PRESENTATION BY THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION TO THE GOVERNMENT

LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

PROF R LEVIN, DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC

SERVICE COMMISSION

3 APRIL 2013

2

OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION

1. Key message

2. The Public Service Commission

3. State of the Public Service o Professional ethics

o Efficiency, economy and effectiveness

o Development-oriented public administration

o Impartiality, fairness and equity

o Public participation

o Accountability

o Transparency

o Good HR and career management

o Representivity

4. Challenges to overcome to become a developmental state:

Initial thoughts

KEY MESSAGE

• The performance of the South African public service remains

disappointing. It continues to struggle to meet the

developmental challenge.

• Weak managerial and supervisory systems, especially in the

areas of Human Resource and Financial Management are

major concerns. Ineffective institutional arrangements and

macro-capacity issues impact on the ability of government to

achieve its objectives.

• Key challenges:

1. Prioritise the public good

2. Strive for excellence

3. Learn by thinking and doing

4. Use human resources effectively

3

The Public Service Commission

4

MANDATE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

• The Public Service Commission (PSC)– o is established in terms of the

Constitution; o promotes and maintains effective and

efficient public administration with a high standard of professional ethics;

• The PSC proposes measures to ensure effective and efficient performance within the public service.

• It provides an evaluation of the extent to which the values and principles set out in section 195 are complied with.

• It may also issue directions regarding compliance with personnel procedures relating to recruitment, transfers, promotions and dismissals.

Professional ethics

Efficient, economic and effective use of resources

A development-orientated public administration

Provision of services in an impartial, fair and equitable way

Public Participation

Accountability

Transparency

Good HR management and career-development practices

Representivity

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6

THE PSC’S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT (1) P

AR

LIA

MEN

T • The PSC is accountable to the National Assembly and interacts with Parliament and Provincial Legislatures regularly, reporting on its activities and the performance of its functions.

• The PSC conducts evidence-based research, monitoring and evaluation involving the gathering and collation of qualitative and quantitative data on public administration for use by the Legislatures and the Executive.

EXEC

UTI

VE

• The PSC has developed a complex and unique relationship with the Executive compared with other Institutions Supporting Democracy. The Executive has requested the PSC to participate in interventions, conduct investigations and provide advice on various aspects of public administration.

• The PSC is supported by an Office which has the status of a Public Service Department. The PSC’s budget is appropriated via the MPSA.

• Strictly speaking the PSC does not have an oversight mandate over the Executive, but rather over the administrative apparatuses that report to it.

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THE PSC’S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT (2) • The PSC is the body empowered and obliged by the Constitution to oversee

and evaluate the functioning of the Public Service. • There are areas where the PSC, Auditor-General (AG), DPSA, National

Treasury and DPME appear to be performing similar functions. • The DPSA provides policy-making support to the MPSA, who is responsible

for establishing norms and standards • The DPME derives its M&E mandate from the Constitution which states that

the President exercises executive authority, together with the other members of the Cabinet, by coordinating the functions of state departments and administrations.

• The functions of the PSC are different from those of the Public Protector and AG. Inherent in the functions of the Public Protector is the 'investigation of sensitive and potentially embarrassing affairs of government', whilst the AG has a crucial role in 'ensuring that there is openness, accountability and propriety in the use of public funds'. The PSC’s function is in the main supervisory, advisory and monitoring.

• The PSC has entered into Memoranda of Understanding with the AG and the Public Protector.

REFLECTING ON THE INSTITUTIONAL ARCHITECTURE AT THE CENTRE OF GOVERNMENT

• One of the challenges highlighted later in this presentation is the need to reflect critically on institutional arrangements and to consider the ways in which these impact negatively on performance and contribute to the current situation.

• The PSC is itself a useful case study:

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The State of the Public Service Barometer

9

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• Financial Disclosure Framework o All members of the Senior Management Service are required to disclose

the particulars of all their registrable interests (e.g. companies and properties) to their respective Executive Authorities by not later than 30 April each year.

o The compliance rate by the due date has improved. o While there has been an improvement, only 100% compliance is

acceptable!

