Governance & Administration media briefing

Q: The Minister was asked about the progress made by the government in the fight against corruption. This was in light of the public’s perception that corruption was pervasive in the public service.

A: The Minister was adamant that the country had sound legislation and good frameworks within the public service to combat corruption in a comprehensive and co-ordinated manner. However, she conceded that application still remained a huge challenge. Also, she recognised that there was an on-going perception of corruption in the public service and that this needed to be addressed.

Q: The Minister was asked whether there was any truth to the rumours that senior public servants were leaving the public service in droves ahead of the elections next year. She was also asked whether there were mechanisms to retain staff and manage the transition.

A: The Minister dismissed suggestions that top management in the public service were in flight ahead of next year’s general election. She stated that a general election was a necessary part of the political life of every sound democracy. Against that background, the public service should never be destabilised by general elections, or consider themselves destabilised, or get involved in actions that could be construed as such. If any public servant were guilty of this, they would be in violation of Chapter 10 of the Constitution as well as the Public Service Code of Conduct. Unlike ministerial advisors, directors-general were not political appointments and their tenure was not linked to the term of office of the minister. She concluded that public servants should not use politics as an excuse or a reason for taking particular decisions.

Q: The Minister was asked to comment on the Public Service Commission’s recent report, which stated that government departments still employed people without verifying their qualifications.

A: The Minister voiced concern that 64% of departments had conducted qualification verifications only after the appointment of Middle Management Service employees. This was undesirable as qualification verifications should be conducted before any appointment. She emphasised that the Cluster welcomed the report of the PSC who were complying with their constitutional requirement of overseeing the performance of the public service.

Q: What was her Department doing to encourage more women to apply for senior positions and also to force mangers to employ more women to those posts?

A: The Minister acknowledged that there was an element of encouragement required to ensure that women applied and that they were appointed to senior positions. As part of addressing this problem, she confirmed that she would engage with other departments to look at the challenges as well as solutions to achieving the 50% gender target. She promised that the media would be informed of the outcome at the end of this consultation process. Lastly, she underlined her disquiet regarding this situation and cited the “demands placed on women” as a possible explanation for this problem.

Q: The media enquired about the long-term plans of the refugee facilities and the timeframes for the reintegration of victims of the xenophobic attacks.

A: Mr Jackson McKay, Deputy Director General: Immigration Services, Department of Home Affairs, indicated that there was a plan to reintegrate displaced people by the end of August. Currently undocumented foreigners were given an exemption certificate that would allow them to regularise their stay in the country, and foreigners that had lost their documentation were being re-issued with new ones.

Q: Why did government intend to create a special department (in the public service) for traditional leaders when the international trend was to phase them out?

A: The Minister responded that she was not aware that the monarchy in the United Kingdom had been abolished.

A: Ms Lindiwe Msengana Ndlela, Director General: Department of Provincial and Local Government, explained that the proposed department of traditional affairs would focus on the needs of traditional communities and ensure that they receive co-coordinated support from all government departments.

The media briefing was adjourned.

GOVERNANCE & ADMINISTRATION CLUSTER MEDIA BRIEFING ON THE PROGRAMME OF ACTION

Tuesday, 01 July 2008, 12h30 – 14h00, Pretoria

INTRODUCTION

As we come to the close of the third five year cycle in our post democracy period, the energies of this cluster are directed to the acceleration of the processes and systems to enhance service delivery across government.

In the previous briefing I stated referring to the “Business Unusual” approach to which the President committed us

“What this change needs is relentless driving and leadership from our senior managers, from our elected representatives – both those who serve as members of the government and those in the legislatures who hold the machinery of government to account. “Business Unusual” requires extraordinary commitment, dedication and, may I say it, patriotism. We need to move away from the mindset that achievement of seniority in our ranks means we have arrived at a point where we can sit back and let our subordinates carry the burden. We need to lead by inspiration, by innovation and by dedication.”

This briefing clearly indicates that we are gathering momentum and are seeing the sea-change that will ensure that we move into the next cycle with not just a foundation, but with the top structure being built apace.

This is the second media briefing on the implementation of government’s programme of action (POA) for 2008. On the 17^th of June 2008, the Governance and Administration (G&A) Cluster presented its second progress report on the implementation of government’s programme of action to the Cabinet Committee on Governance and Administration. The progress report covered the following broad policy areas of the POA as well as three Apex priorities, namely:

Promoting good governance;
Strengthening the capacity of the state;
Achieving and maintaining the optimal organisation of the state; and
Developing and enhancing the state’s transversal systems.

