Department of Public Service & Administration Annual Report& Human Resource Policy & Guidelines: briefing

PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
1 November 2006
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION 2006 ANNUAL REPORT& HUMAN RESOURCE POLICY AND GUIDELINES: BRIEFING

Chairperson: Mr M R Baloyi (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA). Annual Report 2005/06: Presentation to the Portfolio Committee. 1 November 2006
Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA). Annual Report 2005//06 (available later at www.dpsa.gov.za
Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA). Report to the Portfolio Committee: Public Service and Administration: HRM Policy and Guidelines. 1 November 2006

SUMMARY
The Department of Public Service and Administration briefed the Committee on its Annual Report 2005/06 and Human Resource Management Policy and Guidelines. Members focused on issues of recruitment, competence, loss of staff to the public sector, retention of staff, and measurement of service delivery, and asked about the intervention in the Department of Home Affairs intervention. The Department had submitted a comprehensive report to the Home Affairs Portfolio Committee. Individual assessments could not be made public at this time.

MINUTES
The Chairperson welcomed the Members, the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) delegation, and guests, tendered apologies, and explained that the Committee was meeting firstly to receive the Department’s briefing on its Annual Report 2005/06. The Committee would “pronounce” upon it at a subsequent meeting when all annual reports within the Committee’s purview would be reviewed together. The second agenda item was to receive the Department’s briefing on its Human Resources Management (HRM) Policy and Guidelines.

Department briefing on its Annual Report 2005/06
The Director-General of the Department, Professor R Levin, introduced his colleagues to the Committee, and began the briefing on the Department’s Annual Report 2005/06.

The Department had, in collaboration with the Ministry for Public Service of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), successfully implemented the public service census programme in the DRC.

The Department had also collaborated with a number of countries on the African continent, such as Lesotho, Sudan, Ethiopia, Namibia and Ghana, and beyond, such as China and India, on public administration and governance issues.

The Department maintained seven programmes during the review period. These were Administration, Integrated Human Resources (IHR), Information and Technology Management (I&TM), Service Delivery Improvement (SDI), Public Sector Anti-Corruption (PSAC), International and African Affairs (IAA), and Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E). Whilst not offering any services directly to individuals, its activities had a significant impact on departments that rendered services directly to the public.

In Programme 1:  Administration, the Department had provided leadership in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and supported the Minister for Public Service and Administration (MPSA) as South Africa’s Focal Point in the APRM process and Chairperson of the National Governing Council (NGC).

It had led the Governance and Administration Directors-General Cluster (G&A DG) and implemented the Community Development Workers (CDW) Programme.

G&A had as its first priority the capacity needs of the developmental state, which had been adopted in response to President Mbeki’s question whether government had the capacity to implement the developmental state’s socio-economic objectives. Initial capacity assessments had been undertaken in sectors such as housing, health, education, justice and the economic sector, and a human resource skills database was under development. 

G&A’s second priority had been macro-organisation of the state. This included a focus on an integrated public service (the Single Public Service and related work on public entities), integrated service delivery and the implementation of Batho Pele. Integrated service delivery aimed to extend citizens’ access to services; Batho Pele sought to create a new ethos amongst public servants to improve service delivery.

The deployment of Community Development Workers (CDW) was a strategic priority aimed primarily at improving interaction between government and citizens, supporting service delivery integration and the development of a Single Public Service system by providing a single window of information on government services, in particular to facilitate their utilisation by poor and disadvantaged communities. A Learnership Approach was adopted to ensure the transfer of knowledge and necessary skills together with practical exposure as required to create a fully-fledged and qualified Community Development Worker.

Programme 2: Integrated Human Resources (IHR) was divided into seven sub-programmes – management, Remuneration and Conditions of Service (RCS), Negotiations and Labour Relations (NLR), Employment Practice and Career Management (EPCM), employee health and wellness, Human Resource Development (HRD), and the Public Service Education and Training Authority (PSETA). The Programme’s measurable objective was defined as to ensure effective and appropriate use of human resources through targeted interventions that improved management and overall capacity.

The Government Employee Medical Aid Scheme (GEMS) had from 1 January 2006 been fully implemented as an independent entity under the auspices of the Department.

