DPSA, NSG, CPSI & PSC Q1-3 2023/24 Performance, with Deputy Minister

Meeting report

Opening remarks from the Deputy Minister
Dr Chana Pilane–Majake, Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), explained that the meeting would focus on the first to third quarter performance for the 2023/2024 financial year. She told the Committee that the entities have performed very well and that the National School of Government’s (NSG) performance has been good. The Department continues to provide education and training to public servants so that they affect a capable and ethical developmental state leading to the efficiency and effectiveness of the state. The NSG is working towards being self-funded and the CPSI (Centre for Public Service Innovation) continues with its innovative approach in government towards innovation. This helps bring new initiatives in areas, especially with challenges across government. The targets it has set itself have been achieved. The DPSA has achieved 73% of its targets and is hopeful that it will be able to meet 100% of its targets in time. The Department is lacking in financing, and its budget is the lowest. This has affected the entities that receive their funding from the DPSA. The CPSI is one of the entities that requires additional funding because it is doing innovation across government.

Briefing by the Public Service Commission on the first to third quarter performance of the 2023/24 financial year

Prof Somadoda Fikeni, Chairperson, Public Service Commission (PSC), said the Director-General (DG) will be presenting on the performance of the three quarters. The PSC has sustained a record of delivery and good governance despite the financial constraints on the operational budget, with increasing responsibilities. In the remaining quarter, the Department is trying to complete all the remaining work and attend to issues that were raised. It should recognise the discrepancies and the issue was raised with the Minister of Finance.

Adv Dinkie Dube, DG, PSC, took the Committee through the presentation, informing the Committee that the PSC Bill was approved by Cabinet and is currently under consideration by Parliament. The PSC achieved a clean audit for four years in a row. The Commission finalised 265 grievances from the public, and 1117 cases were referred to the Anti-Corruption hotline and sent to the relevant departments for investigation. All the targets for administration, integrity, and anti-corruption were achieved. The only two programmes where the quarterly targets were not achieved were leadership and management practices and monitoring and evaluation. PSC hosted the Whistleblowers Symposium, which focused on the protection of whistleblowers. The overall issues faced by the Commission are not having control over the appointment of Commissioners, resulting in delays in filling Commissioner vacancies. Budget constraints and reductions have an adverse impact on the execution of planned deliverables.

See attached for full presentation

Discussion
Ms M Ntuli (ANC) said she observed the journey the Committee has walked with the PSC, the problem of vacancies reported, and the means to sort it out. The Committee hopes that once the issue of processing of Commissioners is done, the vacancies the PCS has right now will cease.

Ms R Komane (EFF) asked a question regarding the MOU with strategic partners, is it about the skills transfer or inspections? Is the partnership for free? If paid, is it budgeted for and what was the cost? Lastly, were whistleblowers included in the Whistle Blower Symposium or was it only the policy makers? Is the whistleblower protection house a building or structure?

PSC responses
Prof Fikeni said no money is paid for the partnership; it is meant to join forces without paying. For instance, when the PSC partnered up with University of South Africa (UNISA) on the anti-corruption hotline, it was given access to the university’s venues and facilities. In addition, some of UNISA’s researchers participated in the PSC’s research programmes. Partnerships bring resources to what the PCS does. The process for the appointment of Commissioners is underway and just needs to be expedited.

Adv Dube said whistleblowers were present at the symposium, narrating how they were affected after blowing the whistle. The whistleblower protection house is a safe house for whistleblowers. She told the Committee that the PSC also provides physical protection and financial support as some whistleblower jobs have been lost.

Presentation by the National School of Government on the first to third quarter performance of the 2023/24 financial year.

Dr Botshabelo Maja, Deputy Director-General (DDG): Professional Support Services, NSG, began the presentation by speaking about the mandates, vision, and mission of the NSG. The presentation contextualised the work of the NSG within the priority of strengthening state capacity and building an efficient, capable, ethical, and developmental state. The NSG has been able to train 43 335 learners against a cumulative target of 23 582. The NSG generated revenue of R71.8 million of its quarterly target of R44 million. The Nyukela programme enrolled 4 135 learners and 2 205 completed the course. The ethics course (including educators and internal auditors) enrolled 9 659 with 5 482 completing the course. The NSG convened a master class on entrepreneurial state and mission economy presented by Prof Mariana Mazzucato, the Senior Fellow and Professor in Economics of Innovation and Public Value at the University of College London. The NSG hosted a delegation from the China-Africa Institute (CAI) to deepen partnerships between the two institutions. A guest lecture entitled Economic, Recovery and Poverty Alleviation Post-Covid: from Policy to Practice was also convened. The NSG, in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance, launched a programme focusing on implementing the District Development Model (DDM).