The 2008 POA for G&A Cluster was approved by Cabinet on the 5^th of March 2008. The Cluster’s priorities are derived from Government’s commitment to improve its service to the people as embodied in the 2004 electoral mandate as well as from the resolutions of the January 2008 Cabinet Lekgotla and the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on 8 February 2008.

APEX PROJECT 15: REGULARISE EMPLOYMENT AND PAs AT DESIGNATED LEVEL

The deadline for signing performance agreements for 2008/09 financial year by Senior Management Service members in the Public Service was 31 May 2008. By 30 June 2008, there was a 38% response rate from 49 departments. Of those who responded: –
National 71% signed
Provincial 57% signed

In terms of the filling of posts:-
5 DG positions vacant (4 national, 1 provincial)
CFOs: 6 national and 4 provincial posts are vacant
DDGs: national 27 out of 131 posts vacant

During the period between March – May 2008, the percentage of Senior Managers at Local government was as follows: -

Municipal managers (MM)

Vacancy rate:    12.0% - 14.1%
Signed PAs:      74.0% - 52.6%
MM vacancy rate
Analysis: The vacancy rate for MMs has increased from 12% to 14% with Gauteng and Limpopo provinces filling all their posts. This is attributed to the expiry of fixed term contracts and natural attrition. The dplg is working with provinces to support municipalities in the filling of senior management posts.

MM signed PAs
Analysis: The decrease in the number of signed performance agreements from 183 to 149 is ascribed to the expiry of employment contracts.

Section 57 managers
Vacancy rate:    18.0% - 21.6%
Signed PAs:      66.0% - 54.1%

Section 57 managers vacancy rate
Analysis: The number of filled posts has increased from 1 204 to 1 284 and the vacancy rate for Section 57 Managers has increased from 18% to 21%.
Section 57 signed PAs
Analysis: The number of Section 57 Managers without signed performance agreements has decreased from 717 to 652. Northern Cape and Free State have the least Section 57 Managers with signed PAs.  Provinces have issued circulars to assist municipalities to improve compliance rates with the signing of Performance Agreements of Section 57 managers. 

APEX PROJECT 16: ENSURE INTEGRATED PLANNING ACROSS ALL SPHERES

The implementation of the alignment of planning frameworks across spheres is proceeding. Service providers have been appointed and work is underway in six of the ten pilot districts namely: Frances Baard (Northern Cape), Mopani (Limpopo), West Rand (Gauteng), Xhariep (Free State), Dr.K.Kaunda (formerly Southern District in North West), and OR Tambo (Eastern Cape). Two of the remaining four districts namely: Metsweding (Gauteng) and Gert Sibande (Mpumalanga) are concluding service level agreements with appointed service providers while the other two: Amajuba (KZN) and Sedibeng (Gauteng) are at final stages of procurement. The six advanced districts are already working on the second set of deliverables and they are also completing the technical analysis and engaging stakeholders on the development of the vision for their respective districts.
The main proposal for the development of strategic national development planning capacity was approved and the Lekgotla directed that an operational plan be developed during 2008 and presented to the January 2009 Cabinet Lekgotla for further discussion. Currently, the National Strategic Planning machinery of various countries is being studied. The operational plan will set out the milestones, describe technical expertise and the institutional capacity required as well as outline the logistical arrangements for the entire process. The Policy Unit is meeting with various stakeholders for input on the construction of the operational plan.

APEX PROJECT 17: IMPROVE CIVIC SERVICES
During the media briefing of the 1^st reporting cycle on the implementation of government’s programme, it was reported that the department of Home Affairs had reduced the ID turn-around time from average of 163 to 103 days as of the end of February 2008. The ID turnaround time has further been reduced to 79 days as at the end of April 2008. This has been made possible by the ID Track and Trace system and improved operations management. The top 40 offices that account for 50% in volume of DHA services such as ID re-issues, temporary identity certificates and temporary passports were successfully equipped with online fingerprint equipment and training was provided to all front end users. An additional service level agreement has been concluded extending the scope of services of the service provider delivering and collecting ID documents.  Negotiations between the South African Post Office (SAPO) and DHA regarding the distribution of uncollected ID documents from a central point have also been concluded. By the end of April 2008, a total of 102 agents were in place at the Customer Service Centre. Twenty-two (22) agents for “2nd line” case resolution based at Head Office have been appointed.