Following the successful pilot of the management policy and procedure on incapacity leave and ill-health retirement (PILIR) in the Free State Province, the Department of Correctional Services and the South African Police Services (SAPS), Cabinet had approved its extension to all government departments from the third term of 2005.

Research on the Personnel Expenditure Review (PER) had begun. Review of the Senior Management Service (SMS) was to be completed during the second quarter of the next financial year. A Labour Relations Forum had been established, and a homeowner’s allowance and a scarce skills framework had been implemented. A skills profile database for the public had been developed and would be piloted in 2006/07.

Programme 3: Information and Technology Management (I&TM) had as its purpose to achieve effective use of information and information technology for the modernisation of government and establishment of e-government practices within a secure information environment. Its measurable objective was to offer access electronically 24 hours a day. The Batho Pele Gateway Portal, intended to put information on government services online, was extended to the first Multi-Purpose Community Centres (MPCCs). Translation into six languages was completed. The E-Government programme was developed. The electronic Inventory of Government Information Systems (e-IGIS), a decision support system, was transferred from the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) to the Department. The CabEnet (Cabinet EDMS [electronic document management system]), used by the President, Deputy President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Directors-General and Ministerial support staff to access and share information and communicate formally and informally with each other, was successfully piloted, with extension to all departments anticipated in the 2006/07 financial year.

Programme 4: Service Delivery Improvement (SDI) aimed at supportive interventions and partnerships, innovative learning and knowledge-based modes and practices of service delivery with the measurable objective of improvement of service delivery through targeted interventions and provision of supportive frameworks and learning products. Its four sub-programmes were management, Government Internal Consulting Services, Programme Management and Development Cooperation and Learning and Knowledge Management. Targeted interventions had included the public service census project and development of an anti-corruption strategy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Programme 5: Public Sector Anti-Corruption (PSAC) had the purpose of establishing strategies to fight corruption and enhance ethical conduct in the public sector and the measurable objective of preventing corruption and enhancing the integrity of governance systems in the public sector. Guidelines and an anti-corruption draft report had been completed. The preparatory committee for Global Forum V had been established.

Programme 6: International and African Affairs (IAA) had the purpose of establishing and maintaining bilateral and multilateral relations on governance and public administration and the measurable objective of improving governance and public administration through leadership and projects that foster change globally and within Africa. The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) had been implemented. Bilateral agreements had been concluded with Ghana, the DRC, Sudan, Ethiopia, China and India. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) programme on public administration and governance had been implemented.

Programme 7: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) had the purpose of establishing a system for planning, monitoring and evaluation that would enable accountability in the public sector and its measurable objective was to improve accountability in public administration and provide information to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. A proposal on a government-wide M&E system had been approved by Cabinet. The Public Management Watch had been developed and approved by Cabinet.

Overall, the Department had achieved most of the objectives set for the 2005/06 year, delivered on additional tasks assigned to it and made satisfactory progress towards the achievement of other objectives.

Mr C Senoanadi, Chief Financial Officer, explained expenditure versus budget in the seven programmes. Overall expenditure had increased mainly due to the intervention in the DRC, APRM activities, GEMS and CPSI.

As to Human Resource (HR) targets and performance there was, at 31 March 2006, a vacancy rate of 22.4% compared with 22.6% the previous year. There was an occupancy rate of 77.6% (300 of 386 posts) compared with 77.4% (254 of 328 posts) the previous year. The Department’s staff profile in terms of race and gender was illustrated. There were challenges to filling vacancies, including “skills competition-poaching” by departments and companies for competent people. Posts became vacant faster than they could be filled. Recruitment took three to four months. Turnover rate was 25.1% compared to 17.6% the previous year.

Employees left because of resignations due to finding positions in the private sector, self-employment, relocation, expiry of contracts, and promotional transfers to other departments.  95 (37.3%) employees had been given performance awards compared with 83 (35.6%) the previous year. Of level 1-12 employees, 84 (42.4%) had received awards compared to 74 (31.8%) the previous year. Of SMS employees, 11 (19.3%) had received awards compared to nine (3.9%) the previous year. 

Discussion
The Chairperson asked what was assumed with regard to “cost drivers”. It was assumed that when comparisons were made, the situations were similar. He asked if that assumption was correct.

Dr U Roopnarain (IFP) asked about policies on disability and if the lengthy process of recruitment could be shortened. Candidates could not afford possible loss of salary while waiting for the outcome of their application.