See attached for full presentation

Presentation by the Centre for Public Service Innovation on the first to third quarter performance of the 2023/24 financial year

Ms Lydia Sebokedi, Acting Executive Director, CPSI, said the purpose of the presentation was to report on the implementation of the first to third quarter target from April 2023- December 2023 on the CPSI’s Annual Performance Plan. This performance report represents the fourth year of implementing the five-year strategy. The CPSI achieved all its targets through all quarters and since 2015/16, the CPSI has achieved a clean audit outcome with only one unqualified audit in 2015/16. The CPSI co-designed an application with Gauteng Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for use on mobile phones or tablet devices like eHailing and online booking services, thus linking specific patients to specific trips on a specific route. Further, the CPSI is working with the Office of the Premier, in the Northern Cape, and other stakeholders to develop a solution where citizens will be able to register, and select the nearest Thusong Centre and access the services which the centre provides. The MOU was finalised with the Wits School of Governance’s (WSG) Tayarisha Centre to establish a GovTech Incubator. The CPSI is working closely with youth development organisations to develop youth digital skills.

See attached for full presentation

Briefing by the Department of Public Service and Administration on the first to third quarter performance of the 2023/24 financial year

Ms Boitumelo Khutswane, Director: Risk Management, DPSA, began the presentation by highlighting the key achievements of the Department led by the Minister and Deputy Minister on the outreach programmes. The Department has established a mechanism where it evaluates norms and standards that are implemented effectively and is able to pick up if there are any implementation challenges. In the first quarter the Department achieved 73% of its targets and in the second quarter 69% of the targets were met and in the third quarter, 79% of the targets were met. The DPSA had 361 posts filled and 54 vacant posts because of budget cuts. The Department had to prioritise posts that would be filled with the available budget. The Department is struggling to achieve the target of hiring more young people. However, it is exploring how to create more opportunities for youth.    

See attached for full presentation

Discussion

The Chairperson asked the NSG about the extent of the skills audit focusing on local government municipalities.

Addressing the CPSI, the Chairperson asked what the impact of the Thusong Centres is, and what its performance analytics and existing potential are.

Dr J Nothnagel (DA) asked the NSG what impact the skills audit has and whether such an intervention can be implemented. What capacity is required to undertake an effective skills audit? She asked the CPSI how the extent of connectivity efficiency and access by public service institutions impact the e-government drive.

Ms M Maneli (ANC) asked the DPSA which areas of professional framework necessitate legislative reform. Is there a statutory requirement to conduct lifestyle audits? If not, why not make lifestyle audits a requirement? She asked the NSG if it was struggling financially due to budget cuts or if the funding it raised was enough. What are the project’s key milestones, and how will the extracted data be used to intervene within the programme lifecycle? Why does the skills audit have a long life line? What is the impact of the Thusong Service Centre and what are the performance analytics? What is entailed in the MOU with Wits University?

Ms Komane emphasised to the DPSA the importance of lifestyle audits. Has the DPSA’s mandatory in-service training made little progress? What is the hindrance in implementing this mandate? On which level are the 54 vacant posts?

Ms Komane said resignations are unpredicted, but the NSG should have used the retirements to close the gaps. She complimented the NSG for generating funds and asked if this meant the NSG had outlived the budget constraints. What is the role of the NSG in the partnership with Gauteng? What are the details of the MOU with Wits University? How does the CPSI track the trained youth so that it can see the results of the training, or does it hire them to reduce youth unemployment?

Ms M Kibi (ANC) asked the NSG what their exact budget is for compensation of employees? How many vacancies are impacted? What is the extent of professional development in the public service? Which innovation can be massified and are there existing plans to support it? What kind of support did the DPSA give to government departments regarding the professionalisation framework? Is the support making an impact in implementing the framework? 

