The South African Human Rights Commission
Strategic Plan: 2012-2015
Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development
Contents
1. Introductory remarks
2. Strategic Plan: 2012-2015
3. Annual Performance Plan: 2012/13
4. Budget: 2012/13
5. Conclusion
Strategic Plan 2012-2015Mission and Vision
VisionTransforming society. Securing rights. Restoring dignity.
MissionThe Commission as the independent national human rights institution is created to support constitutional democracy through promoting, protecting and monitoring the attainment of everyone’s human rights in South Africa without fear, favour or prejudice.
ValuesIntegrity, honesty, respect, objectivity, Batho Pele principles and equality
CommissionersStrategic Focus Areas
Commissioner Strategic Focus Area Province UN Treaty Bodies
Chairperson, M L Mushwana
Asylum Seekers, Migration and Counteracting Xenophobia , Housing and Equality
Northern Cape and Mpumalanga
Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
Deputy Chairperson, P Govender
Basic Services, Access to information
Western CapeConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
L Mokate Children, Basic Education Free State Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
B Malatji Disability, Older PersonsNorth West and Limpopo
Convention on the Rights of persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
S Baai Food, Health Care Eastern Cape
J Love (part-time)
Environment, Natural Resources, Rural Development
Kwa-Zulu NatalInternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
D Titus (part-time)
Human rights and Law Enforcement, Prevention of Torture
GautengConvention against Torture (CAT); International Covenant Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)
Strategic Outcome Oriented Goals
Strategic Outcome Oriented Goal 1 Improve the quality of complaints handling
Goal Statement Revise the complaints handling mechanism to enable
greater access to and protection of rights, particularly by the most vulnerable
Strategic Outcome Oriented Goals
Strategic Outcome Oriented Goal 2 Improve the quality of monitoring, evaluation of and
reporting on the realisation of human rights
Goal Statement Streamline the monitoring, evaluation and reporting
processes to effectively measure the realisation of human rights
Strategic Outcome Oriented Goals
Strategic Outcome Oriented Goal 3 Inculcate a culture of human rights through human
rights advocacy
Goal Statement Develop and implement an effective and efficient human
rights advocacy plan
Strategic Outcome Oriented Goals
Strategic Outcome Oriented Goal 4 Strengthen organisational effectiveness and
efficiency
Goal Statement Restructure the Commission to ensure the effective
and efficient utilisation of human and financial resources
Strategic Outcome Oriented Goals
Strategic Outcome Oriented Goal 5 Improve communication and stakeholder engagement
Goal Statement Develop communication tools and key stakeholder
relationships thereby enhancing the credibility, reputation, and accessibility of the Commission
Strategic Objectives2012-2015
Strategic Objective 1 Promote compliance with international obligations
Strategic Objective 2 Position the Commission as the focal point for human rights in South Africa
Strategic Objective 3 Strengthen advocacy and human rights awareness raising
Strategic Objective 4 Advance the realisation of human rights
Strategic Objective 5 Advance the right to equality and access to information
Strategic Objective 6 Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Commission
Performance Overview2011-2012
LEADERSHIPMovement from previous assessment:
1.a Provide effective leadership based on a culture of honesty, ethical business practices and good governance, protecting and enhancing the best interests of the entity
1.b Exercise oversight responsibility regarding financial and performance reporting and compliance and related internal controls
1.c Implement effective HR management to ensure that adequate and sufficiently skilled resources are in place and that performance is monitored
1.d Establish and communicate policies and procedures to enable and support understanding and execution of internal control objectives, processes, and responsibilities
1.e Develop and monitor the implementation of action plans to address internal control deficiencies
1.f Establish an IT governance framework that supports and enables the business, delivers value and improves performance
Performance Overview2011-2012
FINANCIAL AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Movement from previous assessment:
2.a Implement proper record keeping in a timely manner to ensure that complete, relevant and accurate information is accessible and available to support financial and performance reporting
2.b Implement controls over daily and monthly processing and reconciling of transactions
2.c Prepare regular, accurate and complete financial and performance reports that are supported and evidenced by reliable information
2.d Review and monitor compliance with applicable laws and regulations
2.e Design and implement formal controls over IT systems to ensure the reliability of the systems and the availability, accuracy and protection of information
Performance Overview2011-2012
GOVERNANCE
Movement from previous assessment:
3.a Implement appropriate risk management activities to ensure that regular risk assessments, including consideration of IT risks and fraud prevention, are conducted and that a risk strategy to address the risks is developed and monitored
3.b Ensure that there is an adequately resourced and functioning internal audit unit that identifies internal control deficiencies and recommends corrective action effectively
