Question NW3893 to the Minister of Public Service and Administration
06 December 2023 - NW3893
Gondwe, Dr M to ask the Minister of Public Service and Administration
(1)What is the role of a certain person (name furnished) in her department; (2) what (a) are the reasons that the specified person was seconded from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (KZN COGTA) to her department while the person still works in the KZN COGTA, (b) regulation and/or legal instrument was used to second the person from the KZN COGTA to her department and (c) is the fulltime position of the person at the KZN COGTA; (3) whether the person has been seconded to her department to assist the Director General, Ms Y Makhasi, with responsibilities external to the department; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (4) whether the person has the full security clearance to represent and/or speak on behalf of the Republic in foreign countries; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details; (5) whether the person is a citizen of the Republic; if not, what is her nationality; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
(1) The person was seconded to perform the responsibilities of the vacant and funded post of Chief Director: Office of Standards and Compliance in the department. She is responsible among others: to manage and ensure the setting, promotion and enforcement of Public Administration Norms and Standards as contemplated in the Public Administration Management Act, 2014.
(2) (a) The person is seconded to the Department to perform the duties of the Chief Director: Office of Standards and Compliance in the department whilst the post is filled through the normal recruitment processes.
(b) The person is seconded in accordance with section 15(3) of the Public Service Act, 1994, as amended, read with regulation 62(1)(b) of the Public Service Regulations, 2016.
(c) The person is the Chief Director: Capacity Building at the KZN Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
(3) The person has not been seconded to the department to assist the Director-General with responsibilities external to the department. The person is seconded to perform the duties of the post of Chief Director: Office of Standards and Compliance which exists on the organisational structure of the Department and is overall responsible for the management of functions contained in section 17 of the Public Administration Management Act, 2014 which includes:
- Evaluating the appropriateness of norms and standards and their basis of measurement as determined by institutions in relation to public administration and management;
- Promoting and monitoring compliance with minimum norms and standards determined by the Minister in relation public administration management;
- Advising the Minister on the execution of the Minister’s duties in relation to the determination of minimum norms and standards and enforcing compliance;
- Conducting capacity and functionality audits of skills, systems and processes and advise on capacity building initiatives;
- Developing and implementing an early warning system to detect public administration non-compliance; and
- Managing the operations systems and processes of the Chief Directorate.
(4) A personnel suitability check was conducted in respect of the person and no negative information was detected. The employee has submitted the necessary documents for the security clearance from the State Security Agency (SSA) and is awaiting the processing thereof by SSA.
The person, as an employee of the State and subject to approval processes, has the necessary authority to participate in certain foreign matters of the State including, participating in discussions on the work of the department, presenting on work related to the department, presenting research conducted or sharing best practices.
(5) The person is a South African citizen.
End