoff (DA, Mpumalanga) reserved their judgment on the report.

The report was adopted.

Report of the Select Committee on Transport, Public Service and Administration, Public Works and Infrastructure on Budget Vote 13
The Committee recommended that the Department:
- Report to the Committee by September 2022 on its review of its APP and performance targets;
- Report to the Committee by October 2022 on progress toward the establishment of the Ethics and Compliance, Infrastructure and Consequence Management Unit to enforce expected standards of behaviour among all personnel;
- Report to the Committee by November 2022 on strengthening the Department’s mandate and ensuring that the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE) was able to collect fees timeously;
- Report quarterly progress on large infrastructure projects undertaken through Infrastructure South Africa (ISA);
- Ensure that ISA report to the Committee by October 2022 on the public-private partnership programme to deal with improperly managed government property and infrastructure;
- Provide an update on the review of the National Infrastructure Management Strategy in November 2022; and
- Provide feedback on the infrastructure design and funding mechanism of ISA.

The Chairperson, Mr Rayi, Mr Dangor, Ms Moshodi, Mr Dodovu and Ms M Mamaregane (ANC, Limpopo), voted in favour of the report.

Mr Brauteseth and Ms Boshoff reserved their judgment on the report.

The report was adopted.

Report of the Select Committee on Transport, Public Service and Administration, Public Works and Infrastructure on Budget Vote 11: Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan 2022-23 of the Department of Public Service and Administration

The Committee observed that:
- The establishment of the Public Administration Ethics and Integrity Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit was welcome, but there were some concerns about its independence;
- There were developments toward the amendment of the Public Service Act of 1994 that would see human resource management powers of the executive authority transferred to the accounting officers;
- The development of the job competency framework in the public service and an outline of the occupational dictionary were welcome;
- The Minister had announced plans to align the bargaining process with the season of wage negotiations in the public sector;
- The Department was lagging with respect to the employment of women in senior management, youth and people with disabilities;
- The Department continued to lead the digital transformation of the public service; and
- Public service regulations were not standardised across the public service;

The Committee recommended that the Department:
- Must fast-track the amendment of legislation;
- Report to the Committee by March 2023 on the finalisation of the second phase of the Public Service Administration Management Act regulations;
- Develop a framework for lifestyle audits to complement the financial disclosure framework;
- Provide additional resources to the Public Administration Ethics and Integrity Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit and ensure that it was independent;
- Monitor disciplinary trends in national departments and provincial governments and assist departments that were struggling to solve disciplinary issues; and
- Finalise wage negotiations swiftly.

Mr Brauteseth recalled that the Committee had asked for a response on the Technical Assistance Unit within seven days at an earlier meeting. Had it been received?

Mr Hlupheka Mtileni, Committee Secretary, confirmed that the Unit’s response had been received. He would share it with the Committee after the meeting.

The Chairperson, Mr Rayi, Mr Dangor, Ms Moshodi, Mr Dodovu and Ms Mamaregane voted in favour of the report.

Mr Brauteseth and Ms Boshoff reserved their judgment on the report.

The report was adopted.
Report of the Select Committee on Transport, Public Service and Administration, Public Works and Infrastructure on Budget Vote 7: NSG Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan 2022-23 of the National School of Government
The Committee observed that:
- Progress had been made by the NSG on its ethics course, and over 15 000 learners had attended the course;
- Training courses had been designed around a new hybrid model to attract more public servants; and
- There were some concerns about the School’s funding model.

The Committee recommended that the NSG:
- Develop a fully-fledged funding model to retain self-generated income through its trading account;
- Provide trainees with certificates, while striking a balance with educational substance;
- Conduct an impact evaluation of its training programmes to measure their efficacy; and
- Consider offering its courses through e-learning platforms.

The Chairperson, Mr Rayi, Mr Dangor, Ms Moshodi, Mr Dodovu and Ms Mamaregane voted in favour of the report.

Mr Brauteseth and Ms Boshoff reserved their judgment on the report.

The report was adopted.

Report of the Select Committee on Transport, Public Service and Administration, Public Works and Infrastructure on Budget Vote 12: Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan 2022-23 of the Public Service Commission
The Committee observed that:
- The Commission was planning to introduce a bill that would allow it to be supported by a secretariat, thereby strengthening its independence;
- National, Gauteng and Mpumalanga Commissioner positions remained vacant, contrary to the Public Service Commission Act; and
- The Commission’s footprint in rural areas had been in the spotlight.

The Committee recommended that the Commission:
- Speed up the introduction of the bill;
- Expand monitoring and be more visible, especially in rural areas; and
- Review its organisation structure to strengthen capacity in provincial offices.

Mr Dangor said that either the Committee Chairperson or the Chairperson of the NCOP should write to the PSC regarding the vacant provincial commissioner posts.

The Chairperson noted this.

The Chairperson, Mr Rayi, Mr Dangor, Ms Moshodi, Mr Dodovu and Ms Mamaregane voted in favour of the report.

Mr Brauteseth and Ms Boshoff reserved their judgement on the report.

The report was adopted.

The meeting was adjourned.