MEDIA BRIEFING BY GOVERNANCE & ADMINISTRATION CLUSTER
28 August 2007

Documents handed out:
Governance & Administration Cluster Media Briefing (see Appendix)
Single Public Service Explanatory Guide
Policy process on system of Provincial and Local Government
Government’s Programme of Action 2007 Governance & Administration Cluster (see www.info.gov.za)

Audio recording of meeting

SUMMARY
Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi briefed the media present on the Governance and Administration Cluster’s Programme of Action. Four priority areas were good governance, strengthening capacity, optimal organisation of the state and enhancing transversal systems. Many training programmes had been presented for various aspects of administration, and policy documents drafted for ethics and gender issues. The ward committee system was a way of enabling public participation. Tools such as cellular telephones and computers were being provided to ward committee members and community development workers with communication tools to improve their efficiency. Monitoring and evaluation systems were being put in place. Policies were being set for skills development. Supply chain management was in particular demand. Progress was being made towards creating a single public service. A portal had been set up to enable the public to track issues on the internet. Good progress was being made with transversal systems, and there had been a unanimous adoption of Integrated Development Plans by municipalities.

In response to questions by the media, it was revealed that there were no plans to set up refugee camps for displaced Zimbabwean citizens. However, the Department of Home Affairs was considering providing them with temporary residence permits. Work permits would also be provided for suitably skilled persons. It was clear that there was a problem in Zimbabwe, and it was not known when the issue would be resolved. The newly-appointed Director-General at the Department would brief the media shortly on his first 100 days in office, and this would include an update on the turnaround programme which was progressing well.

Questions regarding the alleged misuse of funds by the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs were not answered as they fell outside the scope of the briefing, but the Minister was preparing a formal response to similar questions posed in the National Assembly and would provide the media with the information at an appropriate time. A report of misconduct in the public service was being dealt with across the service as a whole. There was a problem but it was being addressed. Cape Town had chosen a Ward Forum rather than a Ward Committee approach. Parliament would debate the issue soon and consider whether Ward Committees should be compulsory. There was no plan to reduce the number of provinces at present, but issues of provincial and local government were continuously under review.

MINUTES

Briefing by Minister of Public Service and Administration

Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi briefed the media present on the Governance and Administration (G&A) Cluster’s Programme of Action. In terms of the mandate from the last election, the Cluster had developed a programme of action in January 2007. Four priority areas had been identified, namely the promotion of good governance; the strengthening of the capacity of the state, the achievement and maintenance of the optimal organisation of the state, and the development and enhancement of the state’s transversal systems. Cabinet had approved the programme in March, and this was the third report back briefing.

Min Fraser-Moleketi then proceeded with the progress report for the last two months. The first priority area was good governance. A draft anticorruption communication strategy had been developed. An Ethics Manual was being developed, and training of municipal officials in 27 districts would commence in the third quarter of 2007. An action plan for promoting the empowerment of women and gender equality in the public service had been launched recently. A gender audit would be conducted in the departments later in the year. Indicators for the social audit and barriers analysis on the employment of disabled people had been developed.

She said that 100 municipalities had been set for the training of trainers in the Batho Pele Change Management Engagement for the current financial year. Already 182 municipalities had been reached and fifteen high level management presentations made. Further rollouts of the programme would continue. A model and induction plan for the massification of the public service had been developed for 100 000 new public servants. Training in the form of a pilot project would occur in Limpopo and KwaZulu Natal in November 2007. The South African Management Development Institute (SAMDI) had trained 3030 officials and other service providers had trained 32 956 using the common Learning Framework.

She said that a Presidential Imbizo had been held in the Western Cape the previous month. This had focused on the development and reconstruction of the province. Ward committees had been established country-wide, and had been set up in 96% of the wards. The exceptions were in the Ekurhuleni and Cape Town municipalities. Five of the nine modules of the training material for ward committees had been finalised. The launch of the training programme was expected in September. The project to provide cellular telephones to ward committees and Community Development Workers (CDWs) would be piloted in the OR Tambo District in the Eastern Cape, as this province had complied with stipulations.

Min Fraser-Moleketi said that national provincial Monitoring and Evaluating Forums had been established in all provinces. There were problems in filling the posts in offices of Premiers and provincial departments. The Skills Audit toolkits were being compiled. A discussion document towards a National Training and Development Strategy for Local Government had been compiled and consultations were taking place. Of 283 municipalities, 141 had been identified for the implementation of the Performance Management System. A draft implementation strategy had been developed and provinces were being visited to validate audit results.

