Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, Members of Parliament and distinguished guests, portfolio committees submit their recommendations on government departments to Parliament regarding service delivery and these are published in the Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports, ATCs. The Auditor-General and the Public Service Commission also submit reports on some departments.
However, something was still missing. The only thing to be done was for the President to create a department that would report directly to him on service delivery and the progress made. That department is here with us now, and it is the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation. I can say that we are happy to have that department.
This is an ANC-led government. The ANC has always stood for basic principles, which include a Constitution that guarantees human rights for all, and the right to a minimal standard of life, including the right of access to health facilities, education, security, food and water.
It is really disempowering and frustrating, and it makes people very angry, when they go to a public office and find that there is no official at the reception desk; when they stand in long queues for hours at government facilities, only to be told to come back the following day or month; when a person offers a service to a government department and has to wait for more than 30 days to receive the payment that will enable him to sustain his small enterprise or his co-operative; or when they call an emergency service, and it arrives only after a long time. The list goes on and on. We cannot continue with business as usual.
This Budget Vote is about how public funds are spent, and whether the community receives value for money. It also addresses the 2009 ANC Election Manifesto. The 52nd ANC National Conference reminds us of the functions of the budget when it declares that:
In the final analysis, the Budget is a potent lever in the hands of the state to direct, lead and guide the economy to address and improve the social conditions of the people and bring about economic progress for the poor.
We all know that this department was created for the purpose of addressing all these matters.
We have heard in the speeches of all the speakers that there is a change. Something is happening in South Africa that addresses exactly what I have said. This debate will focus on Programme 4: Public Sector Administration Oversight, which the Deputy Minister has elaborated on. It is a key element of the delivery agreement for Outcome 12, which refers to developing "an efficient, effective and development oriented public service".
The budget for this programme is R52,3 million, increasing to R60 million in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF. People have already expressed how they feel about this budget.
The programme has two subprogrammes which are being implemented in partnership with the offices of the premiers. One of the programmes is the Management Performance Assessment Tool, MPAT. Good, improved and efficient service delivery results from proper, efficient and effective management. To address the existing problem of maladministration and poor service delivery, the department has developed the tool to assess the management practices of national and provincial departments, and this was approved by Cabinet in 2011.
The MPAT was done in collaboration with the Department of Public Service and Administration, the National Treasury, the Auditor-General, the Public Service Commission and the offices of the premiers. There is no duplication, as each and every department is doing its own job. The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation is focusing on where there are no services. We have heard hon Singh and hon Gen Holomisa pinpointing exactly what this department is focusing on. The aim is to drive improvements and for the departments to share good practice.
It makes national and provincial HODs sign off their assessments. The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation signs at the national level, and the provincial legislatures sign as well. The process is done in different phases. There is self-assessment, which was referred to by the chairperson of the committee. There is also moderation of the self- assessment, which is done by peers from other departments from both the national and provincial levels. These are then discussed. As time goes on we will see that all these discussions will then be discussed by the people who assessed themselves. Out of that they will draw up a plan of action that will lead on to improvements - we can't just stand here today and say that there is a department today and tomorrow we will see that everything is in order!
Since its implementation, self-assessment and moderation have been done in 156 departments. Oh, sorry, I have turned two pages of my speech over. [Interjections.] Yes, we are very transparent! I want to tell you the truth! [Laughter.]
There is also the Forum of South African Directors-General, which holds quarterly meetings. This will refer to what we have been saying. The DGs will be discussing what is wrong in their departments, because they will have knowledge of what is happening, what is lacking and where there is maladministration.
Through this forum we hope we will learn more, because this department is still new and we are all overwhelmed. Through all this wonderful information that is changing the face of public service delivery, we will know as we go on, what is actually being done with foresight, or why there are no improvements. This will happen when the DGs meet and discuss the HODs and what is happening in their departments.
There are good government policies that just need to be implemented in order to change people's lives. What is needed is quality, commitment, understanding and someone who is capable of doing the job. Noncompliance should carry consequences - we have all said that and no one can say that we don't see it. The Minister himself has also referred to it.
There is an author whose book we as members of the committee all have, except for the hon George who is not a member of that committee! [Laughter.] The book is written by De Bruijn and it talks about accountability and performance management. It reads:
Accountability is a form of communication and it requires the information that professional organisations have to be reduced and aggregated.
All these things need to be done, such as the aggregation. He further states that "performance measurements are a powerful tool". This is confirmed by what the department is doing. The department is practising this and we can see some success in what is happening. We have confidence in the department. This department is a godsend, and there is nothing like it.
There is another subgroup called Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring. This monitoring is done by the department in partnership with the offices of the premiers. The programme monitors the quality of service delivery at selected sites, and keeps in touch with grass-roots issues by conducting interviews with citizens and staff as well as making its own observations at the sites. Findings are placed on scorecards and these are referred to the relevant departments. The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation discusses all this with the provinces so that corrective measures that need to be taken can be taken.