3.c Ensure that the audit committee promotes accountability and service delivery through evaluating and monitoring responses to risks and providing oversight over the effectiveness of the internal control environment including financial and performance reporting and compliance with laws and regulations
An Evolving CommissionFrom rethinking to reimagining the Commission
Rethinking Introspection and analysis Reviewing our mandate and performance Effective utilisation of resources Developing systems and tools Performance-driven
Reimagining Evolving to remain relevant and responsive Long-term planning and analysis Towards a new kind of national human rights institution Setting the benchmark for local and international standards Impact-driven
Annual Performance PlanApril 2012 to March 2013
Alignment with Strategic Objectives Commissioner-driven Annual Performance Plan Integrated planning model from Strategic Plan to individual
performance agreements
Key activities for 2012/13 Implementation of new complaints handling mechanisms Provincial hearings on access to water and sanitation National Conversation on the Right to Food Chairperson of the Network of African National Human Rights
Institutions Chairperson of the Forum for Institutions Supporting Democracy Back-to-basics service delivery programme
Annual Performance PlanBack-to-basics service delivery programme
Defining component of our mandate Protection of human rights
Finalisation of the restructuring project Appointment of a new management team Finalise recruitment process Monitoring and evaluation of the restructuring project
Training the Secretariat Induction of all staff Specialised training for legal and advocacy staff
Annual Performance PlanBuilding on our 2011/12 performance
Complaints Backlog Project Just over 86% of backlog complaints settled Backlog reduced from 2209 to 295 at the end of March 2012
Organisational Performance At the end of 2009/10, performance was at 52% By the end of 2010/11, performance improved to 67% Currently, performance levels are at over 80%
Impact-driven Approach Developed monitoring and evaluation tools S184(3) Report, Equality Report, Focus Area Report
Parliament’s Recommendations 2010 Justice Report to the National Assembly
The Portfolio Committee recommended that:
The Commission should brief it on its Report on Access to Information separately
Consideration is given to identifying ways to generally increase support for the Commissions work
The Committee engages with the Office on Institutions Supporting Democracy and Related Institutions in the Deputy-Speaker’s Office to clarify its role in supporting these institutions.
The Commission is generally under-funded. The Committee supports the need for additional resources to be allocated to it to be able to deliver on its mandate
Parliament’s Recommendations Impact of Parliament’s Recommendations
The Allocation Letter provided for the following:
R1,2 million in 2012/13, R1,3 million in 2013/14 and R1,3 million in 2014/15 allocated to the SAHRC for improved conditions of service
R15 million in 2012/13, R15,8 million in 2013/14 and R16,5 million in 2014/15 allocated to Legal Aid for improved conditions of service
R17 million in 2012/13, R22,1 million in 2013/14 and R27,2 million in 2014/15 allocated to the Public Protector for improved conditions of service
Question: given it’s broad mandate, what can the Human Rights Commission do to ensure that it’s budget is also given the same level of priority as other institutions supporting democracy?
BudgetApril 2012 to March 2013
2011/12 BUDGET 2012/13 BUDGET % INCREASE % ALLOCATION
Personnel
56,103,430
66,270,870 18.12% 65.79%
Commissioners
2,267,650
2,714,044 19.69% 2.69%
CEO
3,033,000
1,273,000 -58.03% 1.26%
Governance
250,450
384,212 53.41% 0.38%
Finance
2,037,000
2,334,750 14.62% 2.32%
Admin & SCM
17,990,951
18,069,068 0.43% 17.94%
HR
2,186,800
2,626,140 20.09% 2.61%
IT
2,140,000
3,434,098 60.47% 3.41%
BudgetApril 2012 to March 2013
2011/12 BUDGET 2012/13 BUDGET % INCREASE % ALLOCATION
PAIA
723,000
759,150 5.00% 0.75%
Legal
686,319
836,767 21.92% 0.83%
Research
930,000
757,500 -18.55% 0.75%
Advocacy
551,400
676,400 22.67% 0.67%
IA
723,000
600,000 -17.01% 0.60%
PIAP
150,000
- -100.00% 0.00%
89,773,000
100,736,000 12.21% 100.00%
BudgetApril 2012 to March 2013
Budget Ideal Budget: R123 million Current budget: R100.736 million Shortfall: R23 million
Rationalisation of Services Focus on human rights violations Scaling down on advocacy and research Developing collaborative relationships with C9s, civil
society and corporate law firms Limitation on international engagements
ConclusionRecommendations and Way Forward
While the Commission is recognised internationally by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as an ‘A’ status institution, as Chair of Network of African National Human Rights Institutions, and has been approached to serve as Chair of the ICC, we do not appear to be given the requisite level of support at a domestic level
Despite the Commission’s consistent improvement in performance, including clean audits, positive quarterly dashboard reports, and an overall increase in performance from 52% to over 80% in less than two years, we remain constrained by our budget
ConclusionRecommendations and Way Forward
In order to achieve its objectives for the 2012/13 financial year, the Commission would like to call upon the Portfolio Committee to: Provide for specific budgetary increases in its report to the NA Support the Commission in hosting a public hearing at
Parliament on access to water and sanitation in March 2013 Assist in increasing support to ISD through the OISD Assist in ensuring that the Commission fulfills its Constitutional
obligations by encouraging government departments to cooperate with the Commission
The Commission acknowledges the efforts of the Portfolio Committee to provide it with additional support, but notes that these efforts have had a limited impact