Good governance

Anti-Corruption

An implementation approach for the drafting of fraud prevention plans has been developed to ensure that 150 municipalities will have Local Government Anti-Corruption (LGAC) Strategies in place by December 2008.  A Draft Communication strategy on the Local Government Anti-Corruption has been finalised and the roll-out will commence in district municipalities during June 2008. Communication messages to raise awareness of LGAC initiatives will be published soon.

The 3^rd National Anti-corruption Summit will take place from 4-5 August 2008. The objective for the Summit is to ensure that government, civil society and business continue to work together to foster a greater culture of transparency and accountability in all sectors of the society. The DPSA and the NACF Secretariat have formed a joint Secretariat to prepare for the Summit. The theme of the Summit is ‘Towards and Integrated National Integrity System’. Five sub-thematic areas to be discussed at the Summit include:-

Governance and accountability in Civil Society;
Prevention of bribery and the role of oversight bodies in the Business Sector;
Roles of local councilors, officials and the community in fighting corruption;
Funding of political parties and institutional arrangements to prevent; and Combat corruption.

The resolutions of the Summit will be used to develop a 2^nd National Anti-corruption Programme (NAP).  A Communication Strategy for the 3^rd National Anti-Corruption Summit has been developed. It is intended to ensure that the Summit receives maximum media coverage and that respective stakeholders communicate a common and clear message on matters pertaining to the Summit as well as activities of the National Anti-Corruption Forum (NACF) in general.

Gender and disability programmes
The percentage of women in the Senior Management Service (SMS) grew by 2% from March 2007 to March 2008 according to PERSAL data. The percentage of women in SMS posts now constitutes 34% of the total percentage of SMS employees in the Public Service as of March 2008. The audit on Gender Focal Points (GFPs) was conducted by the Office of the Status of Women and indicated that 31 national departments have appointed GFPs. The process of developing Workplace Forums for Women Managers is underway, where women managers will share experiences and challenges they face in the workplace. The Public Service Gender Indaba is planned for the 18 - 19 August 2008. The DPSA is currently providing support to individual departments on the implementation of the Heads of Department’s 8 Principle Action Plan for Gender Equality and Women Empowerment. Furthermore, the DPSA is consulting with government departments to determine the challenges encountered in endeavouring to achieve the 50% target. The HRD Strategic Framework also targets women for skills and capacity development. This will ensure the creation of a bigger pool of women with prospects for upward mobility to SMS positions in order to deal with the achievement of the 50% set target.
A draft policy document as well as a directive on reasonable accommodation for people living with disability has been developed. The draft policy document will be used as the basis for consultation with the relevant stakeholders. In order to drive the acceleration of the attainment of the required minimum target of 2%, the DPSA together with the OSDP in the Presidency are in constant liaison with organizations of people with disabilities with regard to the modalities of establishing a suitable database for people with disabilities. The HRD Strategic Framework also targets people with disabilities for skills and capacity development. This will ensure that there is a bigger pool of people with disabilities with prospects of upward mobility. 

Service Delivery Improvement

Focus is currently on three interrelated initiatives, namely, the Batho Pele Change Management Engagement Programme (BPCMEP), Know Your Service Rights campaign ( KYSRC) and Service Delivery Improvement Plans (SDIPs).

Batho Pele
Workshops on the Batho Pele Change Management Engagement Programme (BPCMEP) have been conducted, reaching 1132 officials from 261 (92%) municipalities. Some of the trained municipalities have requested the DPSA to assist in fast-tracking the implementation and roll-out of the Programme; for instance in Gauteng the following municipalities requested the second training which the DPSA is currently busy with: Sedibeng, Mogale City, Ekurhuleni, West Rand, Emfuleni, Metsweding, Nokeng, City of Johannesburg, Midvaal, Randfontein, Westonaria and Merafeng.  Monitoring and Evaluation is taking place on an ongoing basis and involves all the three spheres of government.
there are visible testimonies and evidence of progress and impact of the BPCMEP in some municipalities.  For example George Municipality was visited two months after a leadership engagement session. It was observed during that visit that all officials including management were wearing name tags.  The district has also improved signage in order to enhance access to services by the general public easy.

Ugu municipality was exposed to the BPCMEP in April 2006.    Ugu is the first Municipality to implement the Programme comprehensively.    As a result of the training, municipalities aligned all their strategic programmes and projects with the BP Programme.  They used the Service Delivery Improvement Plan (SDIP) template to improve their internal communication. As part of the 2008 Public Service Week (PSW) Ugu has purchased all its staff members nametags and doorplates inscribed with the names and occupations of officials.  The following municipalities are also in the process of embracing the culture of BP and are implementing the BPCMEP: Bitou (WC), Kouga (EC), Tshwane (GP), eThekwini (KZN), Mopane (LP) Kharais (NC).

