Planning for interviews

Meeting report

APPOINTMENT OF AUDITOR-GENERAL AD-HOC COMMITTEE
26 October 1999
EVALUATION OF PROPOSED CRITERIA AND ESTABLISHMENT OF SUBCOMMITTEE FOR SHORTLISTING

Documents handed out:
List of possible questions for candidates (distributed to members only)
Curriculum vitaes (CV's) of candidates (distributed to members only)
Proposed Criteria (Appendix 1)

SUMMARY
A subcommitee was formed to shortlist the fifteen people being considered for the position of Auditor-General. Only after the shortlist has been drawn up, will any names be made public. The committee will meet on 29 October to receive the short list from the subcommittee.

MINUTES
Dr Pallo Jordan (ANC), chair, stated that fifteen people were being considered for the position of Auditor-General. Nominations for a subcommittee which would be responsible for creating a shortlist of names for interviews were put forward. The subcommittee that the committee agreed upon has the following members:
Mr Ken Andrew (DP)
Dr Pallo Jordan (ANC)
Dr Louis Luyt (FA)
Dr Gavin Woods (IFP)
Mr Andrew Feinstein (ANC)
Mr Vincent Smith (ANC)

A list of possible questions to ask the candidates was distributed. It was specifically noted as being confidential and accordingly not for public consumption. It was emphasized that these questions were only a guideline.

The response to this list of questions was generally positive. Dr Luyt indicated that the questions were clearly well thought out. Ken Andrew noted that it was a good basis but that one should 'apply one's own mind too'. He continued that the nature of the CV was an important consideration and that different CVs would give rise to different questions. The other members supported these comments.

The CVs were then distributed to committee members only. It was indicated that the names of the applicants would be made public when the shortlist of candidates was drawn up.

The committee agreed to meet on 29 October to receive the report of the subcommittee and the meeting was adjourned.

Appendix 1
Candidate should display:
Independence [25]
Integrity/Impartiality [25]
Credibility/Acceptability [25]
Political Astuteness [15]
Leadership [10]
[i.e. good judgement, professional, innovative and visionary]

Candidate should have the following skills:
Knowledge of, or experience in auditing, state finances and/or public administration [20] or [25]
Change Management [25]
HR Management/People Skills [25]
Analysis/Strategy [15]
Communication [15]

We need to compile a set of questions to reflect these criteria and weighting on a seven point scale.