State of the Public Service Report (SOPS) 2007 Promoting growth and development through an effective...

State of the Public Service Report

(SOPS) 2007

Promoting growth and development through an effective Public Service

Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Public Service

and Administration

16 May 2007

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Presentation outline

• Background and purpose of SOPS reports

• Methodology

• SOPS 2007

• Conclusion

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Background and purpose of the SOPS Reports

• The SOPS reports are an annual production of the Public Service Commission (PSC) that provide a high-level overview of the performance of the Public Service.

• The 2004 edition reviewed the Public Service since democracy. SOPS 2005 presented a vision for the 2nd decade of democracy and the 2006 SOPS looked at capacity in the Public Service to deliver on the development objectives of Government.

• This 2007 edition looks at the “contribution of the Public Service towards the achievement of growth and development objectives in South Africa. ”

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Methodology

• SOPS Reports draw on the vast amount of oversight work undertaken by the Public Service Commission (PSC). This is augmented by other appropriate research on public administration.

• The research is organised according to the 9 Constitutional values and principles of public administration.

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SOPS 2007

• For each of the values and principles, SOPS 2007 looks at:

Growth and development in the context of the values/principle

Discussing findings per principle

Considerations for enhancing Growth and Development under the value/principle

• The report moves from the premise that ultimately growth and development are about a holistic improvement of the standard and quality of life of people

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Principle 1 – Professional Ethics

A professional and ethical Public Service enhances the credibility of the state as a development partner and promotes confidence in its programmes.

• A sound framework has been established to promote a strong culture of ethics. This supports growth and development as it instils confidence in the government and encourages investment.

• The partnership approach fostered by the National Anti-Corruption Forum (NACF) broadens the resolve and resources for fighting corruption. This shows broad based commitment and is positive for investor confidence.

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Principle 1 – Professional Ethics

• The anti-corruption drive has a strong public participation dimension, and this is evident in the extensive use of the National Anti-Corruption Hotline (NACH)

• It is of concern that feedback from departments on cases reported to them from the NACH is poor (36%). This can potentially undermine confidence in the system.

• The declaration of Financial Interests is an important mechanism to prevent conflict of interest, especially in a context where the state makes important procurement decisions. The current rate of return of 66% is unacceptable.

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Principle 1: Considerations for enhancing growth and development

• The frameworks and strategies for ensuring an integrity driven Public Service must be implemented to ensure that growth and development objectives are realised.

• The Public Service needs to address the potentially harmful effects of perception-based measures of incidents of corruption. Through following up on cases that emanate from the NACH, the Public Service will help address perceptions that there is tolerance for corruption.

• For the Public Service to successfully become an integrity driven institution, society as a whole must actively support a high standard of ethics.

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Principle 2: Efficiency, Economy and Effectiveness

Public spending impacts on the production, investment and employment patterns in the economy. Used efficiently, economically and effectively public resources can become a strategic lever to promote investment and to improve the well-being of citizens.

• Over 56% of allocated expenditure is spent on social services. The largest share of resources goes to Education (5,3% of GDP). This is a good investment given that education is an engine for development.

• Budget allocation increases are commendable but a positive impact is only possible if the Public Service shows the capacity to spend its resources to achieve developmental objectives. Under spending at the provincial level is mostly on the decrease, but at the national level it increased from 0,9% to 1,5 from 2004/5 to 2005/6.

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Principle 2: Efficiency, Economy and Effectiveness

• There are also concerns about the practice where some departments expend most of their funds in the last few months of the financial year. This indicates poor financial planning.

• The Auditor-General found that for 2005/6, national departments incurred over R266 m in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. This was three times more than in 2004/5. R139 m of this comprised irregular expenditure.

• For a Public Service committed to using resources efficiently, economically and effectively such forms of expenditure are unacceptable.

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• The creation of public value is a critical imperative for the Public Service, especially in the context of a state that seeks to improve the standard and quality of life of citizens.