Mr I F Julies (DA) asked about equal opportunities for all. He asked, with reference to the vacancy chart, how the various categories of staff (senior, middle management, etc.) were represented in the vacancy rate of 22.4%, and said that five coloured males out of a total of 148 Departmental male staff and eight coloured females out of a total of 152 female staff did not equate with equal opportunities for all.

Mr K K Khumalo (ANC) asked when extension of the Batho Pele Change Management to KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga would be completed. It appeared that there was a heavy reliance on consultants and he asked for the reasons. He asked about the seniority of staff who left faster than their posts could be filled and how these resignations affected the Department.

Mr A J Nyambi (ANC) asked how departments were recruited to participate in support projects in governance and service delivery.

Mr Senoanadi, Chief Financial Officer, responded. In the DRC intervention, expenditure was higher in the second year than in the first because the Department committed more resources in the second; however, it had been budgeted for, and funding had been provided by the African Renaissance Fund which was controlled by the Treasury and the Department of Foreign Affairs. With regard to the APRM, the Department had had to reprioritise.

Mr Senoanadi said that the Department had not been able to achieve its modest target of 2.5% in employing disabled persons. It achieved only 0.7%. Unsuitability of buildings had contributed to that shortfall. The Department had specified that in planning for its own building the needs of disabled persons must be accommodated. The Department was developing strategies to expedite the recruitment process and to achieve a target of not more than two months in handling applications.

The Chairperson asked, incidentally, who hired and who fired.

Professor Levin said that the questions raised indicated that there were areas on which the Department had to improve. In particular, the Department recognised the need to improve with regard to accommodating the disabled. It also needed to improve in its own internal human resources management.  With regard to an article in Die Beeld on Monday, 30 October 2006, in which the Democratic Alliance claimed that there were 40 000 vacancies in the public service, he asked himself how the Department could have a vacancy rate of 22.4% when its budget was almost entirely spent. It had to be asked “what do those vacancies mean?”

He said that he did not think enough attention was given to the discrepancy between the expenditure on personnel and the vacancy rate derived from the PERSAL system. The Department itself had performed an alternative calculation. The figure of 40 000 had been based on the figures from all annual reports. If one referred now to the PERSAL system, one would obtain a figure of 318 000 vacancies, which approximated to a vacancy rate of 28 to 29% in the public service at the present time. Last year only 2.2% of funds allocated to personnel were unspent. This discrepancy resulted from “poor personnel administration, poor management of organograms, poor organisational structures,” because of a tendency to create new posts against posts that fell vacant whilst not abolishing such vacant posts. On the basis of the 2.2% unspent funds, it could be estimated that there were some 24 000 vacant posts that could have been filled with the available funds. A more precise estimate could be achieved by taking account of the length of time taken to fill a vacant post. If posts were filled rapidly, it could be assumed that there would be over-expenditure. Professor Levin thought that it was important to share these perspectives with the Committee.

The key question that should be asked regarding consultants was about their value for money. The Batho Pele Change Management had been initiated first in Limpopo because of the particular needs of that province. With regard to the DRC, Professor Levin said that the Department together with the DRC had become experts on public service censuses.

Mr Senoanadi said that in terms of achievement, the expenditure on consultants had been worthwhile. Some expertise had to be outsourced.

Mr Senoanadi said that the Department did not have specific targets for employment of coloured people but in its recruitment it did strive to encompass all racial groups. As indicated in the Annual Report itself, at SMS level “African blacks” included Indians and coloureds. The target for males in that category had been 80%: the achievement had been 64%. For females in that category the target had been 45%: the achievement had been 49%.

Professor Levin explained that the Department referred to “blacks” as a generic category. Mr Julies’ issue would have to be addressed further.

Mr Julies asked if consultants were really value for money, when, in one instance in his experience, consultants had charged “12 000 rand an hour”.

The Chairperson recalled that he had said in a previous meeting, when discussing the Annual Report of the Public Service Commission, that annual reports should not simply list activities but analyse the results. He was not completely satisfied with answers to his opening question, but he was willing to let the matter rest for now. The Chairperson said that he had noted as a very important point for the Committee’s programme for the next year that it would explore the details of interventions such as in the DRC and bilateral agreements, and what lessons could be learned and challenges met.  In this context he mentioned the Committee’s report on the visit to India. He asked for concluding comments from the Department.