The DPSA is currently providing assistance to municipalities that are experiencing problems regarding the implementation of BPCMEP. The assistance includes conducting workshops with senior managers and councillors in order to get their buy-in. The support is provided in collaboration with BP Coordinators who are based in the Offices of the Premier, Provincial departments of Local Government and Housing and in some instances SALGA was involved e.g. Northern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga.  

Service Delivery Improvement Plans (SDIPs)
Initiatives to support departments with the development and implementation of SDIPs continue on a regular basis. Between April and June 2008 eleven departments received assistance from dpsa.

A concern regarding the submission of SDIPs for the 2008/09 financial year is that up to June 2008 only 20% of departments have submitted. This is a drop from the previous year, which stood at 92% compliance rate. A new approach is being developed to ensure that departments develop and implement SDIPs and realize the value that SDIPs add.

To address the low levels of compliance, a directive on the development of SDIPs in the public service has also been finalised. The aim of the directive is to align the SDIPs with the financial and planning frameworks and includes requesting departments to submit SDIPs every third year with annual progress against implementation reports to the dpsa. Furthermore, a guide on how to develop SDIPs has been developed and approved. The guide was posted on the dpsa website and will be explained and discussed with all relevant stakeholders. 

Know your service rights campaign (KYSRC)

The Citizens rights and services booklet regarding the social cluster that was developed in 2007 has been translated into all language.  The booklet currently is being distributed to provincial offices and municipalities.
To date, 9000 copies were distributed to provincial offices and 18 000 copies sent to municipalities through GCIS
Radio drama scripts & newspaper inserts of the pamphlet have veeb developed.
There are processes underway to print  copies in all languages distribution to all Thusong Centres & service delivery points in district offices, including schools.
The Citizens rights and services booklet in the Justice Cluster  in being developed.

Public Participation

A Conference on Multilingualism and Capacity Building was hosted by the dplg from the 4^th to the 6^th of June 2008 in Cape Town.  The objectives of the Conference were as follows:
To build capacity for language facilitation in local government and propose guidelines for implementing multilingualism in local government;
To improve mechanisms for community empowerment and propose a funding model for Ward committees;
To launch the National Capacity Building Framework (NCBF) as a capacity coordination mechanism in support of the implementation of the 5-Year Local Government Strategic Agenda (5-YLGSA); and
To share lessons on dealing with attacks on foreign nationals and to discuss the acceleration of community-based programmes in provinces and municipalities.

Government Response to the Recent Attacks on Foreign Nationals

The national disaster management centre is working together with provincial centres in order to co-ordinate the government’s programme on the recent attacks on foreign nationals and incidents of violence. These incidents are a serious indictment on our newly found constitutional democracy and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. At the same time, there is a need for government and citizens to address the problem and its symptoms within society as a whole.

There is also a need to engage local communities, build social cohesion, civil consciousness and peaceful co-existence as envisaged in our Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  The Gauteng and Western Cape provinces have declared these areas as disaster areas according to the provisions of the Disaster Management Act of 2002.  A special Technical President’s Coordinating Council working session was convened on 27^th May 2008 during which it was agreed that provincial response plans be compiled to mediate and address incidents of violence against foreign nationals.  This matter was also discussed at the President’s Coordinating Council meeting held on 13^th June 2008 where it was agreed that a progress report in this regard will be presented to the next PCC meeting on 12 September 2008.

It should be noted that while the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) continues to assist the Provinces with the response to attacks on foreign nationals it is also currently assisting the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province in response to the severe flooding that took place on 18 June 2008. This severe weather event resulted in nine deaths and 47 injuries. Affected communities have been provided with temporary accommodation as well as food supplies. A rapid assessment team of engineers has also been deployed to the Province to assist with damage assessments as well as advisory services. Additionally the NDMC, in collaboration with the Working on Fire Program, has put in place the necessary operational plans to deal with the expected winter fire season.

On the 9^th and 10^th of July, the Department of Provincial and Local Government will host the Disaster Management Indaba.