She said that skills reviews were being undertaken in fourteen districts. A Professionalisation Framework and Implementation Plan had bee drafted. A Deployment Management Framework had been finalised and distributed. A number of technical experts, namely 306, had been deployed to over 90 municipalities since 2005. Consultation on the National Programme of Support to Traditional Leaders had been finalised in all provinces. Provinces were in agreement and had to submit their costs before the programme could be submitted for Cabinet approval. The Local Government Laws Amendment Bill had been approved by Cabinet in June and certified by the State Law Advisors. It had been successfully introduced to Parliament.

Min Fraser-Moleketi said that in terms of skills development a draft Leadership Development Strategic Framework contained the revised version of the SMS Competency Framework, and would be launched for consultation in September. It would be finalised in February for implementation from April 2008. The Human Resource Development Strategy for the Public Service had been approved in principle, and a National Steering Committee to oversee its implementation had been launched in June. There would be a pilot project in Gauteng.

She said that there were plans for the establishment of a Government Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) Forum for those SETAs operating in the government sector. The Forum would enhance and coordinate the Annual Training Reports, Workplace Skills Plans and the Sector Skills Plans. SAMDI had initiated a Graduate Development Programme to accelerate the implementation of the Internship and Learnership Programmes.

In terms of capacity building, the Minister Fraser-Moleketi said that Cabinet had decided to establish a Public Service Academy. Government was continuing to implement this decision, and was negotiating with the unions after the recent industrial action. An integrated curriculum was being developed for this institution under expert guidance. The strategy would be discussed with stakeholders.

She said that the Accelerated Development Programme (ADP) had commenced during August 2006. The first cohort had completed the Advanced Phase in July. Of the 110 participants, 77 had qualified for the Executive Phase. Initial training on the Web Course Tools had been conducted earlier in August. The next ADP would commence in April 2008.

Minister Fraser-Moleketi said that 1043 officials had undergone Supply Chain Management training from both national and provincial departments between January and July 2007. Municipal officials had also been trained, and the number there was 1290. There was a sustained demand for this training. An e-learning programme for Bid Committee members would be completed during August and rolled out by September 2007. Members of Parliament had also received a high-level course in July.

She said that there had been fifteen session of anti-corruption training, in excess of the planned ten sessions. An accredited training manual for gender mainstreaming had been developed. Training for disability management in the workplace had been delivered to ten municipalities during this reporting period. Eighteen municipalities had been trained in all, in excess of the target, and twenty officials from the South African Police Services Head Office had also been trained.

The Minister then discussed the third priority area, namely the macro organisation of the state. The July Cabinet Lekgotla had approved that consultations on the Single Public Service Bill should commence. A communication strategy was being implemented. Workshops were held in fourteen departments and sixteen municipalities. Eight other information sessions were held. Work on a cost/benefit analysis was being undertaken. There was dialogue with the unions at local level. Government intended to meet its target, and legislation

She said that attention was being paid to integrated service delivery. Standards for service delivery at Thusong centres had been developed. Service providers would be trained in the Batho Pele principles. A basked of key services had been identified. A national conference of CDWs had taken place in June. Experience had been discussed while opportunities and challenges had also been dealt with. A workshop had been held during July to create integrated and improved service delivery approaches.

To date 3011 CDWs had been deployed in over 2000 wards throughout the country. A further 645 learners were to enter the learnership programme by the end of August. Recently 100 CDWs in the Eastern Cape and 254 in Gauteng had been absorbed into the programme.

Min Fraser-Moleketi said that terms of reference had been developed for the Citizen Relations Portal (CRP) project. This would enable citizens to access certain information. Initially the services of the Departments of Home Affairs and Social Development would be placed on the system. Home Affairs already had the “Who I am online” project in process. This created user authentication for online service transactions. The Track and Trace system had been implemented at all offices. The first phase of the system had been integrated. A pilot of receipt printers had been conducted. The passport system computer hardware had been upgraded. The upgrade should be complete by March 2008. Terms of reference for the CRP had been established. An in-depth study had been conducted and the stability of the operational network would be improved. A system would be created to track asylum seekers.

