Chairperson of the NCOP, Cabinet colleagues present here, Deputy Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Chairperson of the Select Committee on Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, members of the select committee, Chairperson of the Public Service Commission, hon delegates of the House, the portfolio leadership in the Ministry, our distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen ...
... avuxeni. [... greetings.]
Thank you very much for affording us an opportunity to address this House on this very important day - the day for the presentation of our Budget Vote for the financial year 2010-11. Under normal circumstances, debates on budgets are financial statements accompanied by activities of the departments. In that narrow sense, we often would like to expect, present and inform the nation, through Parliament, on how we are going to spend the money allocated to us. In this case, we will be talking about the R651 million, of which R380 million is for the Department for the Public Service and Administration; R117 million for the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, Palama; R133 million for the Public Service Commission, PSC; R19 million for Public Service Sector Education and Training Authority, PSETA; and R14 million for Centre for the Public Service Innovation, CPSI.
We will do so and give a detailed breakdown of how much of these we will be spending, in each case, on personnel-related activities versus core programmes.
This occasion also presents us space to share with the nation, through this august House, what we are planning to spend our budget on, and as a means to providing information for members of the House to hold us accountable for the things we identify as priorities. This information will also empower the nation to manage their expectations at the minimum around those issues we commit ourselves to doing.
It is also a moment to account for the things we did before this financial year, as well as to project the political state of affairs on issues of governance and administration.
We made commitments when addressing the National Assembly on 21 April this year, to the effect that we will do the following: Through innovation, we will continue to search for ideas that work in order to respond to the demanding Public Service environment. We will give priority attention to the capacity development programme to prepare public servants at entry to the service and continue enhancing their competency in dealing with their day-to-day programmes. We maintain our unwavering stance on the continued fight against corruption. We will strengthen our efforts to maintain sound labour relations. We will conclude the debate on the single Public Service. We will stabilise the Senior Management Service, SMS, in managing issues of recruitment and work contracts. We will further redefine the architecture of our Public Service to respond to the expectation of a developmental Public Service. We will soon finalise the discussion on the corporate forms of both the Public Service Commission, PSC, and the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, commonly referred to as Palama.
We are gathered here today still in a mood of Freedom Day celebrations, remembering a peaceful breakthrough to democracy in 1994. As we celebrate, it is critical that we remind each other that the democratic South Africa born 16 years ago found her existence in compliance with the principles of nonracialism, nonsexism, democracy and unity.
South Africans should be made aware that our public administration is responsive to these characteristic features of our country - characteristics of nonracialism, nonsexism, democracy and unity. They transcends our public administration.
We pronounced, as enshrined in our Constitution, that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity, and we made it a policy position that our staffing norms should reflect the demographic representation according to the racial mix of our people in the country and in the respective provinces.
We also introduced a policy of affirmative action so as to redress the historical racial imbalance in affording employment and promotion opportunities to previously disadvantaged racial groups in the country. This year, we will communicate the state of compliance with these policies by all our government departments nationally and in the provinces.
Our public administration subscribes to the principle of nonsexism. In this regard, we developed a policy and passed legislation to ensure employment equity in the workplace in general, and in the Public Service in particular. We want to acknowledge on this matter that our compliance rate leaves room for improvement. In dealing with this aspect and also the issue of disability management, the Department for the Public Service and Administration launched a guiding document for all government departments in March last year. That was a contribution to such interventions at the deployment of job access strategy.
This document prescribes, among other things, the following steps - and we need to stress these steps, for these are the steps that hon members present here, when doing oversight work, may check government departments on as tools that can be used to deal with issues of compliance with the employment equity requirements: ensure that the human resources, HR, plans incorporate employment equity; set departmental numeric targets according to national targets; create an enabling environment; develop implementation plans; ensure continuous monitoring and evaluation of the plans; and consult with relevant stakeholders as well as give progress reports on implementation.
This year, we will step up awareness campaigns on the provision of this document, so that, from next year on, we will insist on compliance. Our public administration is also founded on the principle of democracy. We created the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council, PSCBC, and the SA Local Government Bargaining Council, SALGBC, as vehicles to ensure that workplace democracy takes place through organised collective bargaining processes.
The principle of unity in our Public Service finds expression in the historical transformation journey of our Public Service, from fragmentation to one administration based on the following founding values: a high standard of professional ethics; efficient, economic and effective use of resources; development-oriented public service; providing service impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias; responsiveness; accountability; transparency; good human resource management; and demographic representation.
The PSC develops themes every year on the basis of which they analyse government's compliance with these values. As you remember, every year, the PSC publishes a report on the state of the Public Service which is based on compliance with these founding values. This year's theme is Innovation in Service Delivery.
We are aware at this point that there is general inaction on the recommendations of the PSC, and we took a decision that, with immediate effect, our Deputy Minister will follow up on noncompliance with these recommendations. We are saying on this point that when the PSC investigates an issue, and then writes a report, having made observations and findings on the performance of departments, those recommendations need to be implemented. Amongst other things, our Deputy Minister will make sure that that happens.
The rate at which we fill vacancies in the various departments is cause for concern. If we regard these vacancies as opportunities for employment, we will agree that failure to fill them is, in fact, depriving employable South Africans of the opportunity to enter the job market and compromises the state's capacity to deliver on its promises.
During this year, we will give a status report on each department's performance profile in this regard, after which we will facilitate that action be taken to insist on compliance. The other problem is delays in the filling of vacancies, resulting in so many people in acting positions in the Public Service. We are weighing options on this matter and we will soon experiment with one of them.
One possibility in this case is that we may prescribe that we centralise the management of the appointment of the executive components of the departments wherein we would further regulate that acting appointments may only be entertained for advertised posts. We may have to put a requirement that each advertisement should reflect a date of the interviews.
We are deliberating in this important House today during a time where we have witnessed and continue to witness confrontations in areas where there are protests by people demanding, among other things, accelerated service delivery. I know that our reactions as individuals may differ as to how we interpret it, but I know that we will all agree that we need a solution to these challenges. Yes, we need a solution, and that will come if we all work together to confront the situation.
Last year, addressing this House, we committed ourselves to review the implementation of the Batho Pele principles. We are happy to announce that we have since relaunched the programme, focusing more on impact assessment. We allocated the eight principles of the policy each to a province, as follows: Eastern Cape focuses on service delivery; Free State focuses on openness and transparency; Gauteng on value for money; KwaZulu-Natal on information; Limpopo on courtesy; Northern Cape on accessibility; Western Cape on redress; North West on consultation and Mpumalanga on all eight principles.
At the end of the financial year, we will account on the roll-out of this impact assessment exercise, so that this very important policy on the transformation of service delivery will guide all steps of the activities of our public servants to ensure quality and access to services.
In this year of outcomes-based performance management, we committed ourselves to doing things differently. One of the things that we will do differently is how we run the State Information Technology Agency, Sita, business. There are three questions that are part of the key issues that we will give attention to during this year, and these are: The review of the Sita pricing model; the review of and compliance with tightening the Sita procurement prescripts; and the improvement of the quality of service for the services of the Sita.
This debate takes place at a time when the country is going through the process of accounting to the heads of state of the African Union, AU, that have acceded to the voluntary instrument of the African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM. We are preparing our second report as a country, which is due in July this year. The APRM programme, apart from dealing with issues of compliance with the voluntary instrument, gives us an opportunity to also mirror ourselves against our own performance on those issues that we are called upon to respond to.
In the report, we should talk about our compliance with questions in the following thematic areas: democracy and good governance; socioeconomic development; corporate services; and economic governance. Of course, there are issues that were identified as cross-cutting and to which we should pay attention and report on. In order to deal with these issues, we embarked on provincial visits and organised consultative sessions to reflect on them as follows: In the Eastern Cape we looked at unblocking the service delivery challenges; in the Free State land reform management; in Gauteng stakeholder participation; in KwaZulu-Natal HIV/Aids; in Limpopo inequality and poverty eradication; in Mpumalanga fighting corruption; in the Northern Cape violence against children; in North West racial harmony; and in the Western Cape diversity management.