Ms Ntuli asked the DPSA if it is struggling to absorb youth in the Department, as there are graduates in the country. Can the DPSA give a guide to the Portfolio Committee, regarding the vacancy rate? Are the vacant posts not necessary? Who is doing the work of the 10%? Why is it difficult for the Department to conduct lifestyle audits? Because the whole term, the Committee has been asking the Department to do it and the term is now ending. How critical are the 54 vacant posts, and at what salary level are they? Would the budget cuts impact the filing of these posts?

Ms Ntuli commended the NSG for growing and asked how the NSG would fastrack the issue of signing the MOU since it is critical for professionalisation. What do these courses bear in terms of certificates? Are there partnerships producing international certificates and what are the benefits? Regarding the vacant posts, she asked if this meant the hired people were not important and who was doing their work.

NSG responses

Mr Maja said the instruction from the President was to focus on infrastructure and frontline departments, and the NSG started with a sample of eight departments. It has not yet been able to move to the local government. One of the eight departments included in the sample is the Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA). The Department hopes that the skills audit it is doing with CoGTA nationally will give it insights into the three layers (local, provincial, and national level).

The NSG is working with the DPSA and Human Science Research Council. The skills audit is detailed work, and by nature, it takes time. For instance, part one of the skills audit took months to complete because it looked at each of the eight departments to define its mandate and capture its mission and what its present jobs are and what the set job performance standards are and how they have defined the skills requirements for each job. Part two will also take months to complete because a survey will be conducted to assess what skills are available in each Department and raw data will be collected. By the next financial year, part three will be completed, and NSG will compare the skills available and those required and recommend an intervention. The impact of the skills audit is to assist government to know what skills it requires, what skills are available and what gaps exist.  

Funding was raised and used to run the trade, but it is insufficient to run the institution, especially with the expanded mandate. To fill the gap of those who resigned, the NSG has engaged with those who will be retiring in the next five years to mentor and prepare new employees for the post. In all programmes, the NSG works with the relevant department impacted by the programmes to ensure relevance and responsiveness. Its work on the district development model saw it fit to partner with Gauteng CoGTA.

The professional framework has emphasised the need to belong to professional bodies, ad this is to introduce the layer of consequence management. The issue of consequence management is no longer between the employer and employee, but the NSG is introducing the third layer of professional bodies. This is standard practice in the private sector. 

The budget saving for compensation for employees is around 2% because people come, and the intervention has allowed NSG to keep the budget savings below a million rand. A lot of work has been done to fast-track the signing of the MOU with professional bodies. NSG has engaged with the South African Qualification Authorities (SAQA) to check whether the professional bodies it will be partnered up with are registered and accredited by SAQA.

The international courses are one of the perks of the partnerships. Many of these institutions are respected internationally, and NSG provides certification for courses that are recognised internationally.

CPSI’s Responses

Mr Pierre Schoonraad, Head: Research and Development, CPSI, said the performance in Thusong Centres is varied, with some performing well and others poorly. However, it remains a single point of access for citizens and more than one service can be accessed at the centre. In provinces like the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, and Limpopo, it remains a problem because people must travel far to get to the centre. Connectivity, integration of services and organisational arrangements for oversight remain a challenge.

The SA connect initiative by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) and framework by DPSA are trying to address some of the issues. The CPSI is facing challenges with implementing innovation at an institutional level. In schools and hospitals, it is an issue of connectivity where the range does not cover the workers and the bandwidth is insufficient to upload and download content from the web. Some clinics do not have connectivity.

The content of the MOU with WITS University is centred around three areas. The first one is for CPSI to be able to leverage the academic research generated by the NSG. There is only one researcher, which makes it difficult to stay up to date with the latest developments in the innovation field. The second area is the tech incubator, where there is joint experimentation involving postgraduate students. The third area is knowledge sharing and advocating for e-government.

Unfortunately, the CPSI does not have the capacity to track the youth as it does not have a monitoring and evaluation unit. The youth are then channelled to other programmes like hackathons where they will be exposed to opportunities in government. There is a huge gap between linking youth with digital skills and opportunities.

Ms Sebokedi said that the national system of innovation is used to hire young people who were part of the programme to work for the government. 16 innovations can potentially be massified annually, but due to limited budget, it is not possible. The CPSI focuses on two innovations that are to be replicated annually. Another challenge is that only two project managers are on site to get the workers to use the innovation. Every position is critical but sometimes the money must be repurposed to do something else.