The objectives of the Indaba are:

To reflect on the implementation of the Disaster Management Act, 2002;
To present the Inaugural Annual Report;
To reinforce the principles of co-operative governance on issues relating to Disaster Management and community participation in disaster management;
To reflect on the readiness of South African structures with regard to the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup;
To improve on the profile of the disaster management function in all spheres of government.
In sum, Disaster Management in all spheres of government are working tirelessly to prevent disasters, or mitigate their consequences, in order to create sustainable and resilient communities and livelihoods.

Capacity of the State

5 – Year Local Government Strategic Agenda
A total of 164 municipalities are receiving hands-on support as at April 2008. The increase of 56 municipalities since the last reporting period relates to the deployments made with regard to the bucket eradication programme.  National sector departments, namely the Department of Provincial and Local Government, the National Treasury, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, collectively have mobilised 626 technical experts in support of municipalities. Perhaps most notable are the 503 Financial Management Interns supported by the National Treasury through the Financial Management Grant, who have been exposed to the municipal environment and are continuously being absorbed by the local government sector. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has also dedicated 51 technical experts to focus on water related services, particularly in the Free State Province – assisting municipalities and the province to address their unique challenges.

Donor agencies, professional associations and the private sector, have collectively deployed 494 technical experts, including 133 young professionals, deployed through the Siyenza Manje Programme. These young professionals with engineering qualifications, but limited experience, have been gathering the relevant experience that will allow them to be continuous contributors to the effort to eradicate infrastructure backlogs in municipalities. A total of 1,120 deployments have been made covering over 200 municipalities.

As part of the Skills Audit for Local Government, 73 (25.7%) out of 283 municipalities have completed generic competency assessments for Section 57 and Municipal Managers. Fifteen (5.3%) out of 283 municipalities have completed skills audit questionnaires for employees below Section 57 and Municipal Managers. Two draft reports based on the analysis of the generic competency assessments conducted for management in 18 municipalities and the Personal Development Plans for employees below management in 2 municipalities have been developed. The purpose of the skills audit reports is to capture the competency gaps found in municipalities and assist both national and provincial government to address skills development priorities through relevant strategic interventions. All metropolitan municipalities have institutionalised the competency framework approach to conducting skills audits.

The implementation of the Performance Management System (PMS) in municipalities has shown consistent improvement, with the number of municipalities implementing PMS increasing from 105 to 153 out of 283 municipalities since the last report.  The development of the PMS implementation support strategy will further accelerate the implementation process which has increased from 27 (9.5%) in 2006 to 105 (37.1%) by the end of March 2008.  This follows the nation-wide assessment of municipal PMS implementation conducted in 2006 by the dplg. In addition to the normal Annual Reports of the dplg, a Municipal Performance Report has been submitted to Parliament according to the provisions of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act of 2000. 

A proposed set of core performance indicators for local government have been developed and consulted with the following key stakeholders:  National Sector Departments and six provinces (KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape, Limpopo and Gauteng). 
In accordance with the National Programme of Support (NPS) for the institution of traditional leadership, a Comprehensive Skills Development Programme for traditional leadership has been developed by the dplg in partnership with the LG-SETA to train traditional leaders on Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) and Community Development Workers (CDWs).

The Government-wide National Support Programme for Traditional Leadership will be submitted to Cabinet for approval. In addition, all provincial governments have promulgated province specific legislation on Traditional Leadership, while 76% of Traditional Council and 58% of Local Houses have been established. The policy document on Khoi-San Traditional communities has been developed and consultation with the National Khoi-San Council and traditional communities will contribute towards the finalization of the policy framework at the end of 2008.
The Traditional Leaders and Governance Framework Amendment Bill and the National House of Traditional Leaders Bill were published for public comment on 3 June 2008. The aim of these two Bills (copies circulated) is to further refine the legislative framework governing the institution of traditional leadership in order to enhance the effectiveness of all traditional councils and houses of traditional leaders in the country.  The closing date for the submission of comments by the public is 2 July 2008.

Skills Assessment

The draft Human Resource (HR) Planning Strategic Framework was presented at KwaZulu-Natal HR Planning Forum for consultation. The purpose of this Strategic Framework is to provide guidance and a holistic approach to HR Planning in the Public Service. Its intent is to create an integrated strategic approach to HR Planning that will facilitate the development and implementation of strategies, tools, and interventions to achieve departmental strategic objectives and the Government Programme of Action.