As you recall, Parliament played an important role during the time of the country's self-assessment process and the writing of the country's review report. It will be a worthy contribution if this institution of public representatives can also participate in the process that is now on. My office is interacting with the leadership of Parliament in this regard, but importantly, members of this House may use the issues in the APRM report in doing their oversight work.
In conclusion, and as we are due and ready for the 2010 Fifa soccer kick- off next month, allow me to indicate that it will not all be holidays for all public servants, as we made arrangements to make sure that the people and the guests in the country receive minimum service so that government will not be seen to be on leave. Government will be active as we are entertaining, welcoming and showcasing our talents to the world.
Once more, Chairperson, I want to thank you very much for providing this opportunity for us to present the Budget Vote for the Ministry for the Public Service and Administration. "Hi khensile" [Thank you]. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister Masenyane Baloyi, hon House, distinguished guests, today we have before us a policy debate on the Budget Vote for the Public Service and Administration that the committee supports.
For any democratic state, its mission, vision, plans and hopes are only realised if there is strong and effective public administration that can drive the policy objectives of the governing party. For a developmental state such as ours, the examination of the effectiveness and the efficiency of the state are central, and the developmental objective of the state depends on this effectiveness and efficiency.
This has been declared the year of action by our President in his state of the nation address and the governing party further declared it to be the year of working together to speed up effective service delivery to the people.
South Africa is a developmental state which is a conscious and a deliberate social construct which must lead the process of overhauling both the economic as well as political legacy of apartheid. In the year 1987, 8 January, the late ANC President Oliver Tambo said in the ANC NEC statement:
We must proceed from the position that our task is to win a revolution. Political revolutions are about the capture of state power and its use to advance the objectives of the fundamental social transformation. The task must be carried out consciously and intentionally by the revolutionary forces to bring about profound change in favour of the social classes and strata that have gained power.
Without the victory of the revolution, revolutionary changes are not possible. The state is a vital feature in that effort to bring about those revolutionary changes because a new society cannot be built within the existing framework.
Five years later we began negotiations at the Conference for a Democratic South Africa in 1991. The African National Congress put forward what it envisaged as a united, democratic, nonracial, nonsexist South Africa: A unitary state where a bill of rights guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms for all on an equal basis; where people live in an open and tolerant society; where organs of governments are representative, competent, fair in their functioning and where opportunities are progressively and rapidly expanded to ensure that all may live under conditions of dignity and equality.
South Africa, as a developmental state, is apparent in the way in which Public Service and public policies are made and implemented in the country, as well as the boldly stated goal to eradicate poverty through active state leadership and intervention to achieve the objectives of democracy and economic growth, development and redistribution. This then informs the manner in which the state and Public Service must be structured and organised. Then the whole question of transformation of the state comes into play.
Chairperson, when we speak of a united South Africa we have in mind in the first place the territorial unity and constitutional integrity of our country. South Africa must be seen and recognised by international communities as a single nonfragmented entity with a single citizenship, a nation and a common loyalty, not a quasi-federal feature which some opposing forces talk about.
There is a need for a strong and effective central government to handle national tasks, a strong and effective provincial government to deal with the task of the regions, and a strong and effective local government to ensure active local involvement in the handling of local matters. The central government has the responsibility for ensuring that there is a common framework of policy standards, norms and practices applicable to the whole country and for seeing to it that all areas of the country have equitable access to national resources.
Chairperson, all previous national democratic revolutions, especially in Africa, have been political revolutions. Major democratic governments, however, seldom destroyed the old machinery of the state. More often they took over the imperialist-colonial institutions, parliamentary procedures, multiparty systems, courts, bodies of law, army and the police organisations and the bureaucratic administration. They appointed their own nationals as soon as possible to the positions formerly held by the expatriates of the colonising state.
When the national liberation movements hereto achieved independence they inherited the old colonial system and went on working along the old lines. They did not destroy the old state machinery to build a new one. They took over government and ministerial houses and other privileges. They became a class of bureaucrats. The tendency in many African countries has been to maintain all economic as well as political systems. There has been continuity and not revolution.
However, because the South African national democratic revolution is more than the type of general political revolution, it has the responsibility to do more than mere working along the old lines. Our revolution in South Africa must destroy the old state machinery to build a new one.
This is the central message to all who work in the Public Service and Administration department. Chairperson, the process of building a new Public Service cadre forms part of the mega task for creating a developmental state. There are those placed in the positions of responsibility who do nothing, either through incapacity or unwillingness to address the concerns of the people they are meant to serve. Where people are found to be incapable of performing the task assigned to them, we must work with speed to either capacitate such people or replace them with more capable ones. To be a Public Service cadre means service to the people and a caring attitude in dealing with citizens.
The ANC is committed to transforming the state in a manner that benefits our people. There is no room for using the resources of the state for self- enrichment and acting from narrow selfish interests. Selfishness is alien to the values of the ANC. We expect the leading Public Service cadre to earnestly listen to the people's concern, truthfully reflect their wishes, sincerely help address their hardship and do more to speed up effective service as echoed by the Minister here.
Chairperson, the ANC, working together with our allies, will engage the Public Service trade unions and clarify our respective roles in building a new Public Service cadre for a democratic developmental state. Revolutionary trade unions must be at the centre of driving quality service to the people. The ANC agrees with the concept of a transformative trade union committed to the ongoing transformation of the Public Service, its structures, systems, ethos, and the way we do things.
A transformative trade union is one which is broad in its thinking, politically motivated, and defends the interests of its members within the context of a national democratic society which we are building. It is the antithesis of a typical English craft union that only looks after the narrow economic interests of its members to the exclusion of broad political and social responsibilities within the sector in which it operates. The ANC believes that the road of transformation that still lies ahead requires transformative trade unions which are capable of building a new Public Service cadre.
As parliamentarians, when assessing any Budget Vote, we have to ask ourselves the questions: What is expected from this institution? In this case we need to ask the question as to how the Public Service will comply with the constitutional requirements so as to make possible for oversight to be done in such a way that it's able to measure the progress in terms of the budget that has been allocated to it. We must also ask on behalf of the department whether the national fiscus has sufficiently allocated resources to the department to meet its constitutional obligations.
The main mandate of the Public Service in terms of the Constitution is to transform the Public Service, oversee changes to the structures of the Public Service, establish norms and standards for, among others, human resource development, issue directives and regulations, formulate a national anticorruption strategy and exercise oversight over the State Information Technology Agency.
In carrying out this mandate, the Ministry for the Public Service and Administration has developed a strategic plan for the medium-term period as briefed to the committee. From 2010 to 2014 it identified 10 strategic outputs which have been further broken down into projects with related matters.
In conclusion, this year's Budget Vote must be assessed within that background and we hope that the Ministry will brief the committee quarterly while other things that are left will be addressed to you. We support the budget.
Chairman, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon colleagues, and hon visitors. It is a great honour to be part of today's debate on the Budget Vote for Public Service and Administration. I believe that this is the heart of the government. You can have policies, systems, etc, but they must be implemented and executed at a high standard of efficiency.
Ons gaan binne dae die grootste sportgebeurtenis in die wreld aanbied. Besoekers van oor die hele wreld gaan ons land besoek en hulle gaan menings vorm oor ons effektiwiteit en vermo om die land te bestuur. Wat is die boodskap wat hulle met hulle gaan saamneem? Gaan dit positief of negatief wees? Gaan dit toerisme en handel in ons land bevoordeel of benadeel?