She continued by discussing transversal systems. In terms of integrated planning, there was harmony between the National Spatial Development Perspective (NSDP), the Provincial Growth and Development Strategies and Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) in all thirteen districts. Reports were being finalised. Copies of the NSDP had been distributed to all national and provincial departments as well as municipalities. IDPs had been adopted by all municipalities by the end of July, the first time since their introduction that a 100% adoption rate had been achieved.

The Minister said that in terms of monitoring and evaluation (M&E), a mid-term review had been launched on 21 June. This publication had been provided to key opinion makers, policy analysts, national departments, provincial directors-general and Premiers. It was also available at public libraries and Parliament, and would be given to provincial Heads of Department. Two national and three provincial focus groups on M&E needs analysis procedures had taken place. Planning was being done for training to be provided by higher education institutions. A reference group was being established for curriculum development. The SAMDI would host an M&E Learning Network Seminar during October 2007. The National Statistical System had conducted audits of the statistical capacity of various national departments. The South African Statistical Quality Assessment Framework had been developed.

Min Fraser-Moleketi noted that President Mbeki had stated in his 2007 State of the Nation Address that government would be finalising the legislation for the single public service. The July Cabinet Legkotla had instructed the Department of Public Service and Administration to consult with all stake-holders. There had been some speculation and differences in understanding of the situation. It was therefore to reinforce central tents of the single public service. The initiative was directly informed by the Reconstruction and Development Programme, the macro-economic framework and the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative. It was directly focused on decentralising government services for the benefit of the citizens of the country.

She said that there were different views on what was involved. The media could engage with these now. It was important to create a culture of service delivery. Integrated planning was needed. A framework for policy had to be created. A single management service would be established. They needed to address the staff shortage.

Questions by the Media

Mr Michael Hamlyn (I-Net Bridge) asked the Minister of Home Affairs how the turnaround plan was progressing. He also asked what the Minister’s plans were for the housing of refugees from Zimbabwe.

Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula (Minister of Home Affairs) was happy with the progress with the turnaround plan. This was being led by a partnership with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). In the next few days the Director-General would host a major media briefing to reflect on his first 100 days in office. This would elaborate on various matters, such as the report of the task team. There would be enlightenment on some areas of service delivery and long term plans. One critical area was the Track and Trace project. She believed that this had been a major success. Member of the public could follow the progress of any application made since 9 February 2007 by accessing the website. It was not perfect, but was already reducing the length of queues at DHA offices. It had initially been envisaged as a management tool. The project was helping with the production of identity documents. It helped with the detection of corruption, as there was a clear view of who had done what with each application. It was helping resolve the challenges faced by the Department. There was a chain of accountability. There would be some satisfaction by the end of the year.

She continued that there was no plan to establish a refugee camp for Zimbabweans. There was clearly a problem in Zimbabwe; otherwise there would be no need for the President to mediate. There was a current problem due to the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy. However, the South African government could not impose refugee status on Zimbabwean citizens. There was a need to find ways to accommodate these people who were leaving their country due to the economic situation. The establishment of a refugee camp would act as a pull factor to attract more refugees.

Temporary measures were needed to accommodate the number of Zimbabweans fleeing to South Africa. Temporary residence permits were an option. This would be a decision for DHA to take, but the support of Cabinet would be needed. The number of people involved was clogging the systems. Quick solutions were needed. It was difficult to find a balance between the rule of law and addressing a clear humanitarian crisis. Illegal immigrants were deported, but crossed the border again within two weeks. Combating this problem was throwing money into a bottomless pit. Establishment of refugee camps was the incorrect course of action. The definition of refugee status had to be considered.

Ms Anesea Smith (Die Burger) asked about the investigation into the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Malusi Gigaba. She said that it had been months since the Minister had undertaken to conduct this investigation into the misuse of funds, and asked if there was a progress report. She also asked if the Auditor General was conducting an independent investigation.

The moderator, Mr Thabo Masebe (Government Communication and Information Services) said that he would not allow the third question to be posed. This was purely a departmental issue and was not relevant to the cluster briefing. The journalist would have to discuss this issue with the Minister outside of this briefing.

Min Mapisa-Nqakula said that she had dealt with the question in the same way. Mr Louw of the DA had raised the same question. She was preparing both oral and written replies. This information would be distributed to the media when ready. It was not fair that she had to attend the briefing on the work of government in difficult situations and then to be exposed to questions by the media in other areas.

Ms Smith said that Mr Louw had received his information from the media.

