State of the Public Service Report 2002: briefing by Public Service Commission

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She stated that the purpose of the report was to facilitate public accountability by bringing audit findings as well as sugges

PUBLIC SERVICES AND ADMINISTRATION PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
26 February 2003
STATE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE REPORT 2002: BRIEFING BY PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

Chairperson
: P J Gomomo (ANC)

Documents handed out
:
State of the Public Service Report 2002
Powerpoint presentation on State of the Public Service Report
Public Service Commission Media Release (see Appendix)

SUMMARY
The State of the Public Service Report is an overview of the current state of the SA public service with a focus on future challenges facing it. The main concern was that of corruption within the public service.

MINUTES
State of the Public Service Report 2002: briefing by Public Service Commission
Prof Richard Levin, PSC Deputy Director-General: Good Governance & Service Delivery,
described the role of the Public Service Commission as being constitutionally mandated to monitor and evaluate the public service and promote a high standard of professional ethics. The South African Public Service employs 1 million people, excluding parastatals and local government. He outlined the main conclusions and recommendation in the Commission's 2002 Report on the State of the Public Service (see Powerpoint presentation)

The major challenges facing the SA Public Service were seen as:
- Policy implementation, coordination and integration of service delivery
- Many provincial administrations were still vulnerable and needed support, although there were some cases of excellence.
- Good governance was still an overall challenge
- There was a need for improved performance management, innovative service delivery partnerships and better use of human resources.

PSC called for an explicit adoption of a clear performance evaluation framework strategic plans, budgets, implementation strategies, monitoring and evaluation systems, reports and audits.

The remaining challenges in human resource and career development include:
- Improvement of the evaluation system
- Management of discipline: Dr Levin felt that management should be in charge of discipline but unfortunately most were not trained
- Improving the use of Information technology: there was uneven IT developments within government departments: some were well endowed and some were very poorly equipped
- Supporting clearer job pathing: there were a few gaps here as the Code of Remuneration does not define career pathing.

The Commission calls for the finalisation and promotion of a new human resource management framework for the public service, with a special emphasis on training.

It was noted that corruption in the public service is a serious problem. Dr Levin stated that it was difficult to assess just how serious a problem it was. One measure that could be taken is to assess the amount of money lost to the State by corruption which is an arduous exercise. The Department of Public Services Administration together with the UN had compiled a report and survey to assess corruption in South Africa but the PSC was reluctant to use it as it was a work of pure "perceptions".

The PSC undertakes investigations that aim to identify the systemic weaknesses that permit corruption. PSC was involved with the National Ethics Survey, the National Anti-Corruption Agency and now the Anti-Corruption Review in the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga. Recently, investigations in the medical field in the two provinces were carried out and several arrests had taken place.

Combating corruption requires institutional ethics infrastructure including codes of conduct, fraud prevention and risk management strategies as well as financial disclosure.

Though PSC encourages electronic governance, it still promotes a return to fundamentals such as proper filing and administration as well as proper controls.

Anti-corruption capacity is needed in every department, and basic training in ethics should be a requirement for every public service manager.

There was need for transparency relating to ensuring access to information and providing clear simple reports on important matters. PSC research shows that the standard of public service annual reports has improved, but some bodies need to improve. Departments should have a clearly allocated monitoring and evaluation function that plays a lead role in drafting Annual Reports that meet Treasury guidelines in every way.

Government had performed well in efforts to be more representative of the population but the segmented nature of racial distribution across occupational levels remained a concern. Disabled people are still seriously underrepresented. Employment equity programmes should therefore be supported by capacity building and training programmes activated upon recruitment.

In conclusion, Dr Levin stated that changes within the public service were already profound and fundamental and PSC was committed to using its knowledge and findings to contribute to the process of building SA's public administration capacity.

Discussion
Mr Mohlala (ANC) asked whether the PSC research suggested that general government policy could be said to have failed, whether the policy makers and the policy implementers shared no common vision.

Dr Levin replied that the link between the national government, the provincial government and the public service was difficult to understand. In the Constitution, the Public Service was defined as a separate entity. The making and implementing of policy was therefore hampered by the lack of unison between the three organs .There was uneven alignment of policy makers and implementers. There was usually resistance on the part of the implementers. In provinces, for example, a stronger approach to discipline by managers could improve professional ethics.

Mr Baloyi (ANC) asked if the absence of codes and instruments or the human element was the major obstacle in combating corruption.

Dr Levin assured the committee that the institutional instruments for combating corruption were in place .The human element was indeed a concern, and to fight this, there was need for the promotion of professional ethics, a strengthening of implementation and the building of managerial and human resource skills. Government co-ordination was a challenge, but departments needed to cooperate.

Adv Madasa (ACDP) opined that as no method has been developed to measure corruption within the public service, why not utilise the international method of the UN while awaiting the SA one.

Dr Levin said that the international method was being used while trying to come up with a method to measure the extent of corruption.

Ms September (ANC) inquired whether public service delivery was reaching townships and rural areas. She also wondered whether PSC could quantify the number of partnerships in the public service in different constituencies.

Dr Levin stated that a Citizen Satisfaction Survey would be carried out to provide more information on the quality of service delivery in townships and rural areas. But safe to say, service delivery was uneven and he gave the example of electrification. As far as partnerships were concerned, the Citizens Forums process was on the rise. However the citizen still had too be made to understand that volunteering meant no pay. Yet departments are encouraged to bring these to life by providing food and transport to the volunteers.

Mr. Abrahams (UDM) expressed the need for an internal anti-corruption unit in departments.

Dr Levin agreed and confirmed that some departments had these focussed units such as Home Affairs and some did not. The difficulty was that the very people who headed theses units were the ones who were corrupt. There was need for a creative rethink on this situation. Whistle-blowing, for example, was highly encouraged.