As ons kyk na die Begroting en die totale beplanning, is dit goed, maar dit word nie geimplementeer nie. Ek het die waarnemende direkteur-generaal in ons komitee gekomplimenteer met die wyse waarop sy dit voorgestel het, maar dit word nie uitgevoer nie. Die norme en waardes wat gestel word, word nie uitgevoer nie.
Onbekwaamde persone, met geen of baie swak opleiding, word in belangrike poste aangestel. Salarisse van top amptenare vergelyk goed en is in baie gevalle selfs beter as in die private sektor, maar die sin vir dissipline en verantwoordelikheid ontbreek, want daar is geen risiko aan die pos gekoppel dat die persoon moet presteer nie. Korrupsie gedy in al die staatsdepartemente en veral staatsinstellings. Baie min of niks word gedoen om die skuldiges te ontmasker en te straf nie.
So, byvoorbeeld, kyk ons na die munisipaliteite. Munisipale bestuuders en artikel 56-aanstellings beweeg van een raad na die volgende en laat 'n spoor van onbevoegdheid en korrupsie agter. So gebeur dit ook met die staatsdiensposte. Niemand behoort aangestel te word wat 'n rekord van swak administrasie of korrupsie het nie.
Daar bestaan 'n simpatie met die oortreders wat ongekend is. Hulle word beskou as verdruktes en verontregtes en moet gedurig geleentheid gegun word om met hul optrede voort te gaan. Hierdie oortreders wat so beskerm word, is die rede vir al ons probleme. Skuldiges moet ontmasker, vervolg en gestraf word. Dit is nie die gemeenskap se skuld dat hulle korrup en oneffektief is nie. Hoekom geniet hulle voorkeurbehandeling? Wat maak hulle anders as ons gewone burgers?
'n Effektiewe en doeltreffende staatsdiens se waarde is ongekend. Die nodige stelsels en fondse bestaan in ons land maar, soos reeds genoem, l die fout by die toepassing.
Die President het belowe dat Ministers en alle staatsdiensamptenare prestasiekontrakte gaan teken. Die vraag is: Hoeveel is daar al geteken? Om te teken het geen waarde as dit nie toegepas word nie. Ek verwys weer na munisipaliteite. Ons het al by munisipaliteite gesien dat hierdie kontrakte se waarde nul is. Ek weet van geen munisipale of artikel 56-bestuurder wat nie sy 100% prestasiebonus kry nie. Hierdie prestasiemeting in die staatsdiens moet volgens vasgestelde prosedures geskied en moenie gebaseer wees op of ek van jou hou, of dat jy doen wat ek wil h nie.
Op hierdie stadium word daar nie teen oneffektiwiteit en korrupsie gepenaliseer nie. As ons na staatsinstellings soos die Landbank, SAUK, SAL en Eskom kyk, dan het elkeen 'n geskiedenis van ondoeltreffendheid en gevalle van korrupsie. Groot bedrae is uitbetaal om van amptenare ontslae te raak. Is dit reg dat die belastingbetalers vir sulke foute moet betaal? Hoekom geniet hierdie skuldiges soveel simpatie en voorkeurbehandeling?
In die strewe om diens te lewer moet daar gesoek word na maniere om amptenare met integriteit te werf. Hoeveel poste word deur waarnemende persone gevul? Is die werwingsbeleid en aanstellingsprosedure ingestel? Wat bepaal 'n aanstelling? Moet daar nie meer gekyk word na die beginsel van "fit for purpose" nie?
As ons kyk na die Staatsdienskommissie, wat 'n grondwetlike instelling is en waarvan vereis word dat hy onpartydig en onafhanklik moet wees, dan kom daar twyfel in jou gemoed nou dat daar nie meer 'n eie Begrotingspos is nie, maar dat dit 'n funksie van die departement geword het. Hoe kan jy skeidsregter oor jouself wees?
Enkelstaatsdiens is 'n onderwerp wat genoem word, om baie probleme op te los. As dit gebeur beweeg ons heeltemal weg van ons mense aan wie diens gelewer moet word en gaan beheer oor doeltreffendheid en effektiwiteit nog swakker wees.
Ek wil afsluit met 'n beroep op die agb President en sy Kabinet. Pas die beginsels van Batho Pele streng toe. Kom ons sien die hele land se bevolking raak en probeer aan hulle die bes moontlike diens te lewer, in plaas van 'n paar kamerade wat beloon moet word omdat hulle goeie partygenote is. Ek dank u. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[In a few days we are going to host the world's biggest sports event. Visitors from all over the world will come to our country and form an opinion on our competence and ability to govern the country. What message will they be taking back with them? Will it be positive or negative? Will it promote or prejudice tourism and trade in our country?
When we look at the budget and its overall planning, it is good, but it is not being implemented. In our committee I complimented the acting director- general on the way in which she presented it, but these plans are not being carried through. The norms and values that have been set are not being executed.
Incompetent persons, with little or very poor training, are appointed to important positions. The salaries of top officials compare well to and often even exceed those in the private sector, but the sense of discipline and responsibility is lacking because there is no risk linked to poor performance in the post by the incumbent. Corruption is thriving in all of the state departments and in particular in public institutions. Little or nothing is being done to expose the culprits and punish them.
Take municipalities, for instance. Municipal managers and section 56 appointees move from one board to the next, leaving behind a trail of incompetence and corruption. The same happens with Public Service posts. People with a record of poor administration or corruption should not be appointed.
The sympathy that prevails with these transgressors is unheard of. They are regarded as oppressed and aggrieved people who must constantly be granted a chance to continue with their actions. These transgressors, who are being protected in this manner, are the reason for all our problems. The guilty ones should be exposed, prosecuted and punished. It is not the community's fault that they are corrupt and incompetent. Why do they enjoy preferential treatment? What makes them different from the average citizen?
The value of an effective and efficient Public Service is not acknowledged. In our country the systems and funding required are all in place but, as already mentioned, the difficulty lies with the implementation.
The President has promised that all Ministers and public servants will be signing performance contracts. The question is: How many have been signed so far? To have signed is of no value if there is no enforcement. Again I am referring to municipalities. We have already seen that these contracts are of no value in municipalities. I know of no municipal or section 56 manager who does not receive his 100% performance bonus. Such performance measurement in the Public Service should take place according to set procedures and should not be based on whether I like you or whether you do what I want you to do.
At this stage there are no penalties regarding incompetence and corruption. Looking at state institutions such as the Land Bank, SABC, SAA and Eskom, each one has a history of incompetence and corruption. Large amounts of money have been paid to get rid of officials. Is it right that the taxpayers should be paying for such mistakes? Why do these guilty parties enjoy so much sympathy and preferential treatment?
In striving to deliver a service, ways should be found of recruiting officials with integrity. How many posts are filled by acting persons? Are the recruitment and appointment procedures in place? How are appointments determined? Shouldn't there be more emphasis on the principle of being fit for purpose?
Looking at the Public Service Commission, which is a constitutional body that is required to be impartial and independent, doubt starts to arise now that it no longer has its own Budget Vote and has instead become a function of the department. How can you police yourself?
The subject of a single Public Service has been mentioned as a way of solving many problems. If this should happen, we will distance ourselves from those people to whom these services should be rendered, and then control over competence and efficiency will decline even more.
I want to conclude with an appeal to the hon President and his Cabinet. Apply the principles of Batho Pele strictly. Let's take note of the total population of the country and attempt to render the best possible service to them, instead of to a few comrades who have to be rewarded for being such good party comrades. I thank you.]
Deputy Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, what ties us together is our shared purpose and responsibility to transform the South African Public Service into a formidable, effective vehicle capable of supporting the socioeconomic development that South Africa and its people need and deserves, a public administration capable of ensuring human safety and security to each other and to everyone; ensuring the dignified existence of all our people within a human rights framework; and working in a trajectory of perpetual improvement and elevation for all, but particularly providing support for the poor in order to close the gap and erase the sharp disparities that mark the livelihoods of the privileged and the underprivileged.