• The Public Service needs to ensure that performance reporting strikes a balance between quantitative and qualitative achievements. This requires sound planning and focused evaluative studies.

• Priority initiatives such as AsgiSA should be supported by comprehensive monitoring and evaluation processes.

• The Public Service needs to develop the institutional capacity to help address the unacceptably high levels of unauthorised, irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditure in the Public Service.

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Principle 3: Development Orientation

South African developmentalism requires the Public Service to be a strategic agent through which government can intervene decisively to achieve its objectives of creating a better life for all

• Despite increased economic growth in recent years, South Africa is still challenged by poverty. Government is committed to halving poverty by 2014 in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

• Assessments of progress made in reducing poverty are defused by different definitions of poverty. The country does not have an official poverty matrix.

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Principle 3: Development Orientation

• Huge challenges face government to reduce income poverty through productive employment with unemployment estimated at about 26%.

• Efforts such as social security and social assistance programmes have reached many beneficiaries. In October 2005 out of a population of 46.9 million South Africans, 22% were receiving grants, whilst approximately 7 million children were directly benefiting from grants by December 2005. However, these need to be augmented by job creation and other income generating opportunities.

• The success of the poverty reduction programme should be discernable in the quality of lives of citizens.

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• A shared view of what constitutes poverty and how it can be measured is needed. PSC studies on poverty reduction should contribute to such a dialogue.

• Departments and spheres of government must collaborate more to optimise the use of resources so as to effectively implement poverty reduction programmes.

• Collaborative opportunities should also be extended to communities to ensure that they actively participate in the growth and development initiatives of the country. Local input will ensure sustainability and relevance.

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Principle 4: Impartiality and Fairness

The provision of services impartially, fairly and equitably is essential for growth and development, as it ensures that the current inequalities that exist are addressed.

• The Public Service has reversed the injustices caused by previous legislation and now seeks to ensure that all citizens can equally enjoy the benefits of growth and development.

• Legislation put in place to achieve the above include the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA), Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), Promotion of Equality and Unjust Discrimination Act (PEPUDA) and the Employment Equity Act (EEA).

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Principle 4 - Impartiality and Fairness

• Vestiges of past inequality remain. For example, of the 4,6 million people aged 20 years or more who had not received schooling in 2001, 4,3 million (94%) were African.

• Even where legislation provides for preferential treatment, this should be done in a fair impartial and unbiased manner.

• The PAJA addresses fairness, impartiality and lack of bias by looking at the quality of decision-making, procedural and substantive. PSC studies show that departments continue to perform inadequately in terms of compliance with PAJA.

• Such poor compliance may undermine public confidence in fairness of decision made. Departments must improve the manner in which they work with current legislation to ensure that they can effectively promote fairness, impartiality and lack of bias.

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• PAJA provides a good framework upon which to improve upon decision-making processes. Its effective implementation will enhance the integrity of the Public Service as an institution that makes proper and defendable decisions.

• There must be a high degree of transparency and fairness in the adjudication of tenders, especially given the number of high level events that the country will be hosting in the near future. It is a window of opportunity that should not be exploited.

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Principle 5: People’s needs must be responded to and the public must be encouraged to participate in policy-making

The involvement of citizens in the decision-making process is important to ensure that experiential and grounded perspectives inform government of what the needs are, and how these can best be addressed

• Effective growth and development requires a responsive government that is willing and able to promote citizen participation.

• Citizen participation in programmes is critical. It is an important democratic benefit and also ensures relevance, ownership and sustainability.

• Engaging with citizens can be a challenge in a new democracy where the process of democratic decision-making may be incorrectly regarded as a substitute for citizen participation.

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• South Africa has an open policy making process striving for consensus building. Examples are Parliamentary hearings, processes such as NEDLAC, engagements with trade unions and Izimbizo.

• The partnership between government and civil society groups on HIV/AIDS is an example of a collaborative effort in the national interest.