The DPSA has established Provincial HR Planning Committees/Forums through the Offices of the Premier in each Province for Capacity development and coordination. The aim is to create competent and independent capacity in provinces. This engagement has been in effect since January 2008. Emerging out of the above forums was the need to meet with the HOD Forums in each province (since April 2008) to workshop HR Planning to leverage, institutionalise and elevate it to the strategic level. Similar to the Provincial HR Planning Committees/Forums, National departments are engaged through two Inter-departmental HR Planning Steering Committees. These Committees have been meeting twice per month since April 2008.

A workshop on the implementation of HR Connect was convened on 28^th May 2008 to introduce and launch phases 2 and 3. Nine (9) full-day workshops on job profiling and capacity building are scheduled from the 10^th June 2008 to 30^th September 2008. The twenty-two (22) participating departments in HR Connect have been invited to the workshops. In order to maximize participation in this project, letters have been sent by the Minister for the Public Service and Administration to all Executive Authorities of participating departments to seek their support for and oversight of the project.

The first phase of the implementation of the Human Resource Development Strategic Framework was completed with the final workshop on the HRD Resource Pack which was held with the unions on 14^th May of 2008.  The HRD Strategic Framework was launched on 30^th May 2008 by the Minister for the Public Service and Administration. The first annual HRD Implementation Plan, signed off by the HoD of the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture & Recreation, was presented at the Launch.

Capacity Development Programmes

The Minimum Anti-Corruption Capacity Learning Manual has been developed. A service provider has been appointed to refine the learning assessment tools. The review of the Gender Mainstreaming Draft Manual has been completed by curriculum experts and the necessary revisions have been incorporated according to their recommendations. The National Disability Policy Framework is currently being revised to include the United Nations (UN) conventions, the Integrated National Disability Strategy as well as other legislation.

Five hundred (500) trainers have successfully completed the train-the-trainer training on Massified Induction Programme (MIP) for roll-out in provincial and national departments. Three (3) regional train-the-trainer sessions have been scheduled for July and August 2008 in order to provide more training in areas that have been identified. Since the release of the Ministerial Directive making the MIP compulsory from 1^st April 2008, 1007 new public servants have been trained as of June 2008. The implementation structures charged with the responsibility of planning for the MIP roll-out have been established in all provinces.

The revised architecture of the Accelerated Development Programme (ADP) has been finalised. It comprises Mentoring and Coaching, Project Khaedu, modules of the Executive Development Programme and senior management competency assessment. The process of aligning Khaedu Project to the training programme for CFOs in local is underway. Two courses for core skills and deployment took place in the last week of April and in May 2008.

Macro-Organisation of the State
Public Administration Management Bill

A total of 56 submissions were received in response to the call for public comment on the Public Administration Management draft Bill. All submissions were studied and the necessary amendments were made. On 28^th May 2008 The Public Administration Management Bill was certified by the State Law Advisers on 2 June and submitted to Parliament in accordance with deadlines of Parliament to enable finalisation during 2008 Parliamentary session. The Bill has been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration (National Assembly). The Committee will begin scrutiny of the Bill in the upcoming term of Parliament.

Integrated Service Delivery

The department of Home Affairs has, as part of the implementation of the Home Affairs service delivery improvement projects, established centres of excellence for Refugee Affairs and reviewed capacity at four Asylum Seekers Centres (Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria). A total number of 191 posts were created and Centre Managers have also been appointed. The refurbishment of the Refugee Centres is underway in Pretoria and Johannesburg. The new integrated refugee system known as Refugee and Deportation system (RaD) has been rolled out in all five refugee centres. The system is biometric and meant to ensure that the asylum seekers are speedily processed.
The Next Generation e-Government initiative has been launched by the dpsa.  The project will e-enable 6 frequently-used government services: child birth registration, id application; foster child grant; pension; maintenance; and notification of death.  A Programme Management Office has been established to coordinate the work.  An ICT blueprint has been developed for Thusong Centres.  The blueprint was successfully deployed at Inhlazuka, which was opened by the President on 7 June.  The blueprint will be deployed in 50% of the 123 Thusong Service Centres by September 2008.

Transversal systems
Integration of Planning

IDP analysis sessions have been held in all provinces during April and May 2008. During these sessions, draft IDPs were evaluated and suggestions for improvement were recorded. A Winter School will also be open to planners from municipalities that have poor IDPs and will be held in July 2008 at the University of Pretoria. Both SETA accredited courses and non-accredited courses will form the curriculum, including sustainable development, land use management systems, spatial development frameworks, project management and introduction to financial management. Furthermore, a partnership with the South African Planning Institute (SAPI) has been established on a mentoring programme for municipal planners on Development Administration.