A HIGH STANDARD OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

48% 49% 47%

68% 74%

• Financial Disclosure Framework (cont)

o As at 31 May 2012, only 77 out of 159 national and provincial departments had a 100% compliance rate.

11

National/ Province 2010/11 2011/12

National Departments 62% 67% Eastern Cape 67% 74% Free State 43% 64% Gauteng 89% 99% Kwazulu-Natal 74% 89% Limpopo 89% 96% Mpumalanga 87% 96% Northern Cape 75% 100% North West 28% 27% Western Cape 100% 100% COUNTRY TOTAL 68% 74%

A HIGH STANDARD OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

• Financial Disclosure Framework (cont)

Scrutiny of financial disclosures for the 2011/12 financial year in selected national and provincial departments:

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Nat/Prov No of SMS members

% of Potential Conflicts of Interest

Correlation between Official Responsibilities and Private Company

Many Companies

National 582 31.0% 24.7% 16.2% Eastern Cape 176 34.7% 12.5% 18.8% Free State 47 27.7% 6.4% 17.0% Gauteng 285 35.8% 18.6% 21.4% Limpopo 189 33.9% 20.6% 24.9% KwaZulu-Natal 139 23.0% 15.8% 9.4% Mpumalanga 96 39.6% 36.5% 25.0% Northern Cape 64 28.1% 20.3% 17.2% North West 41 48.8% 34.1% 22.0% Western Cape 94 16.0% 11.7% 9.6% GRAND TOTAL 1713 30.6% 20.8% 18.0%

A HIGH STANDARD OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

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A HIGH STANDARD OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

• Financial Disclosure Framework (cont)

o The NDP has recommended that rules restricting the business

interests of public servants be made more specific and clear. It

recommended a study to investigate expanding the existing

regulations and improving the institutional processes and capacity to

manage the rules.

o In December 2012 Cabinet approved a recommendation by the PSC to

prohibit public servants from doing business with Government.

• The National Anti-Corruption Hotline (0800 701 701) was established in September 2004 for reporting corruption in the Public Service and is managed by the PSC.

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Succ

ess

es A total of 1499 officials were

charged with misconduct for corrupt activities. This led to 603 officials dismissed; 226 suspended; 134 receiving fines; 16 demoted; 330 given final written warnings; and 190 prosecuted. A total of R120 million has also been recovered as a result of work done through the NACH.

Ch

alle

nge

s A lack of investigative capacity by departments who do not have appropriate structures or specialized units to deal with NACH cases.

The success of the NACH is largely dependent on the extent to which feedback to callers is provided. The feedback rate is, however, low.

A HIGH STANDARD OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

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• National Anti-Corruption Hotline (NACH)

o Cases received by the NACH since its inception up to January 2013:

A HIGH STANDARD OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

DEPARTMENT CASES REFERRED % FEEDBACK % CASES CLOSED

National departments 5156 55% 46% Eastern Cape 554 85% 22% Free State 263 35% 17% Gauteng 1499 54% 38% KwaZulu-Natal 560 44% 20% Limpopo 400 56% 41% Mpumalanga 976 75% 55% North West 376 43% 28% Northern Cape 101 44% 35% Western Cape 391 98% 12% Public Entities 1337 33% 31% TOTAL 11613 55% 39%

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• Financial Misconduct

R 0.0

R 500.0

R 1 000.0

R 1 500.0

2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

R 1

30

.6

R 2

1.7

R 1

00

.1

R 3

46

.5

R 9

32

.3

R 2

29

.9

10

42

86

8

12

04

11

35

10

35

12

43

Cost of financial misconduct per financial year No of cases

The number of cases of financial misconduct reported to the PSC by national and provincial departments is low given the high rate of unauthorised, irregular and fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

Increase in the cost of financial misconduct from 2006/07 to 2010/11. Insufficient investigative capacity.