• Citizen Satisfaction Surveys are also an important mechanism for promoting citizen participation. Surveys conducted by the PSC show that although most citizens are generally satisfied with services provided, they remain dissatisfied with redress mechanisms in departments.

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• Departments also generally lack policies and guidelines to deal to promote public participation. In a sample of departments surveyed by the PSC, only 21% of them had such a policy or guideline. This compromises departments’ ability to be responsive to the needs of communities.

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• More dialogue is needed in the Public Service to deepen the understanding of different mechanisms of public participation. Public participation needs to extend beyond those measures conducted by the political sphere of government.

• Executing participatory models requires public servants to develop particular skills, such as being able to negotiate, understand community dynamics and work with, rather than for communities.

• This would require the reorientation and re-skilling of public servants to address the challenges posed by working in such a context.

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Principle 6: Public administration must be accountable

Accountability for performance is critical for a Public Service that is charged with the important responsibilities of implementing government policy and managing public resources

• The Public Service has enormous responsibilities and is entrusted with vast resources and levels of authority to enable it to deliver on the priorities of government.

• The basis for Public Service accountability has been laid through such frameworks as the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), the Promotion of Administrative Act (PAIA) and the Performance Management Development System (PMDS).

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• Annual Reports are also a critical accountability mechanism.

• The AG uses Annual Reports to facilitate regulatory audits and checks that these reports do not contradict financial statements. During the 2005-6 financial year the majority (56%) of departments failed to submit their reports by the due date. These practices undermine the accountability purpose these reports serve for the use of public resources.

• The quality of departmental reporting has improved. There is now a better alignment (from 39% to 71%) between the estimates of National Expenditure and departments’ objectives and performance information.

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• There was an increase in the number of qualified audits over the reporting periods: from 7 to 11. This represents 32% of the total budget vote, up from 21% for the previous period.

• The most significant number of qualifications (78%) came from 5 departments: Correctional Services, Home Affairs, Defence, Independent Complaints Directorate and Water Affairs and Forestry.

• The PSC continues to facilitate the evaluation of HoDs. However, the performance management and evaluation system is not optimally used, with many Executive Authorities not initiating evaluations. This means that critical feedback on performance is not provided, which adversely affects the quality of governance.

• In addition, Performance Agreements are not always entered into on time.

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• The Executive and Senior Management must address why departments do not implement performance management systems effectively and do not meet the requirements of the PFMA. There should be clear action plans to address these weaknesses.

• Regular reporting against such action plans should be made to the responsible parliamentary Portfolio Committees.

• The Executive should play a much more proactive role in the facilitation of the performance evaluation of their HODs to ensure that accountability measures are used.

• It is necessary to examine the value and use of performance agreements as management tools so that improvements that are needed can be made.

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Principle 7: Transparency must be fostered by providing the public with timely, accessible and accurate information

Transparency facilitates public scrutiny of government programmes. In the context of growth and development such information promotes an understanding of the programmes of government, and enables citizens and investors to exploit the opportunities that are available

• Transparency has been promoted significantly through increasing access to information. However, this has largely been through availing information as opposed to being responsive to requests for information.

• The posting of Cabinet decisions and the Programme of Action on the website as well as parliamentary media briefing sessions show transparency by government.

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• Annual Reports are key to making departmental performance transparent and accountable. The quality of reporting by Departments has improved with a PSC assessment finding that the content of Annual Reports of 79% of departments satisfying 90% of the requirements set by Regulations.

• The Budget processes of South Africa are considered to be among the most transparent in the world. The country was placed 4th out of 59 countries internationally (after New Zealand, France and Britain).

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• However, the level of responsiveness to individual requests for information remains unsatisfactory. PSC’s studies show that there is not always adequate capacity to ensure such responsiveness.

• More transparency will also be required around public-private sector partnerships to ensure credibility, especially regarding procurement. Of the 2296 cases from the NACH, 159 related to cases of fraud and procurement irregularities.

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• Government needs to invest in departmental capacity to respond timeously and meaningfully to individual requests for information.

