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THE PRESIDENCY: REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
Private Bag X1000, Pretoria, 0001
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
690. Mr M G P Lekota (Cope) to ask the President of the Republic:
Whether the Government has a clear programme for creating and
strengthening a culture of deep respect and sincere appreciation
within the public sector and civil society as a whole for the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, as well as the
Chapter 9 institutions; if not why not; if so, what are the details
and outcomes thereof? NW774E
REPLY:
Government has established the National School of Government, which was
launched in October 2013, and which builds capacity for a professional
public service through a range of mandatory, generic and specialist
programmes.
For example, the Compulsory Induction Programme, and its reorientation
component, is designed to prepare new entrants to learn, grow, and serve
the public service. The programmes, though differentiated for various
occupational levels, have a common golden thread of stimulating
appreciation of and commitment to the principles and values of public
service and administration as articulated in Chapter 10 of the Constitution
of South Africa, 1996.
The programmes bring sharp focus on the culture and ethos of service within
departments and institutions. The Compulsory Induction Programme deals in
detail with the following topics:
⢠Understanding your constitution and mandate
⢠Working the service delivery system
⢠Being an ethical, honest and considerate public servant
⢠Building good people relations
⢠understanding the financial processes of governments .
The National School of Government is also rolling out a pre-service
training programme targeting unemployed graduates, as well as in-service
training and professional development courses, all of which carry the theme
of respect for the Constitution as a fundamental requirement for public
service. All training delivery activities of the School espouse the
Constitution as prime source of authority, and related policy frameworks
aimed at engendering social transformation and building a capable State.
Meanwhile, from 2010 to 2014, the Department of Justice and Constitutional
Development (DOJ&CD) has been engaged in the Access to Justice and
Promotion of Constitutional Rights Programme, with support from the
European Union.
The aim of this Programme is to contribute to the promotion, protection and
realisation of rights established in the Constitution through three key
pillars or result areas:
⪠Improving access to justice;
⪠Raising awareness of rights; and
⪠Strengthening participatory democracy.
The Socio-Economic and Justice for All programme is a new programme which
will build on the lessons learned under the Access to Justice and Promotion
of Constitutional Rights Programme. The programme is aimed to:
⢠Increase awareness of constitutional rights across South Africa and
particularly among vulnerable and marginalised groups
⢠Support civil society actors in the justice and human rights sector,
including the development of a sustainability mechanism
⢠Develop a sector policy framework on complementarity in the justice and
human rights sector.
Furthermore, government continues to play a key role in promoting the
countryâs constitution and shaping the countryâs identity, its perception
of itself and how it relates to the international community. In addition to
this, there are specific projects that are being rolled out that are aimed
at promoting the Constitution. Among others, these include:
a) Printing the Preamble of the Constitution in all official languages
and distributing these in schools for the Children to learn and recite
in school assemblies. The preamble has been put into the back cover of
all workbooks for ease of reference by leaners;
b) Preparing picture frames of all national symbols, including the
National Anthem and distributing these in all schools for children to
learn and appreciate;
c) Working with and supporting the Moral regeneration Movement to promote
the Charter of Good Values which is founded on the overarching values
enshrined in our Constitution.