Mr K Govendor, Chief Director, Human Resources Development Strategy and Director General of Management of Compensation, said that the learnerships constituted a twelve-month contract to enable candidates to obtain needed skills. Departments were encouraged to offer learnerships in fields where there was a shortage of skills and give priority in recruitment to candidates who had successfully completed learnerships. The Department was striving to increase the opportunities for such candidates.

Professor Levin said that many of the vacancies to which reference had been made earlier were in the middle management and SMS levels, where there was most mobility.

The Chairperson said that he was now satisfied and thanked the Department for its presentation.

Mr Senoanadi added that, overall, the Auditor-General, when he had given the Department its audit, gave it an unqualified audit report, with just a little emphasis here and there to housekeeping matters that should be taken care of. It was the fourth year in succession that the Department had been given an unqualified audit report.

The Chairperson said that in reviewing annual reports it was necessary to look beyond financial aspects to impact in terms of service delivery and asked if there could not in the public service be an agency analogous to the Auditor-General that could audit service delivery in key areas.

Department’s briefing on its HRM Policy and Guidelines
Ms C Clark, Deputy Director-General: Human Resources Development and Management, dealt firstly with guidelines to address organisational incapacity. Compliance with the Public Service Act (PSA) and its regulations was a challenge that had to be addressed in the proposed amendment bill. Departments had to publish their service delivery charter. Service delivery improvement plans (SDIPs) were required of Executive Authorities (EAs) under regulations, with an annual statement of public service commitment defining service standards. A 2005 study by the Public Service Commission had shown that less than 40% of departments had set service standards. Technical quality of standard setting was inadequate in most instances.

The Department of Home Affairs was used as an example of an intervention to address incapacity within a department. This intervention had focused on leadership and management, human resources, including competency assessments, information technology management, service delivery improvement, programme management, and financial management and internal controls.  Recommendations were presented to the EA with respect to the findings in the above areas.

The incapacity procedure was based on counselling and monitoring and gave a timeframe for an employee to improve his work. If thereafter there was no improvement, the employee was required to begin a mentoring programme, be placed in a more appropriate job, or dismissed. The last two options entailed a formal hearing.

Skills and staff shortages in the public service were largely due to redefining where and how services should be provided – hence requiring staff to relocate, increased service delivery points in rural areas, the impact of HIV and AIDS and other life threatening diseases, globalisation and new opportunities in Africa and elsewhere, increased mobility and the poaching of employees by the private sector.

Staff retention generally sought to attract employees to an organisation through recruitment strategies, keep those already employed by motivation and reward, and nurture employees’ productivity through a credible succession plan. It covered both the psychological aspects of the employee’s well being, such as employee relations and the quality of working life, and the operational aspects of their job. A key aspect was making the best use of employees’ skills and knowledge. Providing sufficient resources to meet the demands of a job was a factor in attracting employees to stay in an organisation, as was predictability of organisational culture and decision-making, proper communication and feedback, and creation of a culture of ownership in which workers felt that they were valued members of the organisation.

In exit interviews employees mentioned financial considerations, career development, a work environment frustrating personal growth, a mismatch with organisational requirements, inappropriate conduct of supervisors, leadership and management style, lack of effective communication and ineffective grievance procedures, resistance to change, internal mobility, and being head-hunted for their skills. The cost to an organisation of employees leaving included loss of productivity of co-workers who suffered from separation anxiety and fear of the unknown.

Current policy interventions of the Department included promoting skills development through learnerships and bursaries, development of a remuneration policy supporting occupational differentiation and opportunities for progression, and implementation of compulsory competency assessments for SMS members.

After the amendments to the Public Service Act are promulgated, the Ministry would issue amendments to the Public Service (PS) Regulations that would prescribe minimum norms. The limitations of the current PERSAL system as an electronic human resource management system had been recognised for some time. Due to rapid changes in the Public Service, managers needed immediate information to make timely and informed decisions regarding human resources. For this an effective Human Resource Information System (HRIS) was the foundation.

The SMS Handbook already provided a protocol for targeted recruitment of specific individual talent. Headhunting should be used only in conjunction with normal advertising and fair selection procedures and when the required skills were not readily available.