The department's mandate has evolved over the years from developing policy towards implementing and facilitating service delivery improvement through support interventions, information and communications technology, ICT, and community development workers. The department also participates in and plays a critical role in various public administration and management structures in the Southern African Development Community, SADC, region and the rest of the world.
The government's five major priorities for the current electoral period include education, health, land reform and rural development, creation of decent work and the fight against crime. Informed by these priorities the objectives underpinning the department's strategic focus include developing and strengthening the capacity of the state through efficient, effective and sustainable systems; strengthening the public sector through institutional reforms; promoting good governance in the public sector and building an effective and caring government; developing the human resource capacity of the public sector; and pursuing strategic international partnerships to consolidate South Africa's regional and international agenda.
During this financial year, as the select committee, we will enhance our oversight function in order to ensure that the DPSA implements these strategic priorities, and in return contributes directly or indirectly towards the achievement of government's objectives of equality, improving the quality of education and health as well as other social services, halving unemployment by 2014, and stepping up the fight against crime. As the select committee we believe that in order for the department to deliver these priorities, it needs to collaborate with other government departments and institutions to establish partnerships with civil society.
The department has been allocated a total budget of R651,4 million during the current financial year. Over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF period, spending is expected to grow to R684,1 million at an average annual rate of 0,1%.
During this financial year, the department needs to focus more on outcomes as it spends its 2010-11 budget. This requires a shift from a focus on inputs that is budgets, personnel and equipment to managing outcomes. These will relate to the strategic focus areas of the department aligned with this year's budget in order to enhance service delivery through systematic information and knowledge management and collaboration between institutions within and across spheres of government as well as between those spheres and private and development sectors. The ANC during its 52nd national congress in Polokwane resolved that, as the ANC, we should continue to lead and drive the process of the unification of administration in the three spheres of government in the Single Public Service.
The uppermost on government's agenda for the ongoing social and economic upliftment and transformation of our society is improvement in the delivery of basic and other services to the people of South Africa.
Currently delivery is hampered by weaknesses in numerous areas, including, amongst others, national frameworks and policies that do not extend to local government in the areas of service delivery and public administration, management and marked differences in remuneration and conditions of service in the Public Service and local government, which makes mobility and transfer of functions difficult.
The single Public Service is based on the principle that the institutions across government - (whether local, provincial or national - that comprise the machinery of the state have to work together to effectively fulfil the needs of the South African society. This means that their structures must be aligned and structured in such a way that there are no barriers to co- operation.
The single Public Service initiative seeks to ensure greater alignment across the three spheres of government in the areas of human resource management and development, service delivery, information and communications technology, anti-corruption and the designs of framework legislation.
The state is constitutionally bound to ensure that services of a high quality are delivered to the citizens at their convenience. This means that government must find the most effective methods and channels to deliver these services. It calls for a dynamic, modern delivery model and a system that clusters these services to the convenience of the citizen through a "single window"- a place where a person can receive a range of government services, be this a physical structure or electronic.
Rather than undermine the distinctiveness of local government as a sphere, the single Public Service will improve the manner in which the spheres interrelate and co-operate with each other to ensure enhanced delivery of services. The Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act of 2005 will assist by creating the environment for formalising intergovernmental forums and regulating dispute resolutions.
In 2003 the community development workers, CDWs, were established as a new cadre of public servants. The unique contribution was to span the divides between different spheres of government and between different line departments that logically are interconnected but are operationally divided. They make it easier for citizens to negotiate the complex maze of government departments in order to access public services, particularly social services and economic opportunities.
President Zuma has further reminded all of us that through working with the people and supported by our public servants, we will build a developmental state, improve public services and strengthen democratic institutions. Community development workers, CDWs, are therefore the critical building block in the actualisation of the developmental state.
Policy for the community development worker's programme is at an advanced stage, with consultations finalised in eight provinces. The policy development process is expected to be completed by April 2010. Therefore, hon Minister, during this financial year, as this House, we want to see the CDWs programme strengthened in order to facilitate access to government services. We support the Budget Vote.
House Chairperson, hon Minister for the Public Service and Administration, hon members of the National Council of Provinces, hon Chairperson and members of the select committee, distinguished guests and fellow South Africans, House Chairperson, I was away from the office and I asked my staff to give me a quotation that I could begin my speech with. I said to them that I'd like to begin the quotation with a quotation from Lenin. I received the speech which says "We all live in a yellow submarine". They misunderstood me and gave me a quotation from John Lenin when I actually meant Vladimir Lenin!
But, I came across a quote from Vladimir Lenin and he has the following to say:
Victory will belong only to those who have faith in the people, those who are immersed in a life-giving spring of popular creativity.
But, I thought I should also share with you, Chairperson, something I came across from Mahatma Gandhi and it applies to all of us here today, and it says that "Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it."
Madam Chairperson, in the old Natal, the arrival of Indians in 1860 marked the beginning of an organised scheme whereby approximately 150 000 Indians arrived to seek gainful employment. While many worked in the sugar fields, others worked on the wattle and tea plantations and in the coal mines. Some came as domestic servants, waiters and house servants and were able to command a respectable salary of just about 20 shillings per month.
These Indians coming from India were to suffer horrific and atrocious experiences at the hands of many minority European leaders at the time. However, as bad as the treatment was, these Indians persevered and made South Africa their home against all odds. For the next 134 years, these very same Indians were to be exposed to some of the most degrading and dehumanising forms of treatment. South Africa, as it was then, was certainly not welcoming to these compatriots from India and the subcontinent. It was only years and years after that and more so after the democratic breakthrough of 1994 that ushered in a prosperous dispensation that made South Africa truly a home for all South Africans.
Our country has traversed a long journey to where we are today. Whilst we still carry with us the painful imprints of our past coming from our different backgrounds, today we are a nation and a peace-loving people, steadfastly committed to constructing a new future based on unity, equality, respect for each other and tolerance for others' rights and our national diversity.
The Republic of South Africa, born 16 years ago, is a firm negation of the racist chauvinism that was the order of the day back then; and the resolute affirmation of the historic vision that South Africa, indeed, belongs to all who live in it, black and white.
The Ministry for the Public Service and Administration, which has the honour to present its Budget Vote to you today, is part of this vision, determines that we shall do all we can to affirm all our people's yearnings to belong to a common nation, share a common identity and toil towards a common future.
We remain resolute in our commitment to never allow public administrations ever again to be used in schemes to divide and serve only segments of our South African people, but certainly to be part of the broad movement to affirm our people's common and shared values and beliefs. Madam Chair, it is an honour and a privilege to have been placed in this department that is so central to the question of service delivery for our nation. It is also a huge responsibility that is never more keenly felt than when service delivery protest erupts, and ordinary people voice their displeasure with the lack of service delivery.
My role is to support the Minister as he leads our collective effort to achieve the objective as outlined in our legislation. In support of that role, there are a few priorities that I wish to emphasise here today in support of the Budget Vote of the department: Firstly, there is the need for us to build the capacity of the state to deliver on our promises of a better life for all.
Secondly, we have to review the governance arrangements within the three spheres of government which align themselves effectively and efficiently to deliver on our mandate to the people.
Thirdly, there is the need to better harness the power of technology to support our efforts to modernise the way we do our business as government.
The ANC was elected in 2009 on the back of the Together We Can Do More campaign.
There is increasing frustration at the general slow pace of delivery, poor quality, high costs and lack of speedy responsiveness of government to the challenges of our citizens. This frustration is felt across the spectrum of South African society, particularly amongst the urban and rural poor. Whatever the reasons, be it housing, sanitation, unemployment or desperation, service delivery protests are symptomatic of the challenges that we face as a nation and as government.