Ms Rajat Azzakana (Die Burger) asked about the report on alleged misconduct in the public service.

Min Fraser-Moleketi replied that this issue was not to be dealt with centrally. A response from across government was needed. Financial controls were under the control of accounting officers. The report reflected broad progress. The Executive had not engaged with the detail of report yet. The Chairperson of the Public Service Commission had circulated the report to the public service as a whole. The report acknowledged the existence of the problem, but also reflected progress.

Another Die Burger journalist asked Mr S Mufamadi (Minister of Provincial and Local Government) why there were no ward committees in Ekurhuleni and Cape Town. She asked if there was any reaction to the Ward Forum system used in Cape Town. She asked why cellular telephones were being given to Ward Committee members and CDWs, and asked who was paying for this.

Min Mufamadi replied that he had received a report on the Ward Committees. The establishment rate was 90%, as reflected in the report. This had increased since the report had been published, and committees had now been established in Ekurhuleni. This was the preferred system of organising public participation in local government. Cape Town had chosen a different system. The Local Government Amendment Bill would capture the general sentiment. An interactive system of local government was serving people around the country. Parliament would debate the question of making the Ward Committee system compulsory, and this debate would resolve the issue.

Min Fraser-Moleketi added that CDWs around the country needed to be accessible. They were generally employed in the poorest areas. Communication was critical, and they were often the lifeblood in disaster situations. It was therefore essential that they have access to cellular telephones. This issue had often been discussed at round table meetings. The approach was that the Department of Communications would approach the mobile networks for the provision of handsets, and that the provision of laptop computers would allow CDWs to have internet access. With the Track and Trace project in place, this would enable CDWs to be able to tap into the system wherever they found themselves. The situation would be monitored and the amounts spent on work-related matters to personal usage would be watched. There was no budget line at local level, and expenses would be paid by the provinces. The inclusion of Ward Committee members in the project was a pilot programme.

Ms Amy Musgrave (Business Day) asked if the investigation into the number of provinces was still ongoing. She asked why the concept of the single public service had been referred to Nedlac, which was an independent forum.

Min Mufamadi replied that his department was not investigating a possible reduction in the number of provinces. A policy process had been launched on government policy on provincial government. A white paper on the issue of local government had been put out. This had led to a battery of local government legislation. Structures had been set out. Local government was only one sphere. Government had reflected on the experience of thirteen years of democratic government. On 31 July a policy process had been launched. A white paper had been formulated on provincial government with a review of the current situation. Public discourse would be generated. This was a national priority and occupied a number of programmes. He was looking to improve the functions of Local Government.

Min Fraser-Moleketi said that this was not a new issue. The question of the single public service had been referred to Nedlac, and this was built into the design. Government had met with the unions the previous day. They had been briefed on the overall document. Consultations had been held in the Eastern Cape two weeks previously. The investigation had a far-reaching nature. There was an approach of the best use of human resources. They would engage in an intensive approach for a twelve-week period. Using Nedlac would help.

Mr Mpumelelo Mkhabela (Sunday Times) asked the Min of Home Affairs about the refugees from Zimbabwe. Government had published a list of skills in demand from which skilled immigrants were “imported”. He asked if it was part of the plan to make the plan flexible. He asked if there was a reasonable analysis of how long the Zimbabwe problem would exist. On the subject of the public service, he asked about progress with the e-government project. He asked if DHA would use the portal to track services. He asked if there were previous systems, and what had happened to these.

Mr Maseba said that some things still had to be discussed.

Min Mapisa-Nqakula replied that a quota list existed. Some 35 thousand people could get work permits without having first secured a job. Some Zimbabweans would be able to take advantage of this. Public awareness was needed. Some Zimbabweans would be worthy employees. One of the requirements was to find the skills, then permits could be issued. A person leaving home not under extreme duress would take all necessary documents with them. The South African Qualification Authority could set some sort of test of skill. Nobody knew how long the current crisis would continue. Resolution would be found at the South African Development Community summit. She felt that Zimbabweans would return home once normality had been restored.

Min Fraser-Moleketi said that some information on the portal had already been provided. There was a specific question on the DHA portal. Information was available on government portals. A gateway had been launched, and this was the first phase. The next step was an interactive phase which was now being developed. It was a catalyst project. The initiatives were there, but content was an issue.

