Question NW4174 to the Minister of Public Service and Administration
07 December 2015 - NW4174
Van der Westhuizen, Mr AP to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration
(1)(a) What is his department's target with respect to the compilation of citizen report cards and (b) what are the exact details of how an assessment for such a report card is carried out; (2) whether a member of the public can access these citizen report cards; if not, why not; if so, how can such access be achieved?
Reply:
(1) (a) The target of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) is to conduct a Citizen Report Card survey every 3 years or so. The DPSA aims to deepen the Citizen Report Card (CRC) methodology in the departments and the municipalities. At this stage, DPSA is focusing on assisting the departments in the development of the Improvement Plans and the implementation of the interventions geared to improving service delivery. The DPSA is also in the process of setting up a mechanism for ongoing reporting and assessment of implementation of interventions. Once implementation of interventions has taken root in the departments, another CRC survey will be undertaken and its purpose will be to assess progress made against the baseline.
(b) The Citizen Report Card by definition reflects the performance of government from the perspective of the citizens. The citizens through focus group discussions and interviews get involved in the entire CRC process. The determination of the service delivery areas to be assessed and the eventual design of the questionnaire is a direct result of the consultative process. Flowing from the design of the questionnaire, a pilot survey gets conducted whose purpose is to further refine and finalise the questionnaire before full deployment.
The deployment of the questionnaire is preceded by the development of a sampling plan to ensure that specific randomly selected households and qualifying random respondents are identified. To ensure successful execution of the sample plan and administration of the questionnaire, carefully selected data collectors or field workers are thoroughly trained in understanding the content of the questionnaire and the broader research objectives of the CRC survey.
It should be noted that right at the beginning of the CRC process there are engagements with the various stakeholders in the community to ensure buy-in and support throughout the entire process. The stakeholders key to the process are the traditional authority, Municipal leadership, Non-Governmental Organisations and other organised interest groups in the areas of assessment.
(2) The Citizen Report Card survey is available to the public and can be accessed through the departmental website.