PSC input on stakeholder recommendations on Professionalisation Framework implementation

Meeting report

The Chairperson said that in October, the Committee had received an invitation from the Public Service Commission (PSC) to attend its professionalisation framework implementation workshop, which would guide the uniformity and coordination of the public sector. Its purpose was to build a capable developmental state which was the key priority of the seventh administration.

This meeting was for the PSC to present the outcomes of that workshop which would be instrumental for Members’ oversight work.

Public Service Commission briefing

Ms Zukiswa Mqolomba, Deputy Chairperson, PSC, led the Commission's briefing on the recommendations made by stakeholders on the professionalisation framework implementation workshop held from 28 to 30 October in Pretoria.

She highlighted the importance of better coordination, collaboration, and partnerships, as well as being the main custodian of the implementation of the professionalisation framework. The PSC intended to engage with the Presidency, the Ministry of Public Service and Administration (MPSA) and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) during the course of this month.

Ms Irene Mathenjwa, Deputy Director-General: Monitoring and Evaluation, PSC, emphasised the foundational element to ensure that the PSC gained traction with the implementation of the framework in the public sector. She said the presentation had taken place at a time when government was planning the medium term development plan (MTDP).

Mr Cameron Jacobs, Chief Director, PSC, covered the following aspects:

• The genesis of the strategic workshop.
• Implementation progress report by the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA).
• Objectives of the strategic workshop.
• Outcomes of breakaway groups.

He said the proposed areas of focus had been:

• Institutional role clarity.
• Fit-for-purpose of institutions.
• Alignment of regulatory frameworks.
• Modernisation of information technology (IT) and digitisation.
• Strategic prioritisation of the professionalisation of occupations.
• Valid and reliable data for planning.
• Costing and budgeting of the professionalisation framework.

Strategic workshop outcomes

Mr Jacobs said the PSC had to produce a draft executive summary of strategic outcomes from the workshop by November. This included the following resolutions:

• The PSC to engage with the MPSA on the executive summary of the workshop and outcomes thereof, and advise the Minister to establish a reference group drawn from key stakeholders to support the Minister on the implementation of the framework.
• The PSC to engage the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and the Minister in the Presidency on the issues raised in the report.
• The PSC and MPSA to engage with the Presidency, and the President to present the executive summary report for the inclusion of inputs to the State of the Nation Address (SONA).
• The PSC to review core provisions of the Public Service Commission Bill for purposes of anticipating the future role of the Commission.
• The PSC and other role-players to explore communication/advocacy and engagement with the provinces, with the support of external partners.

(See attached document for details)

Discussion

Ms L Potgieter (DA) sought clarity on the process for recruiting experts in the public sector, and how it would be changed.

She asked for the rationale behind de-linking the term of the municipal manager from the political term. She predicted that it could be quite problematic for municipalities.

The Chairperson concurred with his colleague on the term of municipal managers, and was not convinced if that would be effective in making them more independent. If they could re-apply for their jobs after every five years as local government changed, he believed that it could be a good thing, as it would be transparent and merit-based.

He recognised digitalisation's critical role, such as a single human resources (HR) system, ensuring public service members did not get redeployed from one department to another when they had pending cases, or cases where they had been found guilty. He expressed his concern at the role of the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) in this, as it could be a potential hurdle obstructing professionalisation. He hoped that the PSC and other role players could explore releasing the DPSA and the PSC from SITA, so that it would be a market-driven process where the best digital solution could be found.

Dr T Letlape (Action SA) asked the PSC if the current bill was adequate to aid professionalisation, or if there were any additions or amendments the Commission would like legislature to add to the bill. He encouraged the PSC to use this platform to make its inputs.

PSC's response

Ms Mathenjwa commented on the role of information communication technology (ICT) in the public service sector. The PSC had engaged with SITA, the DCDT and the DPSA, and had made strong recommendations, such as SITA needing to review its Act because it was limited in terms of its support for government. The PSC was awaiting the amendment of the SITA Act.