The South African public currently lacks a well-performing Public Service. Only 58% of our population is satisfied with the services delivered. Historically, satisfaction rates have been as high as 81% in 2004; and since then there has been a steady decline in public opinion towards the current satisfaction levels of 58% in 2009.
Indeed, there are several factors, which many of you will be familiar with, that account for this perception by the public. Some of you have mentioned the persistent underperformance by management in the Public Service; dysfunctional and ineffective back office systems; and slow bureaucratic decision-making processes that are amongst many other reasons that advocated as to why this service is perceived as being poor.
All of these, ladies and gentlemen, are undermining the capacity of the South African state and in turn has reduced its capacity to be an effective instrument of service to the people. But the key question must be: What are we going to do to fix these problems?
In his state of the nation address, President Zuma reaffirmed that the South African government's commitment to the vision of an inclusive society is that South Africa belongs to the entire nation, united in its diversity and the people working together for the greater good and benefit of all. The South African Constitution emphasises that the priority of the state is to advance human rights and freedom within a nonracial and nonsexist framework in which the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law must prevail.
Guided by the principle of the Freedom Charter, as you all have enunciated here today, South Africa certainly belongs to all who live in it, with the promotion of a democratic government based on the will of the people. Government committed itself to build a developmental state that will address the socioeconomic challenges in eradication of poverty and the need to create this better life for all.
The development state is thus an effort by the government to build a nation; to eradicate poverty; promote literacy; and provide health and decent education as well as grow the economy in a manner that must ensure that people are not left out, but are certainly fully participating and are included as part of the solution to the problems. In declaring this year, 2010, as the year of action, our President reminds us that there is no time for schism, no time for excuses and no time for complacency and the lack of deistical delivery of services. We are further reminded that there shall also be no time to claim easy victories and tell any lies.
Ladies and gentlemen, South Africa's next revolution must, therefore, be to get the democratic states working more effectively and efficiently.
Find the DA offices. Do you mean to join the DA?
As the leader of transforming the state of public service and administration, the Ministry for the Public Service and Administration is responsible for providing the governance framework for an efficient and effective Public Service through, amongst other things, ensuring that its people, processes and technologies are aligned.
As the custodian of human resources in the civil service, the Department for the Public Service and Administration, DPSA, creates the framework for recruiting, retraining and training the people who are central to the high performance Public Service that we require. Therefore, there would be no need for me to join the DA.
To effect this outcome, the Ministry for the Public Service and Administration has a number of levers at its disposal. We have several directives that deal with specific people's issues to whom we are harnessing our strategy to improve and to raise the ethos of Public Service.
As our mandate is to transform the Public Services, we are working towards inculcating the principle of a customer focus and citizen centric service to the people and all public servants.
The aim is to ensure that all citizens in our country receive quality government service at every service point. In this regard, I have just completed a very interesting four-day public service and community engagement outreach programme, and the Minister is about to implement another of these initiatives in one of the outer lying provinces in the country.
The main focus of our programme is to ascertain the level of compliance to service delivery standards which are central to the Batho Pele principle. We engage in these programmes in people's forums to hear the way people really perceive the quality of public service and make interventions to raise the quality of service.
I must, however, indicate that, in order to achieve this, we need public servants who have values, are principle-driven and also customer focused as well as having the mind-set of being people-centred.
Our challenge, ladies and gentlemen, is to make the entire Public Service share our vision and work diligently to speed up service delivery. Our critical partners such as trade unions and the public sector will certainly assist us to enhance the effectiveness of a developmental state. This sentiment, we are happy to record, was endorsed in the declaration that was adopted during the public service sector summit held earlier this year. In this context, it is critical that we enhance the speedy access to government services.
The Community Development Workers Programme, CDWP, was created in 2003 as the new usher of multiskilled public servants whose role would be to ensure that government goes to the people to offer services where they live, especially the urban and rural poor.
It is, however, necessary to mention that, until now, the community development programme has been implemented through guiding documents. As a consequence of this, a great variety exists in the implementation process of the CDWP nationally.
Our department currently has been engaged in a review process of the Community Development Workers Programme, driving towards the establishment of a consistent policy framework that will guide implementation across the provinces throughout the country. We are also engaged in reviewing the community development programme so that it can play a more dynamic role in the war against poverty. Describing the CDWP as having foot soldiers in the war against poverty, being the eyes and ears of the people and the defenders of the poor will certainly become the mission call of the realigned CDWP. Public service institutions are critical and central to the implementation of our programme of action in the DPSA. Allow me to mention just some of these institutions. Is my time up, Madam Chairperson? [Interjections] Madam Chair, thank you very much.
The institutions I wanted to speak about, if I had time, would have been the Government Employees Medical Scheme, Gems; and the Public Service Commission. As you heard the Minister say, he has entrusted me with the responsibility to ensure that there is compliance in the work of the Public Service Commission. I must tell you that it is a commitment we give this House that we will certainly attend to that in particular. We will certainly do our level best to ensure that peace the PSETA the requirements of improving skills in the Public Service.
In conclusion, we are happy to record that Gems is an institution that takes care of the medical services of public servants. It is a dynamic institution and organisation that earns R12 billion in a year. We are happy to say that it is proceeding very well. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, for the extra minute. [Applause.]
UMntwana M M M ZULU: Sihlalo, mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe nePhini lakho, mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe ngithi angisho ukuthi uhulumeni wakho ngimbona ekuthatha njengento ebalulekile ukuthi kuyiswe izidingo zabantu ebantwini.
Lo mnyango wakho kudingeka ukuthi ufinyelelise izidingo kubantu ngokukhulu ukushesha. Ngiyakubonga ukuthi kubekhona nokunye okwenzekayo kanye nemali efakiwe eziNdabeni zabaSebenzi ukuze kube khona izinto ezibhekene nabasebenzi uqobo. Kodwa engakuxwayisa ngakho Ngqongqoshe ngelinye ilanga ngikule Ndlu ngathi asizinakekele kahle iziKhungo eziku-Chapter 9, ngathi kufuneka uphose amehlo ngoba kukhona abantu abasebenza kahle, kanti futhi izinkinga zabasebenzi zikhona kule minyango.
Kodwa-ke futhi kukhona abantu abenza lezi zikhungo zibe yizinto zemizi yabo, ngoba ngokomthethosisekelo bayazi ukuthi umnyango wakho awukwazi ukuwabheka noma ukuwaphenya ngoba bona baphendula kwiNdlu yesiShayamthetho kaZwelonke. Sengathi leyonto kufuneka ibhekisiswe kahle ngoba iyasikhathaza thina njengabantu abavotayo kuleli lizwe. Okunye okufanele ukubheke ukuthi ungathathi amandla anikezwe uMnyango wakho uwadlulisele kwabanye abantu. UMnyango wakho unikezwe umsebenzi omkhulu wokuthi ubhekelele abasebenzi nokuqashwa kwabantu.
Ozakwethu bathinte nodaba lwakomasipala - ngoba yizimali zabakhokhi bentela eziya khona, kufanele baqikelele ukuthi abantu abaqashwa khona bafanelekile yini ukwenza lowo msebenzi. Uma ungeke ubuveze ubuholi kulokho mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe ngiyacabanga ukuthi iNingizimu Afrika iyobe isefini elimnyama, iyongena ehlathini okwesibili, ngoba labo masipala yibona abasondelene kakhulu nabantu ngendlela okuyiyonayona.
Mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe noma ngazi ukuthi kunezinye izinto ozicabangayo engingeke ngikwazi ukukuphikisa kuzo ngoba mhlawumbe ucwaningile ngazo wabona ukuthi ungasebenza kanjani ngazo. Kodwa-ke njenge-IFP siyasiseka lesi sabelomali, noma-ke amalungu ahloniphekile ebekuxwayisa ngezinto ezithile engingeze ngangena kuzo ngenxa yemizuzu ezosuke iphele. Ngiyabonga kakhulu. (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)
[Prince M M M ZULU: Chairperson, hon Minister and your Deputy. Hon Minister, I see that your administration takes service delivery very seriously.
Your department needs to speed up the process of service delivery. I am grateful for what is happening and also for the funds allocated to labour relations so that there can be something specifically designed for workers. I once warned you Minister, right here in this House, that we must take care of the Chapter 9 institutions. I said you need to be vigilant because there are people who do their work perfectly whereas there are labour issues in these departments.
But, again, there are people who think they own these institutions; they know that according to the Constitution your department cannot monitor or investigate them because they are only accountable to the National Assembly. I think that needs to be looked at carefully because it worries us as the voters in this country. Another thing that you need to be careful not to do is to give other people the authority that has been given to your department. Your department has been given an enormous task to care for the workers and recruitment.
My comrades tackled the issue of municipalities because it is the taxpayers' money that is allocated to them; they must make sure that they employ suitable people for those jobs. If you cannot show your leadership skills in that, hon Minister, I think South Africa would be under a dark cloud, and will be back in the woods for the second time, as these municipalities are the ones which are closer to the people.
Hon Minister, I know that there are things that I could not disagree with you on with regard to your thinking because maybe you have researched them and then concluded how you are going to do them. Nevertheless, as the IFP we support this budget even though the hon members have warned you about certain things that I cannot dwell on right now because of time constraints. Thank you very much.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, Acting Director-General, distinguished guests, and hon members.
The ANC is in the process of building a democratic developmental state. The first attribute of a developmental state in our conditions should be its strategic capacity - popular legitimacy deriving from its democratic nature and approach of people-centred and people-driven change. In this regard, it should be able to lead in the definition of a common national agenda and in the mobilisation of all society to take part in their implementation.
As the ANC, we maintain that the ongoing transformation of the state is meant to ensure that these capacities are attained, and the process of identifying weaknesses and correcting them will be intensified.
This includes engendering new doctrines, culture and practices as well as ensuring that the state institutions reflect the demographics of the country. This includes appropriate representation of women and people with disabilities.
Hon members, this applies to the Public Service in its totality as well as specialised institutions such as the judiciary, the police, intelligence agencies and the Defence Force. All these organs should serve the people in an efficient and impartial manner.
We have observed that there are disabling barriers that seriously influence the rate of employment of people with disabilities in the Public Service. These include attitudes, practices and policies of departments; inadequate provision of appropriate education and vocational training; inaccessible buildings and public transport; and impact of rural and informal settlement environment.
Phaya ezilalini asisakwazi ukuhamba, abantu abakhubazekileyo -bafumana ubunzima ngenxa yokungabikho kwezithuthi. [There are barriers in the rural areas and people with disabilities find it difficult because of lack of public transport.]
The most critical barriers confronting people with disabilities are the employment practices in the Public Service. To address these barrier analysis and a timetable for the reduction and elimination of those barriers, ineffective communication and co-ordination compounded by a lack of data on persons with disabilities should be addressed immediately.
As the ANC we believe that implementing these corrective measures requires more than just references to general political rights. A continuing element of democratic transformation should be a systematic programme to correct the historical injustice and affirm those deliberately excluded under apartheid on the basis of race, class and gender.
The need for such affirmative action will decline in the same measure as all centres of power and influence become broadly representative of the country's demographics. In the process, all inequalities that may persist or arise will need to be addressed.
The Batho Pele policy remains government's leading campaign to achieve the desired crucial transformation of the hearts and minds of public servants. This is a Public Service culture reorientation programme that is aimed at aligning the behaviour and attitudes of public servants towards the practice of a Batho Pele ethos.
In order to intensify the implementation and impact of this policy, the Minister for the Public Service and Administration launched the Batho Pele Impact Assessment which seeks to strengthen the integrated implementation of Batho Pele and the impact thereof across the three spheres of government.
This will enhance partnerships, collaborations and better co-ordination towards the implementation of Batho Pele, and intervene decisively and coherently in the economy and society to address social and economic developmental goals. Government has indicated its determination to build a cadre of community development workers, CDWs. This is to ensure that government works with the people as closely as possible to empower them to participate in and benefit from the process of reconstruction and development. This challenging but exciting work will require people who are truly committed to serve the people. These are not people who joined the Public Service merely to have a job or earn a salary. Rather, these are fellow South Africans who are moved by our common responsibility to ensure that millions of people break out of the dehumanising trap of poverty and underdevelopment. They are committed to the realisation of the goal we have set for ourselves, the goal of creating a caring and people-centred society. They understand and have internalised the call for all of us to adhere to a new patriotism.
The department has to play a leading role in helping to identify those among our population who fit this description to encourage them to take up the challenge of serving as CDWs.
This is because our work among the people gives us the possibility to get to know and assess many individuals. We will have to use this knowledge to ensure that the nation gets the right people as it builds the new Public Service cadre of CDWs.
Fighting corruption and promoting good governance remain some of the key priorities of government. Corruption is not only a threat to democratic institutions, but it also impacts negatively on service delivery and development.
Khawundiphe amanzi. Ndonqena nokusela amanzi kuba le mizuzu iyabaleka. [May you please give me water. I am tempted not to even drink water because time is against me.]
Government has established various measures and mechanisms to uproot corruption in all sectors of societies. However, hon members, we want to know when the special service delivery units will be established in government departments to tackle corruption head-on as provided for in the Public Service Act of 1994.
Admittedly, some government departments have attracted attention, as do some of our municipalities, especially the smaller, more isolated ones in rural areas. These circumstances have set an urgent agenda for continuing public service improvement, and the corresponding and required public service training and management development.
For the Public Service to respond adequately to all these issues raised in the so-called service delivery-related protests that we are experiencing, there is a need ... [Time expired.]
In conclusion, the ANC supports the Budget Vote. I thank you, Chairperson.
Chairperson, Minister and your Deputy, hon members, no one can accuse the government of not displaying good attention. Neither can anyone accuse the government of not creating new programmes or new committees. The problem is the lack of implementation.
The people of South Africa have been generally unhappy about public administration. In the past they suffered at the hands of the Public Service because of the brutal laws that were administered against them. Now they are unhappy because there is general lack of capacity and corruption. When Batho Pele was introduced, the whole country was happy. The people thought that an instrument to implement and work properly had been found. However, the problem is that Batho Pele did not take root.
The Public Service Commission monitors only the application of the Batho Pele principle that produces the reports. However, people are not happy about the reports. The reports are only there to do that.
Now, Minister, how can we say that we have Batho Pele approach? Can the Minister tell me that I can go to a particular department and see the Batho Pele principle in action? One cannot get that. Do we have a situation where there are, for example, 10 nominees that are identified by government in terms of a Batho Pele award in order to promote the principle? Nothing is happening.
We are happy to see, when we check issues from the last financial year - the Minister was there - that some of them have been achieved. Mthondolovhani, hi ndlela yaleyo ha ku ndhundhuzela. Leyi hi yona ndlela leyi munhu a fanelaka a tirha hayona. Hina va Cope a hi lavi ku bvinya leswi mi swi tirhaka; hi lava leswaku mi tirha mi ya emahlweni. Hina ho tiyisisa leswaku ku tirhiwa hi ndlela leyi; a hi bvinyi ku ya emahlweni ka mfumo. Xana loko Presidente Jacob Zuma a vurile a ku ... (Translation of Xitsonga paragraph follows.)