A HIGH STANDARD OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

• Financial Misconduct (cont): Cost of financial misconduct

Nat/prov Amount % not recovered

2010/11 2011/12 2010/11 2011/12 National R181 768 966 R149 407 627 96.8% 10.0% EC R147 035 R13 486 132 83.2% 76.1% FS R741 943 R1 850 953 70.8% 22.9% GP R20 496 858 R14 135 915 90.1% 42.0% KZN R14 782 985 R39 044 977 11.9% 96.1% LP R16 123 115 R2 194 429 100.0% 49.1% Mpu R21 872 604 R3 829 365 92.0% 73.2% NW R673 821 980 R731 536 100.0% 52.6% NC R1 143 642 R486 907 99.8% 92.2% WC R1 127 694 R4 698 921 91.2% 72.9% TOTAL R932 276 822 R229 866 763 98.9% 33.6%

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o However, the recovery of the value of the loss or damage associated with financial misconduct has not necessarily taken place at the time of reporting to the PSC.

A HIGH STANDARD OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

• Financial Misconduct (cont): Salary levels (cont.) o It is worrying that over the years there has been a steady increase in the

number of SMS members charged with financial misconduct

18

0

200

400

600

800

1000

Salary levels 1-8 MiddleManagement

Salary levels 13-16

Notindicated/Other

73

0

97

21

20

65

2

10

6

40

40

6

68

9

16

6

43

23

7

83

8

12

6

48

13

54

1

18

1

60

46

1

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

A HIGH STANDARD OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

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• Expenditure vs performance

The % of national and provincial departments that managed to achieve more than 80% of their planned targets declined from 9% to 4% from the 2010/11 to the 2011/12 financial year.

EFFICIENT, ECONOMIC AND EFFECTIVE USE OF RESOURCES

0% 50% 100%

2010/11

2011/12

9%

4%

64%

72%

26%

24%

80% and above ofpredetermined targetsachieved

Between 50% to 79% ofpredetermined targetsachieved

Below 49% of ofpredetermined targetsachieved

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MUST BE DEVELOPMENT ORIENTED

• Poverty Headcount

o There is a decline in the proportion of the population living below R422 a month.

o With regard to delivery in relation to need less people are poor but there is still a very high proportion of people living in poverty.

o This outcome is largely related to the “social wage” – social grants and access to services.

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0%

20%

40%

60%

1994 1998 2009

poverty Headcount at R422 a month

• Population that received social grants, relief assistance or social relief

o Individuals in the Eastern Cape (38,5%), Limpopo (38,1%) and Northern Cape (37,7%) are most likely to be grant beneficiaries.

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PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MUST BE DEVELOPMENT ORIENTED

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

WC EC NC FS KZN NW GP MPU LIMP

Tho

usa

nd

• Access to sanitation

o The percentage of households per province that did not have access to any toilet facilities or were still using bucket toilets in 2011:

o Overall, the percentage of households that had no toilet facility/used bucket toilets has declined over the period 2002 to 2011 across all provinces.

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PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MUST BE DEVELOPMENT ORIENTED

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

WC EC NC FS KZN NW GP MPU LIMP

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• Audit Outcomes for national and provincial departments

Improvement in the percentage of financially unqualified audit opinions.

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Financially unq, no findings

Financially unq, with findings

Qualified

Disclaimer

Audit not finalised at legislated date

8%

62%

23%

4%

3%

11%

56%

25%

3%

4%

15%

55%

22%

6%

1% 2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE

• Evaluation of Heads of Department (HoDs) o EAs and HoDs should visibly support performance management

processes and ensure that this cascades down to other levels in the SMS, if the principle of accountability is to be achieved in the Public Service.

o There has been a steady decline in the number of HoDs evaluated over the past five years. Measures were put in place to fast track the evaluations for the 2010/11 and 2011/12 evaluation cycles.

o Compliance levels at national and provincial level as at April 2013:

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PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE

0%

20%

40%

60%

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12

53%

27% 19%

28% 18%

• Filing of Performance Agreements of HoDs

o HoDs in the Public Service are required to enter into Performance Agreements (PAs) with their EAs. The PAs of HoDs must be filed with the PSC by June of each year.

o The overall compliance rate for the submission of Performance Agreements (PAs) of HoDs by the due date of 30 June 2012 was 65%.

o Overall there has been improvement in the compliance rate.