• Availing such information would empower the public to take advantage of the opportunities that may exist.

• More attention should be given to establishing the extent to which departments have transparent and accountable Supply Chain Management practices that inspire confidence among stakeholders.

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Principle 8: Good human resource management and career development practices, to maximise human potential, must be cultivated

Good human resource management is critical for ensuring that there is an appropriate skills base to realise the country’s exacting growth and development targets

• Recognising the skills challenges facing the country, government launched the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA). JIPSA seeks to ensure that priority skills that are required to support AsgiSA are acquired.

• Challenges still exist in the promotion of effective HRM in the Public Service.

• Basic requirements relating to entering into PAs, scheduling performance assessments and recruitment and selection are still not complied with. Such weaknesses undermine the efforts of the Public Service to enforce its policies and regulations.

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• Fourteen percent (14%) of the 863 complaints lodged with the PSC in 2005/6 related to basic HRM matters such as recruitment, selection and the filling of posts.

• Departments also tend not to have policies on recruitment and selection. In addition, the time taken to fill posts is often too long, with only 7% of departments surveyed by the PSC complying with the stipulated 90 day period.

• Of concern is that these processes are not adequately monitored by management. Such management abdication is serious given the magnitude of skills requirements in the Public Service.

• Departments continue to fail to put in place sound skills development and human resource plans. Such plans would assist bolster efforts to address the skills shortages.

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• Skills losses are highest in key areas important to growth and development. These include computer programmers (33%), health professionals other than nurses (24%), nursing professionals (10.7%). Credible retention strategy is required.

• The management of poor performance does not receive adequate attention, and there are not mechanisms in place through which to hold managers accountable for fulfilling this responsibility.

• Government has attempted to address the wellness of its employees through Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) so as to enhance productivity.

• Medical cover has been made more accessible and affordable through the Government Employee Medical Scheme (GEMS).

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• The Public Service needs to strengthen its capacity for better administrative compliance with policies and frameworks that guide human resource management.

• HR components require a richer appreciation of the strategic imperatives of their departments, and of how their work impacts upon these imperatives.

• An urgent priority is to accelerate the development and retention of priority skills in the Public Service. This is in light of the increasing demand for the same skills from the private sector and abroad.

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Principle 9: Public administration must be broadly representative of the South African people

The Public Service is obliged to set a good example for the attainment of representivity targets intended to end exclusion on the basis of race, gender and disability.

• Representivity has the potential to contribute to workforce productivity and social cohesion

• Successes have been made in terms of increasing the number of women in management and providing programmes to fast track the development of middle-managers. The revised target for women in management from March 2009 is 50%. It is of concern that four provinces still lag behind the current target of 30%.

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Principle 9:Public administration must be broadly representative of the South African people

• Improving the employment of people with disabilities remains a challenge, with the figure of 0,16% way below the 2005 target of 2%. A Job Access Strategy should assist.

• Efforts that only work on attaining numerical targets but ignore a suitable organisational climate cannot have long-term results.

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• The Public Service needs to address the challenges that delay the achievement of workplace representivity and the integration of women in management.

• This integration should seek to make gender and disability perspectives integral to decision-making processes in the Public Service.

• Awareness of the strategic significance and benefits of representivity is required. Without grounded appreciation of such benefits there is a risk that representivity gets reduced to a process of numerical compliance.

• This does not exploit the potential that workplace diversity provides to enhance productivity, economic growth and development.

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Conclusion

• This edition provides an analytical overview of the role played by the Public Service in promoting growth and development.

• Whilst different interpretations may exist on the scope and purpose of growth and development, ultimately what is key is improving the standard and quality of life of citizens.

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Conclusion

• The solid work that has been undertaken over the past decade must be maintained and improved upon. In a more competitive global context, it is important that government rallies all sections of society around a common vision and collective programme of growth and development.

• Ultimately it is through such a partnership approach that a momentum for change can be sustained and optimal results achieved.

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Thank you.

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