Mr Waters (DP) questioned the training provided in the public service and wanted an analysis on expenditure of training of staff.

Dr Levin replied that he was unable to answer accurately as no study had been conducted as yet. However he could safely say that there was under-expenditure of training money in some departments which meant that the money was not appropriately spent and that training was not well co-ordinated. However, this was uneven within different departments.

Mr Modisenyane (ANC) insisted on proper screening of investigators sent into departments to look into corruption.

Dr. Levin assured him that there was serious vetting of all the appointed investigators. He also stressed that the government sector should not be singled out as far as corruption was concerned, the private sector was also a player in this, in fact corruption arose in transactions between the two sectors.

Dr Mbulawa-Hans (ANC) felt that whistle blowing was a most effective tool to combat corruption. She also felt that training could not enforce discipline. She wanted to know how PSC was dealing with corruption in the provinces.

Dr Levin felt that control mechanisms needed to be tightened and specific indicators be set up to assess the rest of the country. A benchmark of good practice needed to be established as an indicator to provinces.

In answer to Dr Roopnarain (IFP) asking if there existed a binding code of conduct and ethics that employees signed before being employed this, Dr Levin said that public servants were now required to sign a pledge.

Dr Roopnarain asked if there had been a shrinkage of public service employees.

Dr Levin replied that there was a mismatch between the needs of departments and personnel levels. In certain departments, there was an excess of personnel and in others, there was a shortage. This was due to loose human resource management.

The meeting was adjourned.

Appendix:
21 February 2003

THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION RELEASES ITS ANNUAL STATE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE REPORT

In order to advise stakeholders on developments in the public service, the Public Service Commission has released its "State of the Public Service Report, 2002".

This is the second edition of the Report, an annual publication released by the Commission, responsible for monitoring and evaluating the public service (comprising national and provincial government departments).

The report argues that the South African public service has undergone a series of profound changes since the political transition of the 1990s, and that while these changes have generated institutional fatigue, they have also energized the service in many ways. The report points out that the public service has been reconstituted as a network of delivery-oriented public service providers, each responsible for their own management according to national norms and standards, rather than the standardized rigid procedures that characterized the previous system. This has created a foundation for future success, although major challenges remain in the areas of implementation, coordination and the integration of services to end-users.

The PSC uses the nine values on Public Administration outlined in Chapter 10 of the Constitution as a framework to measure public service performance. The Report looks at three of these values in some detail. In the first of these the Report provides a conceptual framework for analyzing the efficient, economic and effective use of resources. The Commission proposes that a consolidated performance evaluation framework for the public service be developed in a participatory and collaborative project.

The second value considered in detail is that of good human resource management and career development. The Report argues that the use of information technology in the public service remains problematic and often inadequate, particularly in poorer provinces, while promotions and other crucial elements of career pathing have still not been adequately addressed. The PSC calls for the outstanding issues in the new Human Resource Management framework to be addressed and for the provision of more extensive training to public sector managers on this increasingly complex and challenging area, particularly in the areas of discipline, sick leave and suspensions.

The third value focused upon in the Report is that of corruption. The Report argues that corruption is a serious problem in the South African public service but that it is virtually impossible to provide accurate statistics on assessment of the state of corruption in South Africa. The Report argues that procurement of goods and services is a major risk area. Weaknesses in public administration fundamentals in areas such as filing and record keeping also create opportunities for corrupt practices. The Report highlights a number of areas in which the PSC has done research and other interventions into this important issue. The Public Service Commission recommends that departments ensure that they have a minimum anti-corruption capacity working according to standardized reporting areas. Also, a training course on integrated ethics management should be developed and should be a standard requirement for all public service managers.

The Report goes on to look at the other six Constitutional values in less detail. In terms of development orientation it notes that government agencies do focus on addressing poverty and its causes but that there is a lack of coordination that characterizes these initiatives. The PSC's own Citizen's Forums have shown that much more could be achieved with the same resources if development interventions were coordinated for maximum impact.

The Report notes that Government has instituted an impressive set of initiatives to promote fairness and equity, including the adoption of the Batho Pele principles, the Promotion of Access to Information and the Administrative Justice Acts, the promotion of codes of conduct and improved public service regulations. However, implementing these policies has proved to be a major challenge that will require consistent application for years to come. The PSC recommends that increased training be provided to public sector managers on their responsibilities in terms of the Access to Information Act and the Administrative Justice Act, both of which are sophisticated and challenging pieces of legislation.

In terms of public participation in policymaking, findings from the PSC's research suggests that while most policy development includes public participation, the depth and quality of these consultations vary widely. Clarity on what constitutes an acceptable level of consultation and public participation is required. Policy in this regard could be formulated by the Department of Public Service and Administration.

With regard to accountability in the public service, the report argues that much has already been done, especially as a result of the implementation of the Public Finance Management Act. The challenges relate to deepening compliance and implementation of these measures. A number of bodies such as the PSC, the Public Protector, and the Human Rights Commission have been created to support parliamentary democracy, while parliamentary committees and the Auditor-General contribute significantly in this area. However, there is a need to take stock of the impact of certain of these bodies in order to streamline and improve their performances.

The Report argues that while there is a distinct movement towards making use of accountability strategies, in many instances these plans are not tailored to meet the specific risk profiles of individual agencies and are not properly integrated and implemented. The PSC recommends that the performance agreements for senior officials include specific reference to their responsibilities for implementation of departmental risk management and fraud prevention plans.

The public service values set out in our pioneering Constitution set a very high and demanding standard. The PSC is committed to contributing to the growth of a public service that can meet these demands. It will do this by undertaking practical research that allows it to provide useful, thoughtful advice to public service entities, and will continue to make its findings known in publications such as the Annual State of the Public Service Report.

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