An unidentified journalist asked if the Public Service Act made provision for salaries to be docked, as was the case with the recently dismissed Deputy Minister of Health. She asked if it was legal to reclaim money five years after alleged incorrect payments had been made.

Ms Fraser-Moleketi said that during industrial action a no-work-no-pay provision had applied. The magnetic tape had been run and full payment had been made. The tape had been run again, and all incorrectly paid salaries had been reclaimed. Generally departments could make deductions, especially in cases where overpayments had been made. A letter had been sent to affected employees, and this was nothing new. The five-year delay was not an issue. Persons owing money had to pay up. When a public servant left government employee left the service while still owing money, the government could lodge a claim against his or her pension.

Mr Paulo Vadualla (IT Web) referred to the test case with CDWs in the Eastern Cape. He asked how many were involved, and which company. Information on the CRP was very thin, and had no value to community workers.

Ms Fraser-Moleketi said there was a team looking at content. Continual updates were being made. They were trying to get feedback on the CDWs. Information was available on the companies available. The Ministry had numbers for the Gauteng companies, but did not want to misinform the public.

The briefing was adjourned.

Appendix:
G&A CLUSTER MEDIA BRIEFING ON THE PROGRAMME OF ACTION

Tuesday, 28 August 2007, 14h00 – 15h30, Cape Town

INTRODUCTION

In my last briefing on the Programme of Action, I gave a broad overview of the work in the cluster as an introduction to the report.

Since then it is gratifying to be able to report that a number of projects are gathering momentum.

Perhaps the most far-reaching project that we are currently engaged in is the Single Public Service. This project is proceeding apace and I will come back to this at the end of my briefing.

Other projects that are notable for their progress, are the implementation of Batho Pele within local government, the re-engineering of SAMDI, initiatives in building capacity in local government, and the successful implementation of the Community Development Worker programme across the county and the re-engineering of SAMDI, the South African Management Development Institute, to mention just some.

There is a thread that runs through these projects – the thread is that we are building capacity - we are beginning to see our vision of a responsive, accessible and developmental public service become a reality.

The G&A Cluster strives to improve the quality of life of the people by improving governance, the capacity and organisation of the state and its underlying systems.  The Cluster’s priorities derive from Government’s commitment to improve its service to the people as embodied in the 2004 electoral mandate.

Following the January 2007 Cabinet Lekgotla and the President’s State of the Nation Address on 9 February 2007, the Cluster developed a Programme of Action (POA) for implementation of the mandate.  The Cluster has four priorities: 

· Promoting good governance;

· Strengthening the capacity of the state;

· Achieving and maintaining the optimal organisation of the state; and

· Developing and enhancing the state’s transversal systems.

Government’s POA for 2007 was approved by Cabinet on 5 March.  The briefing on the first report of the Cluster took place on 10 May.  The briefing on the second report took place on 3 July.  This is the briefing on the third report for 2007, finalised by Cabinet on 22 August 2007.

PROGRESS REPORT FOR JULY – AUGUST 2007

Good Governance

Anti-Corruption

A draft anti-corruption communication strategy has been developed to maximize communication campaigns of the implementation of the Local Government Anti-corruption strategy. An Ethics Manual is being developed and the training of municipal officials in the 27 districts will commence during the third quarter of 2007.

Gender and Disability

The Head of Department’s Eight Principle Action Plan for Promoting Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality in the Public Service Workplace has been developed and was launched in August 2007. Indicators for a gender audit of departments have been developed and the audit will be conducted across all departments during October-November 2007. The indicators for the social audit and barriers analysis on the employment of disabled people in the public service have been developed.  

Batho Pele

A target of 100 municipalities was set for training the trainers in the Batho Pele Change Management Engagement for the 2007/08 financial year. Already 182 municipalities have been reached and 15 high level management presentations have been made. A monitoring and evaluation system is being developed to ensure further rollout of the Batho Pele Change Management Programme within Municipalities.

The model and implementation plan has been developed for the massification of the induction of 100 000 new public servants. The core budget has been approved. The first draft of the manual for junior and middle managers’ induction has been completed and is being circulated for comments. Training will begin with a pilot in two provinces (Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal) in November 2007 and will be rolled out to all national and provincial departments early in 2008. To date a total of 3030 officials have been trained by the SAMDI and 32 956 by other service providers using the common Learning Framework.

