Public Service Commission on Poor Perfomance & Public Servants Serving as Councillors: briefing

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Meeting report

PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINSTRATION PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
7 NOVEMBER 2007
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION ON POOR PERFOMANCE & PUBLIC SERVANTS SERVING AS COUNCILLORS: BRIEFING

Acting Chairperson: Mr B Mthembu (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Report on Management of Poor Performance in the Public Service (powerpoint presentation)
Report on the Investigation into the Management of Public Servants in terms of Prevailing Provisions who are elected as Municipal Councillors in the Limpopo and Western Cape Provinces (Powerpoint presentation)
Report on the Investigation into the Management of Public Servants in terms of Prevailing Provisions who are elected as Municipal Councillors in the Limpopo and Western Cape Provinces

NOT RECORDED

SUMMARY
The Office of the Public Service Commission (OPSC) presented the report on the Management of Poor Performance in the Public Service to the committee, touching on the objectives of the study, research methodology, international trends, findings and observations of the study as well the recommendations and conclusion of the report.

The committee raised concerns about managers who were unable to identify poor performance in their departments. They also raised concerns about managers been employed but not having the necessary skills to do the job. The committee felt that the Minister for Public Service and Administration should be summoned to appear before the committee.

The committee was then briefed on the Investigation into the Management of Public Servants in terms of Prevailing Provisions who are elected as Municipal Councillors in the Limpopo and Western Cape Provinces.

A member felt that the committee should have a debate on public servants who also work as councillors, so that a decision could be made and tabled before Parliament.

Members were told that it would become impossible for public servants to work as councillors when the single public service was introduced.


MINUTES
The Acting Chairperson, Mr Mthembu told the committee that the Chairperson, Mr Gomomo, would not be present at the meeting. He added that he had received written apologies from two other members of the committee.

Mr I Julies (DA) wanted to know if the meeting could proceed as there were not enough members to form a quorum.

The Acting Chairperson replied that a quorum was not needed as this was only a briefing by the Office of the Public Service Commission. No decisions or voting was to take place at the meeting.

Mr K Minnie (DA) replied that he was not satisfied with the decision as just three weeks ago a meeting was postponed because there was not a quorum.

Mr N Gcwabaze (ANC) commented that he did not have a problem with the meeting going ahead as no decisions were to be made at it.

The Acting Chairperson replied that the meeting had not been cancelled because there was no quorum but because the report the committee was to be briefed on had not been ready. He added that he had three written apologies which would be sufficient for the meeting to go ahead.

Report on Mangament of Poor Performance in the Public Service
Ms M Mashan (Chief Director: OPSC) presented the report to the committee. She went through the introduction, objectives of the study, research methodology, international trends, findings and observations of the study as well the recommendations and conclusion of the report. (See document attached.)

Discussion
Ms M Matsomela (ANC) wanted some clarity on why managers are unable to identify poor performance. She commented that the role of mangers is to assess performance be it good or poor. It appeared as if there is a lack of will from managers to assess performance, unless it was being said that people were being employed who did not have the necessary skills to do the work. She wanted to know what would be done about managers who do not have the necessary skills to do the job.

Mr Minnie wanted to know what the Director General was going to do to get the managers to perform. He wanted to know how this would be conveyed to the Minister. He stressed that mangers are accountable.

Mr Nwambe (ANC) commented that it is a fact that ⅔ of managers cannot identify poor performance; he wanted to know why the next statement in the report also indicated that most managers do not believe that poor performance was a problem in departments.

Ms Mashan replied that certain questions were posed in the survey which had been done. That was why there were contradiction in the answers that were given on poor performance management. She added that it would be for the department to take the matter forward when they found that a manager could not identify poor performance.

Mr N Gcwabaza (ANC) commented that the report was a depressing reality. He could understand why members were asking what can be done about the situation. The measures taken to address skills shortages may not be adequate. He added that managers may also have to b retrained. He wanted some clarity on what was meant by unrealistic targets which were set. He added that in some departments there are people that do nothing all day. He also wanted to know how technology could be used to eliminate the paperwork.

Ms O Ramsingh (Director-General: OPSC) replied that the unrealistic targets refer to the performance agreement that was signed when the employee began to work. The manager was supposed to sit down with the employee and explain what had to be done. The targets become unrealistic when then resources are not adequate for the employee to meet the targets set in the performance agreement. She added that performance management is seen as an irritant.

Ms P Mashangoane (ANC) commented that a manager is like a driver. A driver cannot drive a car without a licence. A manager cannot manage without the necessary management tools. The performance of managers was an eye-opener for the committee. She added that the managers in the positions had gone through necessary tests to ensure that they were suitable for their jobs. She understood how streets could be burnt when people saw that they were not getting service delivery.

Mr Julies commented that it was the second time that he was hearing the phrase: “The Managers willpower in managing poor performance is inhibited by the need to make unpopular decisions, and personal and political relationships that conflict with management responsibilities.” This indicates that the politicians are at fault. He added that there has to be something drastically wrong when the financial statements are in good condition and there is a report indicating that there are problems when it comes to identifying poor performance in departments. The Minister of Public Service and Administration must be called in to account to the committee. He added that this was not the platform for the committee to make decisions.

The Acting Chairperson asked the delegation from OPSC to ignore some of the questions which were not meant for them, as these were questions that they could not answer.

