PRESENTATION TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION Oversight Report on the Verification of Qualifications in the Public Service Service 25 June 2008

OVERVIEW OF THE PRESENTATION Background Aim and Objectives of the Study Methodology Key findings Recommendations Conclusion 2 2

BACKGROUND In 2000 - Minister for Public Service and Administration announced the need for the verification of qualifications of the SMS In terms of Cabinet decision of January 2002, each Accounting Officer must, for his or her department/organization- “Verify the previous employment, qualifications, citizenship, and criminal record of all persons before they are employed” The PSC verified qualifications of the SMS in 2001 and the MMS in 2005 and produced reports on these In 2005 PSC published a set of Guidelines on the Verification of Qualifications in the Public Service The Guidelines detail the verification process and the protocols involved 3 3

AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Assess progress made by departments in verifying the qualifications of employees below level 11 Objectives: Evaluate the status of qualification verification procedures in departments Evaluate progress made with the implementation of the verification procedure Obtain feedback on problems that departments might have encountered during the verification process 4 4

KEY FINDINGS Breakdown of progress made by provinces in implementing the verification of qualification process Province Commenced with planning Commenced with verification Received feedback Captured results on Persal KwaZulu-Natal 7 6 Eastern Cape Western Cape 9 8 1 Northern Cape 10 Free State 5 2 Limpopo Mpumalanga Gauteng 4 North West Total 57 60 5 5

KEY FINDINGS CONT Year in which departments commenced with the verification of qualifications 26% 41% 33% 10 20 30 40 50 2005 2006 2007 6 6

KEY FINDINGS CONT Outcome of the verification process 79 departments responded to our questionnaire 7 provincial and two national departments reported to have received feedback on verification of qualifications 59 (majority of departments) still busy compiling Feedback Report on the verification process to submit to HoDs 7 7

KEY FINDINGS CONT Challenges in verifying qualifications 8 8

KEY FINDINGS CONT Main challenges Cost of verification Human Resource Constraints Liaison with external Stakeholders Lack of cooperation from officials 9 9

KEY FINDINGS CONT Verification process during recruitment International Qualifications only Prior to 4% appointment 18% On appointment 64% Date of interview 14% 10 10

RECOMMENDATIONS Strengthening the verification process Improve the appointment process Strengthen internal capacity to conduct verifications Improve relations with external stakeholders involved in the verification process Consider using a central service provider 11 11

RECOMMENDATIONS CONT Leadership and advocacy Policy Considerations HoDs should assume a more direct role HoD should avail adequate resources Policy Considerations Process to be incorporated into recruitment & selection processes Verification of foreign qualifications to be addressed at a policy level Reporting on verification of qualifications be incorporated into standard reporting to the executive 12 12

CONCLUSION Study established that the Public Service still faces challenges in the verification process Compliance with the Guidelines on the Verification of Qualifications is low At this stage the report has shown that the verification process for employees at levels11 and below is largely still incomplete Ultimately, it is the final outcome of the verification process that will provide a picture of the authenticity of qualifications. 13 13

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