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PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE

0% 50% 100%

65% 18% 17%

PA submitted bythe due date

PA submitted afterthe due date

No PA submitted

• Accessibility of the Manual on Access to Information on Departmental Website

o The Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000, Act 2 of 2000, gives effect to the Constitutional right of access to information held by the State and any information that is held by another person that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights.

o As at July 2012, the Manual on Access to Information of only 31% of departments were easily accessible on their departmental websites.

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TRANSPARENCY

0% 50% 100%

31% 13% 55%

Easily accessible

Requires search

Not found

GOOD HR PRACTICES

• Vacancy Rate - Professionals and Senior Managers

o As at 30 June 2012, almost 80% of all national and provincial departments had a vacancy rate of above 10% in respect of professionals and senior managers.

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0% 50% 100%

22% 52% 26%

0% - >10% vacancyrate

10% - >30% vacancyrate

o Although the vacancy rate is high, organograms are not always fully funded.

o The NDP recommendations that the Public Service Act be amended to locate the responsibility for HR management with HoDs. This should assist in filling posts quicker.

• Average length of time in months to fill a post

o The average length of time to fill posts in more than 70% of national and provincial departments is more than 9 months.

o The long time taken to fill vacancies impacts on service delivery.

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GOOD HR PRACTICES

0% 50% 100%

15% 13% 72%

0 to >6months

6 months to>9 months

Above 9months

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• Management of discipline

Discipline is not managed effectively, due to inadequate capacity to chair disciplinary hearings and represent departments. This results in long periods of precautionary suspension.

Analysis of the 2010/11 and 2011/12 annual reports of 77 national and provincial departments, shows that the number of departments that suspend employees for periods exceeding 60 days are increasing.

0% 50% 100%

2010/11

2011/12

26%

23%

15%

13%

59%

64%

Average days on suspension60 days and below

Average days on suspensionbetween 61 - 90 days

Average days on suspension91 days and longer

GOOD HR PRACTICES

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY • Representivity with regard to women and people with disabilities still lags

behind the set numeric targets, but the Public Service continues to keep this priority on the agenda.

• People with disabilities

The Public Service is still grappling with the employment of people with disabilities.

As at 31 July 2012, a total of 15 National and Provincial departments exceeded the target of 2% for people with disabilities.

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0% 50% 100%

10% 32% 58%

2% and above

1% – 1.9%

Below 1%

Challenges: Becoming a developmental state

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Prioritise the public good

• Current practices allow personal benefits and sectional interests to be prioritised.

• Experience shows that an overarching ethos of prioritising the public good needs to take hold.

• This requires the formulation of clear national goals that can serve as guiding framework for action.

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Strive for excellence

• Many drivers in the public service managerial system inadvertently discourage excellence and promote mediocrity.

• The public service needs to develop a commitment to excellence and this needs to accompany the creation of an elite bureaucracy: African mandarins.

• It needs to be influential and prestigious to work.

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Learning by thinking and doing

• Government has developed a practice of outsourcing its cognitive work: its thinking is being done by consultants.

• A practice needs to emerge in which initiatives are improved by trial and error; we need to get better at learning by doing.

• This is the role of M&E: it should support, not lead.

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Use HR effectively

• Current practices see the wrong people being appointed into positions. This is in many instances a consequence of processes designed to facilitate transformation and these now need amendment.

• Centralisation and regulation of recruitment is needed and entrance examinations need to be introduced.

• Career progression needs better management.

• Employees need to feel supported (and not disposable) for the public service to become an authentic employer of choice.

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CONCLUSION

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37 37

PSC Website: www.psc.gov.za

National Anti-Corruption Hotline for the Public Service: 0800 701 701