The Department has been identifying and responding to the challenges facing the implementation of policy on designated groups (the disabled, women and blacks) since the 2005 review. The national agenda essentially sought to build, attract, retain and sustain management capacity to ensure that the benefits of government service delivery reach the majority of the population.

In terms of the public service transformation agenda, the designated groups were insufficiently represented at higher occupational levels. Access barriers to the workplace were experienced through direct and indirect discrimination. Workspaces, especially in older buildings, needed to be physically adapted to accommodate persons with disabilities. Assistive devices (these, unfortunately could be prohibitively expensive for some departments) and support aid staff, for example, drivers, needed to be provided to such employees. Strategies included the use of Intern Programmes to recruit members of designated groups, use of a developmental assessment centre to audit competencies, collaboration with schools for learners with special needs to recruit school leavers into the public service, and the use of an aggressive retention and progressive succession plan.

Discussion
The Chairperson asked about the duration of the project concerning the guidelines on staff retention, and how responsive stakeholders were. He referred to the loss of key staff to the private sector as “fishing from our basket”. He asked for further comment on the issue of staff retention.

Mr B Mthembu (ANC) asked how seriously departments, including provincial departments, regarded this important issue and the issue of compliance with public service regulations. He said that the key issue was to appoint the best candidates strategically at the appropriate levels. Implicit in the presentation were issues of competence. A proper recruitment strategy with emphasis on competence would facilitate progress. He asked what the key findings in the Department of Home Affairs intervention were.

Mr K J Minnie (DA) asked for clarification regarding the vacancy figures given in the Annual Report. If the figures referred to the number of posts, how many individuals did the public service employ?

The Chairperson said that Mr Mthembu had referred to a major issue. It was not sufficient to assume that the forthcoming Bill to amend the Public Service Act would necessarily remedy all problems. It was not possible to make assumptions. He asked if it was problematic to comply with regulations and standards, taking account of the human factor. He suggested that maybe the regulations themselves presented a challenge.

Professor Levin thanked the Chairperson and said that the delegation would respond as a team. With regard to the issues raised by Mr Mthembu, these were linked to the trend towards decentralisation in public administration that had become apparent since the late 1980s. Moreover, people differed in their understanding of concepts. For example, there were many aspects to integrated service delivery in South Africa. In some developing countries that had taken the decentralisation model to an extreme, major problems had arisen. When these countries spoke of integrated service delivery, they envisaged re-integration of agencies and entities that had been dispersed under decentralisation back into the state system. It was necessary to learn from these experiences and avoid an ideological standpoint that decentralisation was invariably beneficial.

It was desirable to empower managers, but not “in a vacuum”, to the extent that they lost sight of the objectives of public service and the benefits of an integrated human resources policy. Once a decentralisation policy had been implemented, it was very difficult to reverse. It was necessary to aim for decentralisation of service delivery under centralised direction. However, information management was indeed best centralised in order to optimise use of resources in a situation of scarcity. Because of decentralisation, it was not currently possible to measure the extent to which talent had been lost from the public service to the private sector. The Department was adopting a cautious approach to the issues of centralisation and decentralisation.

On the issue of compliance, he agreed with the Chairperson that it was not possible to rely entirely on the Amendment Bill, though it would introduce new measures.

Ms Clark said, in response to Mr Mthembu, that the Department had given a comprehensive report to the Home Affairs Portfolio Committee. With regard to the cases of individuals, assessments could not at this stage be made public until the concerned Executive Authority had considered them and made a decision.

Mr Govendor said that the Department was endeavouring to capacitate managers with the resources that they needed. This was being done from a central level. In response to Mr Minnie’s question, the figures referred to employee numbers. It was difficult to determine the actual the number of posts, because departments had differed in how they had classified and entered posts in the PERSAL system.

Mr Senoanadi said that the seriousness with which human resources as a strategic issue was treated was evidenced by the high attendance at a conference on that subject in KwaZulu- Natal. The Eastern Cape had carried out a study similar to that done by the Department with comparable results. Gauteng has also done a similar study. Consultations had indicated the importance of line management working in partnership with human resources management.

Mr L Pretorius, Director: Employment Practice, said that the guidelines on staff retention were issued in the first half of the year.

The Chairperson thanked the Director-General and his team.

The meeting was adjourned.