[Mthondolovhani, on that note we praise you. This is the way a person should work. As Cope, we do not want to sabotage what you are doing; we want you to work and make progress. What we are doing is to ensure that work is done in this manner; we don't sabotage government's progress. When President Jacob Zuma said that ...]
... this is the year of action, is it really happening? We must definitely act because the principal has spoken. I thank you.
Chairperson, hon members, Minister and Deputy Minister, without any hesitation or shadow of a doubt, I must say from the onset that the ANC supports the Budget Vote. Hon Minister and Deputy Minister, the ANC also supports the agenda of your department of continuing with the transformation of the Public Service. We support this Budget Vote not because we are praise singers, but because we know that, as a caring government we have a solemn agenda to achieve a better life for all our people.
As the ANC always says, together we can do more; this is how we want to do it. We believe that it is incumbent on the executive and Parliament to make sure that the agenda of ensuring a better quality of life for our people becomes a reality, not a deferred dream.
The ANC, which is the champion of the liberation of our country, believes in a united, nonracial, and nonsexist South Africa. Therefore, we want to support the Ministry for the Public Service and Administration in its pursuit of a Single Public Service. We are aware that only those who do not want to see a real change in our country are opposed to this. I must also remind the hon members that we created provinces so that services can reach our people faster and satisfactorily, not to be homelands of a special type. [Interjections.] We did this because of our commitment to dismantle all apartheid social relations and boundaries. We remain firm in our commitment that our people get the same services, irrespective of their race and location.
Hon Minister, we would like to request you to move with speed in creating a Single Public Service. We say this because we know that if this is not done quickly, you will soon see a province that will have no room for black people - and I mean black people in general. [Interjections.] A good example in this regard is the province where we are seated. In this province a black woman was removed from a top position only to put a white man in her place. [Interjections.] This was not because she had no capacity, but to maintain a white male-dominated administration. A young African man, who has scarce skills, was removed because he is an African and was therefore perceived to be an ANC member. [Interjections.]
Furthermore, in this province that is led by a woman, one would have thought that women would be in their majority in senior positions of administration. But, unfortunately, the opposite is true because women are not regarded as anything by another woman. I want to put it categorically that since the DA took over the leadership of the Western Cape, this province has regressed and recently polled as not only hostile to black people but plainly a racist province and, of course, it also has its seat in a racist city of our country. In fact, if truth be told, this has become a haven for all racists and "verkramptes" in this province. [Interjections.]
Order! Continue, hon Ntwanambi.
In this province, particularly after the elections in 2009, things have gone back to 1948. One continues to see public leaders dismantling churches. They continue to build uncovered toilets for people. If one goes to our areas - and I'm telling you all black areas, not necessarily African areas only - where poor people live, one will find that services are discontinued.
We continue to see areas where the majority of our people still live in dirty and neglected areas.
Chair, on a point of order: I would like you to rule in terms of Rule 46 which says that no member in the Council may deliberately make a statement which the member knows is false. This is in relation to the last statement by the speaker.
Hon Harris, can you indicate which one?
Excuse me?.
Which statement?
The statement that services are deliberately cut off in black areas.
Are you saying it is false?
I'm saying the member is deliberately making a statement which she knows is false.
Can I come back to you.
With a ruling?
Can I come back to you later with an answer to that?
Thank you, Chairperson. Hon Harris, let me tell you. Go to Gugulethu now. I will just take you to three streets to meet the people there so that you can understand better. Those are indigent people.
I also want to suggest that - like it was ordered - when we go to the public institutions we must be able to identify the civil servants. We must have a way of reporting them because they continue to embarrass government.
In conclusion, let me respond to hon Bekker. Hon Bekker, you know that municipal employees are not represented in this debate. That is why we are canvassing for one Public Service so that they can be part of what we are saying. I also want to say I'm so shocked and amused by your inability, hon Bekker, to differentiate between Minister Shiceka and Minister Baloyi. Everything you said here is exactly what you said two Fridays ago - every single word. Maybe the DA has run out of words. Furthermore, it is also so because this merger between the DA and the ID is nothing but a means of ensuring the exclusion of Africans, particularly in the Western Cape.
Finally, I also want to remind hon Bekker - he knows very well - that his leader, Madam Helen Zille, is nothing else but a woman who is supposed to be a champion of women's programmes. I can assure you that if one looks at our statements here in the Western Cape, nothing speaks about anything. I also want to tell hon members, particularly hon Harris, that we still live in a city that is not ready to transform, that will never transform, if one looks at Cape Town.
Ms E C van LINGEN: Chairperson, on a point of order. I'm asking for clarity on a point of order. A while ago I had a situation where Helen Zille, who, as a premier, is a member of this House, was discredited and a ruling in the Joint Sitting was made wherein the person who insulted the premier had to apologise. On the same basis I am asking for clarity because to me this is a point of order when someone is insulting a member of this House.
Chairperson, on a point of order: I don't understand what the hon member's point of order is all about. There is a difference in what was said in the Joint Sitting and what is said now. There is a huge difference. She did not listen, because here the speaker is just referring to the differences on the ground. Maybe she needs to explain what it is all about.
Chair, ...
Just hold on. I will reimburse you your time. Hon member, what is the insult? Can you just clarify what is the insult at this present juncture?
Madam Chair, Helen Zille, who is a member of this House, has been targeted by the current speaker on several issues; insulting her. You can go through them. You can ask for the words because I'm asking for a ruling. It is not right.
Hon member, could you please explain to me what the insult is?
Chairperson, she has said that she is not supporting women; she is not a leader for women; she appoints men; and she builds toilets without walls, which is not true. [Laughter.] It is not right. We cannot have a member here ...
You know better!
Hon member, may I then appeal that you take your seat.
If I get a ruling I would be glad to do so.
Please, can you take your seat at the present juncture. Just take your seat.
Thank you.
Chairperson, on a point of order: I just want to ask the hon member not to waste our time. She says the speaker is directly attacking issues and there is no insult. This is a debate in which we debate issues. So the point of order is not there at all. Thank you.
Chairperson, on a point of order: I think three months ago I gave hon Ntwanambi advice to relieve stress. Hon Ntwanambi, don't mention the name of Helen Zille, because you are going to have a very bad night tonight. Don't dream about her.
Hon Bloem, hon Bloem, that is not a point of order.
Mhlalingaphambili, ndinesiphakamiso sonqwanqwado: Ingaba sisithuko kusini na ukuthi: Awakhi zindlu; akukho zindlu zangasese. Ingaba sisithuko na eso? [Chairperson, on a point of order: Is it an insult to say: You don't build houses; there are no toilets. Is that an insult?]
May I explain something now? I will make a ruling after this. Hon Harris, in the next sitting I will actually deal with your point of order. Can we proceed? We can't continue like this.
Chairperson, on a point of order: I just want to ask the hon Chief Whip whether Cope has got the answers, because in her speech she said the DA doesn't have them. [Laughter.]
Hon member, that is not a point of order and please behave yourself. Hon Ntwanambi, can you continue?
Chairperson, ...
Chairperson, on a point of order: Chairperson, because you said you will be coming with a ruling around the point of order that was raised by hon Harris ...
I will answer all points of order.
... because she is misleading the House now. I want to check as to whether ...
That is fine. I will answer all of them. Thank you. Continue, hon Ntwanambi.
UMBHEXESHI OYINTLOKO WE BHUNGA: Enkosi Mhlalingaphambili, uyabona ke bantu beCope bendisanixolele namhlanje. Mhlawumbi ke nani aniziva nonwabile ukuba andilichaphazeli igama lenu. Nina ke niseza kulwa kuba nemka kwiANC ninomsindo kwaye niqumbile, nisaqumbile nangoku. Okunifaneleyo nina kukuba niye kwinkomfa nonyule iinkokheli kwaye nizifune kananjalo ukuba ... (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
Thank you, Chairperson. You see, Cope members, I didn't intend mentioning you today. Maybe you also do not feel happy when I do not mention your name. You are still going to fight because you were angry when you left the ANC; you are still angry and disgruntled. What you need to do is to go to a conference to elect leaders and do some introspection to find out ...]