DPSA’s Responses

Mr Nyiko Mabunda, DDG, Human Resources Management and Development, DPSA, said it is supporting the Department to implement the framework by partnering up with Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) to ensure the professionalisation imperatives are expressed in the National Tourism Safety Forums (NTSF), especially for the seventh administration. This has allowed the DPSA to actively participate in the strategic planning sessions of the Departments to help them deliver and understand the professionalisation framework. Workshops have been conducted, and forums have been established with the heads of corporate services who are responsible for implementing the framework across the public service. They meet monthly to check on the progress, challenges and improvements.

The Department has seen an improvement in the skills audits and the service delivery and will improve the monitoring and evaluation capacity to see how SA feels about service delivery.
 
A few areas have been noted that will require changes to both the Public Service Act and the public service and management subordinate legislation, such as the regulations and directives. The first change is the extension of tenure of the Head of Department (HoD) to ten years. This will require an amendment of s12(2a) of the Public Service Act. The Department has made changes to be accountable, so that it promotes ethical public service by promoting the Head of Department and employees directly reporting to them from holding political offices and preventing employees from doing business with the state.

The Department also clarified the role of the Director-General (DG) in the presidency and the DGs in the provincial departments. In response to the 10% vacancy rate, the DPSA is concerned about the Department’s ability to attract and retain youth. Youth involvement is critical in addressing innovation and modernisation. Volume 1 of the professionalisation directive has been issued, making it compulsory for Departments to develop exit plans for participants in developmental programmes such as graduates, interns, and in-service officials. This will allow Departments to hire from the programmes to fill the 10% vacant posts. 

The DPSA has eliminated experience as a requirement for entry level positions, from level 1 to level 6, which will allow the Department to absorb more interns into the public service.

In response to the 54 vacant posts, all of them are critical but budget cuts impact the filling of those posts. Of those vacant posts, two of them are DDG level, six are Chief Directors and 11 are Directors and the rest are at various levels in the Department. The issue of vacancy rate across the public service is managed by the departments. The DPSA understands that it cannot have 100% filled vacancies, because people retire and move for better opportunities. The DPSA has noted that this has impacted the productivity of the public service as the work they were doing is left undone. 
 
Mr Zaid Aboobaker, Chief Director: e-Government, DPSA, said connectivity is critical in innovation and digitalisation. Without good connectivity, the state will not be able to deliver. For example, home affairs is known for not having network which means they are unable to deliver service to the public. The problem of connectivity is not easily solvable as it depends on the budget and resources available in various departments to upgrade the connectivity to good quality. It is also linked to the availability of bandwidth, particularly in rural areas.

In response to the question on lifestyle audits, Dr Salomon Hoogenraad-Vermaak, Chief Director: Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (TAU), said there is a requirement for conducting lifestyle audits according to the public service regulation 22a. It is very clear that the HoD can analyse ethics and corruption risks as part of the Department's system of risk management. Lifestyle audits are not a quick process. The Department started in 2021 and it is one of the biggest projects of the DPSA. In 2015, work started on changing legislation on public relations, introducing legislation to prepare the road for lifestyle audits. The project is in its third year of implementation, and theSA is the only and first African country to successfully introduce an electronic lifestyle audit system. The ethics offices review the information given to them through an e-disclosure system, conduct investigations and verify the information through different systems. Investigators were trained on how to investigate after receiving a red flag from the ethics officer. Some hindrances were found in that some departments did not appoint investigators as required. The projects success can be seen by an increase in information submitted by employees. There are departments that do not comply, where the employees do not submit their information. Four National Departments complied: The Department of Defense, Department of Military Veterans, Department of Public Works and Infrastructure and Department of Transport. Nine provincial departments did not comply: the Eastern Cape’s Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs, Tourism and Health, in the Free State its Economic, Small Business Development and Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Health, Police, and Transport. In Gauteng province, it is the Department of Infrastructure Development. In Limpopo, it is the Department of Social Development and in the North West, it is the Department of Education and Human Settlements.

The area the DPSA managed to improve is the ethics office, where ethics officers are not designated but are appointed. Due to budget constraints, it has two members doing lifestyle audits and investigating follow-ups. The Department is working towards making lifestyle audits a norm, like applying for leave.

The meeting was adjourned.