The SITA procurement model had resulted in poor returns on investment. The PSC had engaged with frontline service departments, such as the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and South African Police Service (SAPS), and found that SITA just did not provide return on investment. The AGSA also agreed that SITA was not playing any meaningful role in supporting the public service sector on ICT. She said there was a concerning trend that only 3% of the entire public service employees had the ability to work on cyber-security, which meant that government departments did not know how to respond to cyber-attacks. She stressed the need for professionalisation of those working in ICT so that there was a better understanding of how the public service sector model was being transformed, and it could fully utilise the ICT resource. She had personally experienced a problem at the DHA this morning, where it was reported that the system was down, and it was a SITA issue. She referred to the devolution of SITA for certain institutions so that they could be run smoothly. She used the South African Revenue Service (SARS) as an example where it used its internal resources to manage its ICT, and one never heard complaints about its ICT system.

Mr Jacobs commented that it was not so much about the process, but the principle of de-linking municipal managers from the political term of office of councils. The same applies at the provincial and national levels, where the amendment of the Public Service Act would extend the tenure of the head of a department or Director-General (DG), subject to a strict performance review. That was part of the process of de-linking administrative heads from political offices so that there would be stability in the political-administrative interface. At the administrative level, it was a professionalised appointment that had no bearing on the stability/instability of the political administration.

Regarding the selection of experts, the professionalisation framework provided that the PSC, together with the DPSA, must deal with the recruitment process for Heads of Departments (HoDs), Municipal Managers (MMs) and Deputy Directors-Generals (DDGs). The role of the PSC was to develop a database of technical experts to assist the executive authority in the recruitment, selection and appointment of experts. The technical experts were envisaged to sit on those panels with the executive so that it was objective and fair, and that there was a meritocratic process in the recruitment and selection.

He commented that the PSC bill aimed to facilitate the professionalisation framework, but was not quite there yet. The different engagements with the Portfolio Committee, the bargaining council at the local government level, and SALGA, had resulted in fruitful inputs which the PSC needed to consider.

He was particularly interested in s196, and realised that public service was not included in sections such as s196(1), s196(2), s196(4)(d), s196(4)(3)e, s196(4)(e), and s196(4)(f)(i). That would result in an applicability issue for public administration. Those provisions should be tightened up so that there would be no ambiguity as it currently stands.

The PSC highlighted that there may be a case where a function that was currently being performed by the DPSA, may have to be devolved to the PSC. This emanated from the authority of the PSC, such as issuing directives.

Follow-up questions

Dr Letlape said that from now on, what the PSC does and what the Ministry of the DPSA does should be clearly outlined. Clear responsibilities could avoid taking each other to court.

Ms Potgieter did not quite understand the advantage of de-linking municipal managers from the political administration’s term of office, because the current tenure of MMs was five years and was linked to the political office, which enabled the new administration to select their MMs based on their ideal candidates. She found that doing that would open a platform for abuse, especially during the change of administration, and that was not something that one would want to see in local government, given the country’s current state.

Response

Ms Mqolomba clarified that the issue of de-linking was not in the PSC Bill, but in the Public Service Act, which was being considered by Parliament for promulgation. The principle was enshrined in the National Development Plan (NDP), which talks about the insulation of the public administration from political interference and politics.

Mr Vusumuzi Mavaso, Commissioner, PSC, replied to Ms Potgieter, saying that the PSC noted her concerns and would make sure that they find expression in the final documentation. The PSC would have to look into pieces of legislation that concerned both local government and the public service.

Prof Mandlenkosi Makhanya, Commissioner, PSC, agreed with Dr Letlape that the roles of the PSC and the DPSA should be clearly defined without any further challenges to the process. The PSC was working on it and was cognisant of the challenge.

Ms Mqolomba reiterated that the de-linking was in the public sector reform amendment bill which was before Parliament, but was not in the Public Service Commission Amendment Bill.

Dr Letlape suggested that given the complexity of the local government sphere, it would be better that MMs were appointed so that their term overlapped across elections. That would effectively reduce political interference. It also ensured that there was some level of accountability. There were instances where MMs disappeared with their political principals with billions of rands, while service was not being delivered.

Committee minutes

The draft Committee minutes for 21 August, 9 October, 16 October and 23 October were all duly adopted.

The meeting was adjourned.