Question NW2781 to the Minister of Public Service and Administration

Reply:

a) Section 195 (1)(a) of the Constitution calls for the promotion and maintenance of high professional ethics in the public service. The number 1 priority for the 6th Administration is the Building of a Capable, Ethical and Developmental State which is implemented through a number of measures including the Professionalisation Framework. The Framework calls for the extension of the battery of pre-employment tests including integrity assessment tools to assess an individual’s ethical and moral values The DPSA is currently working on determining suitable tools from reputable Test Developers that will be recommended to assess integrity across the Public Service. The scope covers all public servants starting with senior managers before consideration for other salary levels within the current medium term period. .

b) There are various ways to assess integrity:

As mentioned in (a) above, the DPSA is currently working on determining suitable tools from reputable Test Developers that are operating in the market.

The various Psychometric tools being considered include both overt and/or covert assessments to assess an individual’s propensity and attitude towards Integrity. Such instruments are mainly Personality Questionnaires from reputable and verified Psychometric Test Developers.

The type of vetting will ensure that there is consideration of the following, amongst other things:

• The legality of such tests;
• The views of organised labour;
• The need for validation of the adopted instruments for selection purposes, in line with the requirements of the Employment Equity Act, 1998;
• Consideration of cultural and contextual factors that might influence the assessment results.

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