Ms O Ramsingh (Director-General: OPSC) replied that it is not always easy for a manager to call an employee in and say that their performance was not good. In survey that was done on grievances in the work place, the top cause for a grievance was that of poor performance management. Senior Managers must show the necessary drive to identify both good and poor performance. When a manager applied for a position it was expected that they would have the necessary qualifications and experience to do the job. In a recent briefing before SCOPA it was stated that the high vacancy rate is due to a lack of skills. There is a very good policy framework in place, it is not only there to assess good performance but also poor performance. The way in which the framework is been applied is a problem.

Dr N Maharaj (Commissioner: OPSC) added that the report presented to the committee cannot be looked at in isolation. The system as a whole is being abused, because of the performance bonus which is awarded. The performance bonus is seen as a reward. Top management in the departments have to be taken to task as they are the first to not comply with the performance agreement which they have signed. He added that he was not surprised at the outcome of the report.

Mr S Mtombela (Chief Director: Department of Public Service and Administration) commented that the report would have been useful if it had focused on the management of performance more broadly. The report makes it appear as if the managers are the only problem.

The Director General replied that the report was not the only one that had been done; it formed part of a series of reports that had been compiled.

The Acting Chairperson commented that something had to be done by the committee and not the Public Service Commission. He added that as a committee they had the power to summon the Minister and to find out why she had not signed a contract with the Senior Managers Service.

Report on the Investigation into the Management of Public Servants elected as Municipal Councillors

Ms N Mampuru (Chief Director: OPSC) presented the report to the committee. She went through introduction, objectives of the investigation, methodology, the regulatory framework, statistical overview of Public Servants elected as Municipal Councillors, the Management of Public Servants as Municipal Councillors, International Perspectives, recommendations and the conclusion. (See document attached.)

Discussion
Mr Minnie commented that he was sure that the Public Service Amendment Bill included something on public servants becoming councillors. He said he did not see this reflected on page 6 of the presentation where the regulatory framework was shown. He felt that this issue should be debated so that a decision can be made on whether public servants can stand as part-time or full-time councillors, which could then be referred to Parliament.

Ms Mashan replied that the Public Service Amendment Bill was adopted after the research was completed.

Mr Gcwabaza (ANC) said that the Public Service Amendment Bill only added the time frame in which a department had to respond to a request for remunerated work outside of the public service. He added that a teacher working as councillor was not in conflict with the educator’s agreement.

Mr Julies said that the Municipal Systems Act was very clear that a councillor cannot sit on the tender boards. He felt that it would be dangerous to have a part-time councillor who is still working for the public service as political decision can be taken

Ms Matsomela said she appreciated the fact that countries such as Botswana, Nigeria and Australia have been used as examples in the report, however she wanted to know if the was any evidence to show that South Africa should use the same models as those countries.

Ms P Mashangoane (ANC) said that she was once a councillor as well as a teacher at the same time. She said that one cannot be a part-time councillor only. As a teacher she had regularly requested time off to attend meetings. It also had to be taken into consideration where the councillors come from. Some communities depended on teachers to assist them with forms and reports that had to be read, as they could interpret the reports. The amount of work required from councillors can vary. She added that one cannot expect a teacher to resign in order to be a part-time councillor, as the allowance that they get may not be enough to live on.

Mr Nwambe (ANC) wanted to know if it was not possible to have research done in all provinces. He said that this would assist the committee better.

Dr Maharaj replied that they were not aware that there were some part time councillors who were still employed by the public service and had not gone through the process of applying to the Department to do remunerated work outside of the public service. The OPSC was cognisant of the fact that there may be differences in trends rural and urban areas, which is why they had decided to report on Limpopo and the Western Cape. Only two provinces were used so that the OPSC could get an idea of how many public servants were working as councillors, without the departments knowing about it. The service delivery challenges have mostly been with local government. After compiling the report it became clear why there were problems with service delivery at a local government level. The OPSC have realised that one cannot be a part-time councillor. Section 36 of the Public Service Act is very clear about public servants being involved in political activities. ⅓ of the public servants serving as councillors were not regulated. It was only when the OPSC conducted its research that public servants then applied for permission to do remunerated work outside of the public service. He added that there are several concerns around this kind of activities.

Ms Ramsingh replied that the departments were not aware of the number of public servants serving as councillors and what the Department’s responsibilities were around this. The OPSC cannot say with certainty what effect it has had on service delivery.

Mr Julies commented that one does not have to be a teacher to become a councillor.

Ms Matsomela commented that it is easy to see when someone has been elected as a councillor. She wanted to know what is going to be done about public servants who are running their own business on the side.

The Acting Chairperson wanted to know if the OPSC has come across any country which does allow public servants to also work as a politician.

Mr J Ernisten (Deputy Chairperson: OPSC) replied that the report was compiled as a result of certain utterances that were made. The OPSC is of the opinion that a public servant who is elected as a councillor should resign from the public service when elected as a full time councillor.

Ms Ramsingh replied that the OPCS has a mandate; however due to financial constraints they could sometimes only focus on one or two provinces. She said that the OPCS is looking into other provinces. Next year the OPSC will have a report on the Financial Disclosure Framework which they managed. She added that they had included Canada because they had public servants who also worked as politicians. However there were certain guidelines that had to be adhered to.

Dr Maharaj commented that the situation will become worse when there is a single public service. When this happens there will be a major conflict of interest with councillors who are also working as public servants.

The Acting Chairperson agreed with Dr Maharaj that the situation would become worse. He said that they were in the process of either amending the Public Service Act or replacing it altogether. He added that the Financial Disclosure Framework is there but is not been implemented.

The meeting was adjourned.

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