Public Participation

A Presidential Imbizo was held in the Western Cape Province on 21 – 22 of July 2007. Various forums focused on the development and reconstruction of the province and intergovernmental cooperation.  An Imbizo Focus Week will be held from 22-27 October to heighten communication on the implementation of government programme of action.

Ninety-six percent of ward committees have been established country-wide except for Ekurhuleni and City of Cape Town municipalities. Five out of nine modules of the training material for ward committees have been finalized. The launch of the training programme for ward committees is envisaged for September 2007 and training will commence in October 2007.

The rollout of cellular phones for ward committees and Community Development Workers (CDWs) will be piloted with OR Tambo District in the Eastern Cape as they complied with stipulations.

Capacity of the State

Local Government Strategic Agenda

The national and provincial Monitoring and Evaluating Forums have been established in all nine provinces. There are challenges (approval of new posts, financial constraints and staff turnover) in the filling of posts for Monitoring and Evaluation units in the Offices of the Premier and the Provincial Departments of Local Government.

The compilation of Skills Audit Toolkits for phase one of the skills audit has commenced. A discussion document towards a National Training and Development Strategy for Local Government has been compiled and is being consulted upon.

Out of 283 municipalities, 141 were identified for hands-on support for the implementation of the Performance Management System (PMS).  A draft implementation Strategy for the PMS has been developed and visits are being undertaken to provinces to validate results of the PMS audit.

A review is currently being undertaken of the skills programmes in 14 districts. A draft Professionalisation Framework and Implementation Plan have been compiled and are being consulted on. A Deployment Management Framework has been finalized and distributed to all deploying stakeholders. Three hundred and six (306) individuals with various technical expertise have been deployed to over 90 municipalities since 2005.

Consultation on the National Programme of Support to Traditional Leaders has been finalized in all provinces. Provinces have also agreed to participate in the National Programme and they have been requested to submit their costed Provincial Programmes of Support to feed into the costing of the National Programme of Support before the programme is submitted to Cabinet for final approval.

The Local Government Laws Amendment Bill was approved by Cabinet on the 26^th of June 2007, for introduction into Parliament. To date Rule 159 letters have been sent to Parliament; the Rule 241(1) (c) Notice was published; the Bill, the Afrikaans/Zulu versions and the Cabinet minutes approving the Bill were sent to the State Law Advisors prior to 13 July 2007. The Bill has been certified by the State Law Advisors and it has been successfully introduced to Parliament.

Skills Development

The draft Leadership Development Strategic Framework (LDMS) contains the revised version of the SMS Competency Framework, and will be launched for consultation during the SMS Conference in September.  The framework will be finalized in February for implementation from April 2008. The Human Resource Development Strategy (HRD) for the Public Service has been approved in principle. A National Steering Committee to oversee implementation was launched in June. A pilot project in Gauteng province has been finalized.

Plans are progressing to establish a Government-SETA (Sector Education and Training Authority) Forum with SETAs operating in the government sector. The aim of the Forum is to enhance and coordinate the Annual Training Reports, the Workplace Skills Plans and Sector Skills Plans. A Graduate Development Programme has been initiated with the SAMDI to accelerate the implementation of the Internship and Learnership Programmes.

Capacity Building

The implementation of Cabinet’s decision to establish a Public Service Academy is continuing and negotiations with unions have resumed following public service industrial action. An integrated curriculum development framework for the new Academy is being developed and is being supported by a national expert in curriculum development. The learning framework strategy will be discussed with stakeholders in the next workshop with provincial academies and other partners.

The Accelerated Development Programme (ADP) commenced on August 2006 and the first cohort completed the Advanced Phase in July. Seventy-seven (77) of the 110 participants have qualified to proceed to the Executive Phase (Executive Development Programme (EDP) .Initial training on the Web Course Tools has been conducted  and an initial training session was held on 1-3 August. It is anticipated that the next cohort of the ADP will commence in April 2008.

A total number of 1043 officials were trained in Supply Chain Management from national and provincial departments between January to July 2007. A total of 1290 municipal officials were trained by July. There is a sustained demand for Supply Chain Management training from local government. The development of an e-Learning programme for Bid Committee members will be completed by August 2007 and rolled out by September 2007. A high-level introductory course on Supply Chain Management was presented to Members of Parliament in July.

The target for anti-corruption training of 10 sessions has been exceeded by five sessions. An accredited training manual for gender mainstreaming has been developed. Training on disability management in the workplace was delivered in 10 municipalities in the reporting period. A total of 18 municipalities have been trained and the target has been exceeded. Twenty officials from SAPS Head Office were trained in disability management.

