Question NW280 to the Minister of Public Service and Administration
06 March 2023 - NW280
Gondwe, Dr M to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration
1)What mandate does his department have with respect to the professionalisation of the Public Service; (2) what are the reasons that the Framework towards the Professionalisation of the Public Service was driven by the National School of Government when the legal mandate of his department is the formulation and implementation of public service policy and norms and standard?
Reply:
1. The mandate of the Department of Public Service and Administration, the National School of Government and the Centre for Public Service Innovation is to support the Minister for the Public Service and Administration in furthering the roles and responsibilities contemplated in, amongst others, Chapter 10 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, read with the Public Service Act, 1994, the Public Administration Management Act, 2014 and the National Development Plan.
The professionalisation of the public sector is part of a broader process of ensuring a developmental State that is capable. Capability of the State is only enabled through the professionalisation of the public sector. The process to professionalise the public sector is driven by the Minister for the Public Service and Administration in the context of ensuring that the public sector is equipped with competent and qualified personnel, appropriately capacitated, and functioning optimally.
2. The work around the professionalisation of the public sector has overarching implications that traverse the areas of work of all the departments supporting the Minister for the Public Service and Administration. The National School of Government, supported by other departments and stakeholders, led the development of the National Framework towards the Professionalisation of the Public Sector. The Department of Public Service and Administration, supported by other departments and stakeholders, is leading the process to review the legislative frameworks, including norms and standards, to institutionalise the Framework.
End