... who you are exactly. What is it that you want? The fact of the matter is that you don't know what you want. You also don't know what you are. You don't have a vision because you don't even have a policy. You can't have an answer if you don't have a policy. [Laughter.] Go back and take a look at yourselves again. Get yourselves a mirror and look at yourselves properly; you will find yourselves. Thank you, Chair. [Applause.]
Are you brave enough to take a question?
Chairperson, I thank all hon members for the debate on the Vote. It is a very important engagement in the service of the separation of powers between Parliament and the executive. Your inputs are not only fulfilling the democratic imperative that you hold us accountable for, but also go far in terms of raising issues that we have to respond to, either today or in the course of the financial year, as we will engage from time to time.
We value all your inputs, although some provided entertainment. Our resolve is that whatever you said is based on the understanding that you are as patriotic as all of us. This message goes to all delegates of this House irrespective of the political party which you represent.
Hon delegates, you will realise that the underlying position that informs the way we do things is people-driven. As delegates to this House, from time to time visiting provinces in your programme of Taking Parliament to the People, be assured that we will always be available to you so that the issues that are raised regarding service delivery may also be considered at our level for making follow-ups.
I believe that you will always find peace with this understanding, as it is a reality for all of us that the doctrine and practice of the separation of powers also have a converse part of it, which is power convergence. We are all Members of Parliament and we are representing two organs of one and the same state of South Africa. Our parliamentary liaison officers will always be a link between you and us. The other interesting part of our relationship is that we share a common partner, which is the Public Service Commission. Together we need to go down to the communities and also weld our relationships around common programmes of action. When we go to communities we will also go to those which hon members said represent the past and not the present South Africa. We will go to all of them.
One of the other priority issues which we will pursue is to make sure that we do all we can to facilitate the delivery of services with the view to impact on people's lives giving them first preference, Batho Pele. In his own words the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission, Dr Ralph Mgijima, said in one of the reports that:
Given the complex and multifaceted nature of rural poverty, the required interventions to address rural underdevelopment are also complex, needing to be multisectoral and integrated in nature.
Let us work together, clear in our understanding that we have respective mandates and we are committed to serve the nation according to the oath we signed as individuals in becoming Members of Parliament.
Last week at about 14:45 in the afternoon, I signed a performance agreement with the President of the Republic of South Africa. I committed myself to leading this department differently so that we can realise our outcome of an efficient and development-oriented Public Service.
In conclusion, allow me to thank my support staff, the leadership of the portfolios, the Public Service Commission and the Deputy Minister of the support. I should take this opportunity to announce that whereas we have our Acting Director-General, today, we have taken a decision today to appoint a permanent director-general. As we are speaking I want to indicate that Blake Mosley-Lefatola will resume his duties as DG in no time.
We want to lead by example when we say that we need to fill vacancies as speedily as possible. I take this opportunity to say thank you very much for allowing us to present the Budget Vote. Before I go back, it is important that we thank the Chairperson of the committee, hon Mokgobi. You are right when you say that we were ready when we took over in 1994 because we graduated from the university of wisdom and unity. We were ready then, we are ready now and we will be ready tomorrow.
We are taking a cue from what Samora Machel said - that the struggle is a school of unity. We derived and we drank from that school. That is why we are ready. It is true that we would present quarterly reports and even more than that, but the minimum we are going to do.
Things that Mr Burger said will slightly address some of the things Mr Makhubela and Mr Zulu raised. The Public Service Commission is independent. We want to impress, raise and invite all of you to support the independence of the Public Service Commission. What is happening is that the Public Service Commission is funded through transfer funds from the Department for the Public Service and Administration, DPSA, Vote 11. This is not undermining the independence of the Public Service Commission.
The arrangement before was not the best. We are looking for a final position. The Public Service Commission, as an independent institution appointed by this Parliament, has to be funded according to that. Remember, it was yourselves as Parliament who appointed former Member of Parliament, Professor Kader Asmal, who led a commission, an ad hoc committee, to look at the review of the Chapter 9 institutions including the Chapter 10 institution of the Public Service Commission.
The corporate form of this entity will be finalised in no time. There is no one who is trying to undermine the independence of the Public Service Commission. The Deputy Minister will strengthen the executive responsibility to make sure that the executive oversight is done. This will ensure that government departments respond to the recommendations of the Public Service Commission. Parliament has that responsibility at political oversight level.
Some people say the Public Service Commission does not have teeth; some say it has two sets of teeth - one set with Parliament and the other with the executive. It is up to those of us with whom the teeth reside to sharpen them so that they must bite as we support the Public Service Commission.
Mr Bekker, the time has come for us to remind people, amongst other things, of what Shakespeare said in one of his sonnets titled The Parting, and I quote Michael Drayton:
Since there is no help, come let us kiss and part.
And Shakespeare:
For love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That time has come and we have pronounced that we will do our best to train and expose our public servants in whatever it takes for them to rise to the level, as Mr Makhubele said, of internalising their obligations and service to this country to make sure that the policies that we developed are implemented. If they can't rise to that level, the parting time has arrived. That is the time that we will also call upon Parliament and this House to support us as we deal with these issues.
Baba Zulu, on the issue around the special service unit we indicated, when we pronounced that we are going to create this. During the Public Service Week in June, we are going to pronounce where we stand.
It is true, hon Nesi, that the issue of disability is a very serious issue. I indicated that in March last year we launched guiding principles. We have committed ourselves and the nine steps that we spoke about would be popularised. Next year our priority is to make sure that there is compliance. If there is no compliance, whether in the Eastern Cape or the Western Cape, we will make sure it is there.
The Ministry in the Presidency responsible for performance, monitoring and evaluation monitors governance in the whole of the Republic of South Africa. We don't have any part of this country that is a state on its own. We are part of one state. South Africa is a unitary state. That is what we are going to do. Comrade Chief Whip, we assure you, as we conclude, that when we speak about compliance we mean compliance. We are going to make sure that compliance is there and it is done. South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity. That is what the Constitution says, taking a cue from what the Freedom Charter said that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white. When we fill positions, our staffing norms are instructive that the population of your public servants in any area must be reflective of the demographics in that particular area. There is no excuse for that. There is no holy cow. We are going to address all these things.
If I have not commented on any of the things that you said, we should get together at a later stage. At this time it is not possible for me to respond to all of them. We are together to engage on all these issues. We thank you for the time you gave us, Chairperson.
I ntiyiso lowu hanyaka tatana Mugwena leswaku loko hi vulavula hi ku ku fanele ku tirhiwa. Xikombiso xa kahle lexi mi nga ta xi twisisa hi ri ku ta tlurhuka ritshuri ehenhla ka nhloko ya xisiwana. Loko ri nga tlurhuki hinkwerhu hi fanele ku koka kahle naswona yi nga koki onge letin'wana ti pane hi joko xikeyi hikuva yi nga ti tlimba swi nga fanelanga.
Hi kona tanihi Ndzawulo ya Vukorhokeri bya Vaaki na Mafambiselo hi tirha ku fana na vadzambi. Loko hi ku tshinya u nga twi hi kala hi tshinela ekusuhi i ta swi twa kunene. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraphs follows.)
[Mr Mugwena, it is really true when we say that work must be done. A good example that you can understand is that all people must dedicate themselves to hard work to eradicate poverty. If not, we must all join hands and exert the same effort, and not work as individuals.
That is when the Department of Public Service and Administration will come on board as supervisors. When we issue out a warning and there is no compliance, then we will be bound to put tough measures in place.]
Thank you very much.
Debat concluded.