Facilities that have already been monitored are the Department of Home Affairs, and we all know of the improvements at Home Affairs; the SA Social Security Agency, Sassa, and we all know about the improvements there; the police stations, which have already been mentioned; the Department of Health, where you know about the improvements; there have been improvements with driver's licences; and you also know what is happening at schools.
The schools can't just wake up from their past legacy of apartheid and immediately be the star performing department! We appreciate what is happening there. We as the Standing Committee on Appropriations went there and criticised what was happening at schools in the Eastern Cape. However, we appreciate the fact that it can't change overnight. Another institution that is being monitored is the courts.
Attention is specifically being paid to what the people say are the problems. Firstly, there are visibility and signage. People can't spend the whole day looking for a police station because there are no signs. Then, queue management has been referred to, and in this regard to the dignity of the people. As we know, it is a human right that people should be treated with dignity - it does not matter who you are. The facilities should also be clean, comfortable and safe.
There is also complaints and compliments management. Through the complaints the department knows what is happening and sends feedback to the relevant department concerning the complaints of the people. We appreciate compliments, but we focus more on complaints because we want to improve matters.
The Presidential Hotline has been referred to. Each and every one of us appreciates it. Thank you very much, hon General Holomisa, because people appreciate this service. It is very popular and has led to better service delivery and faster responses. Our constituencies can testify to the efficiency of the hotline and they even advise one another to report inefficiencies to the President on the phone.
I think it is also happening in the Western Cape, because we saw telephone complaints coming from the Western Cape. Thank you very much, because the Western Cape recognises how the Presidential Hotline can attend to their province when the legislature and the DA-run municipalities do not attend to their problems. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
We paid an oversight visit to the hotlines and we saw the well-trained staff. We also answered calls ourselves. Even critics phone and get warm treatment from the efficient people on the other side of the line. We have also paid unannounced visits. The visits show us the real situation of the daily functioning of the facility. The results are also discussed in the offices of the premiers, and the offices of the premiers know that the national department will come there. There will be unannounced visits. They know that they will be there and they do not do anything behind closed doors.
Citizen-based monitoring has already been referred to. The ANC will always mobilise people to actively take part in decision-making processes that affect their lives. This is seen in the achievements there have been in the delivery of basic services; in the number of houses that are being built; in access to education; in the increase in the number of early childhood development centres; and in access to the economy. We said we wanted an efficient economy.
Both the department and the National Planning Commission have indicated that education should start at early childhood learning centres. The first 100 days of a child are very important. He should get nutrition, qualified teachers, and qualified nurturing from both parents so that when he goes to school there is support. Then we know we will produce efficient and well- qualified people who can run the economy and grow the production in our country.
This programme has done a lot of work. Capacity is needed to achieve the outcomes, and the impact should be felt. This is a small department and, according to the Estimates of National Expenditure, the number of funded posts in this programme will increase by only two in the MTEF. Only two!
This brings us to the issue of the use of consultants. This has been thoroughly discussed with the department by our committee. The question is this. What is more cost-effective - employing a permanent staff member, getting an expert with the necessary skills for a few months for a specific department, or having someone to stay there for the whole year and not be effective in evaluating a particular department? In general, we as the Standing Committee on Appropriations agreed that consultants cannot be used randomly. However, we still have to deal with the question of a small department and the usage of consultants.
The ANC presents itself to the public through its policies. Bagaetsho, ditokomane tsa pholisi ya ANC di buisiwa ke mongwe le mongwe, ditheo tsotlhe, e seng makala a rona fela. Mongwe le mongwe wa itsi gore ANC e dira eng. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Honourable members, the ANC's policy documents are read by everyone and all institutions, not only by our branches. Everyone knows what the ANC does.]
We have vibrant debates that are being analysed. Those criticisms enable the ANC to draw up policies and programmes of action to improve the lives of our people. We see change in South Africa. Discussions of these documents are a call for transparency. "Working together we can do more."
Ga re na sephiri re le ANC. [The ANC does not have secrets.]
The ANC supports this Budget Vote. The problem is just that one needs to be in the committee to be able to understand everything that we are doing. The input here really has been constructive. It's just a pity that the hon George does not consult with his colleagues before he starts talking. However, we can see that the hon George just wanted to use this opportunity to campaign. This is not a platform for campaigning; this is a platform to express where we were before we had the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, where we are now, and where we see we are going. We can all see that through this department ...
... go na le kwa re yang teng. E tsene ya lebelela gore a naare batho ba lela ka eng. Batho ba lela ka go tlhoka ditirelo fa tse dingwe di sa ba fitlhelele, mme lefapha leno le bontsha gore di a fitlha. Lona kwa Northam, buang ka bothata ba lona, mme le seka la akaretsa. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[... we are going somewhere. The department came on board to listen to what people complained about. People complained about the need for services as only some were able to reach them, and now the department shows that every service is reaching them. To the people of Northam, please talk about your problems instead of generalising.]
The ANC supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]