Macro Organization of the State

Single Public Service

The July Cabinet Lekgotla approved that consultations on the Single Public Service Bill should commence. A communication strategy has been developed and is being implemented. Workshops were held in 14 departments and 16 municipalities and 8 other information sessions were held.Work on a cost/benefit analysis with costing scenarios for the Single Public Service is underway. 

Integrated Service Delivery

Norms and standards for service delivery at Thusong Centres have been developed as part of the service level agreements with departmental and other service providers. These service providers will be trained in the Batho Pele principles. A basket of key services has been identified for Thusong Centres.

A national conference of Community Development Workers (CDWs) took place in June to share experience and analyse opportunities and challenges around the community development programme.  In July 2007 a roundtable meeting was held to develop relationships and build partnerships for the purpose of creating integrated and coordinated improved service delivery approaches. 

To date 3011 CDWs are deployed in over 2000 wards across the country.  A further 645 learners will enter the learnership programme by the end of August 2007.  Recently 100 CDWs in the Eastern Cape and 254 in Gauteng completed their learnership programme and have been absorbed into the CDW programme. 

E-Government Projects

Terms of reference have been developed for the Citizen Relations Portal (CRP) project, which aims to establish a service that allows citizens to make enquiries about the progress of service delivery affecting them.  It is planned initially to include the services of the Departments of Home Affairs and Social Development in the system.

Who I am online is a project of the Department of Home Affairs that seeks to create user authentication for online service transactions. The Track and Trace system has been implemented in all offices. A pilot of receipt printers has been conducted. The passport system computer hardware has been upgraded.

Transversal Systems

Integrated Planning

The pilot project for the harmonization of the National Spatial Development Perspective (NSDP), Provincial Growth and Development Strategies (PGDSs) and Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) has been concluded in all 13 districts.  Reports on the outcomes from each district are being finalized.

Copies of the NSDP have also been distributed to all national and provincial departments and municipalities. The Integrated Development Plans were adopted by all municipalities as at the end of July 2007 which represents the first 100% adoption rate since the introduction of IDPs.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The Mid-Term Review was launched on 21 June. The publication was provided in advance to key opinion makers and policy analysts. The publication was distributed to all national departments, provincial DGs and Premiers. The publication is currently being distributed to all libraries as well as provincial heads of department. Copies were also delivered to Parliament.

As part of the process of establishing the capacity requirements for M&E in government, two national and three provincial focus groups on M&E training needs analysis have taken place. Research on the provision of M&E programmes by Higher Education Institutions and other providers has been undertaken. A reference group for curriculum development, implementation and review is being established. The SAMDI will host an M&E Learning Network Seminar in October 2007.        

The National Statistical System has conducted audits of the statistical capacity of the Departments of Transport, Labour, Minerals and Energy and Environmental Affairs and Tourism.  Registers of the Department of Education are being reviewed to ensure that quality data can be obtained.  Work on definitions of the Compendium of Indicators has started.  The South African Statistical Quality Assessment Framework (SASQAF), which sets statistical and methodological quality standards for surveys, has been developed.

SINGLE PUBLIC SERVICE

In the 2007 State of the Nation Address, President Mbeki announced that in this year government will be finalising the legislation for the single public service.  In the July Cabinet Lekgotla instructed the Department of Public Service and Administration (dpsa) to consult with all stakeholders before the Bill will be presented to Parliament.

There has been a fair degree of speculation by various stakeholders on government’s effort to have a single public service.  Differing understanding of the concept of a single public service and its intentions exists in certain quarters, especially in the National Assembly debate on the Public Service Amendment bill in June this year.

Thus it is of importance to reinforce central tenets of the single public service.  Government remains committed to integrated development through integrated service delivery.  The concepts of integrated development and service delivery may be found within the Constitutional framework of co-operative governance.  Furthermore, all the initiatives and framework policies of government have centred on the fight against poverty and for sustainable economic growth to the benefit of all South Africans.  The single public service is an initiative that is directly informed by the Reconstruction and Development Programme, our macro-economic framework and the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative (ASGI-SA).  The single public service is directly focused on decentralising government services so that they can be easily and simply accessed by the citizenry.     

Frequently Asked Questions will be distributed for the information of the media.