Towards seamless public service delivery – Building a Single System of Public Administration & Management A Presentation to the Local Government Capacity Building Summer School 2005 Programme 11 October 2005 Sandton

Context: developmental state RSA as developmental state characterised by the following: People-centred state machinery Intervening in the economy to promote growth Promoting sustainable development- bridging the gap between 1 st & 2 nd economy Co-operative governance & popular participation

Principles: Seamless Public Service Delivery Chapter 3, RSA Constitution, 1996 National, provincial and local spheres are distinctive, interdependent and interrelated Spheres of government must cooperate with one another to provide coherent government Chapter 10, RSA Constitution, 1996 – basic values and principles governing public administration Efficient, economic and effective use of resources (service delivery improvement) Development orientation Responsiveness, accountability, fairness and transparency Good human resource management (utilisation of capacity)

Service delivery challenges Apartheid inheritance Historical service delivery backlogs, esp. 2 nd economy Community dissatisfaction due poor service delivery, e.g. recent protests in the Free State Lack of institutional capacity,especially at service delivery institutions and local government Corporate governance Public entities not aligned to government objectives Accountability needs to be strengthened

Service delivery challenges Fragmentation of service delivery Lack of integration and poor coordination between departments and between spheres Inconvenience for citizens having to travel far and to many service delivery points Mobility of staff Difficult to move functions and staff to the appropriate levels Difficult to move skilled managers to where they are needed

Goal of seamless public service Efficient, effective, responsive, representative, accountable and accessible institutions Improved coordination between spheres of government and public entities Improved service delivery through integration To provide service users with a single window for their service needs To locate the service delivery site close to the people where they live Special emphasis on poor urban and rural communities (formerly marginalised)

Current initiatives – Integrated service delivery Multi-Purpose Community Centres Provide a range of services from a single point Services from national, provincial and local government Located close to the people Batho Pele Gateway portal Information on government services online Made available at General Services Counters at MPCCs Also available at Post Office Community development workers Facilitating access to government services, benefits and economic opportunities

Current initiatives – Conditions of service Comparative study of conditions of service in local government and public service Many disparities between public service and local government, and within local government Rationalisation of conditions of service by local government Job evaluation, 10 pay scales, working towards single pension fund and medical aid scheme

Current initiatives – Intergovernmental relations Harmonisation of planning of the three spheres Intergovernmental Relations Framework Bill Formalises intergovernmental structures eg PCC, Minmecs Provides procedures for settling of disputes Assignment Framework Procedures for the assignment of powers and functions to local government Transfer framework Procedures to facilitate the transfer of personnel between spheres

Current initiatives – Public entities Review of public entities Coherent policy framework governing public entities Classification framework (corporate forms) Corporate governance (procurement procedures, human resource practices, financial management etc) Proposals to facilitate mobility between public entities and spheres of government

Current initiatives – Batho Pele and popular participation Batho Pele Front-office improvements: signage, nametags Extending office hours Unannounced visits Project Khaedu – exposing SMS to coalface Participation Izimbizo: national, provincial and local DPLG developed model for community participation Ward committees Preparation of IDPs

Implementation proposals Develop overarching legislation Scope of Coverage:- three spheres of Government public entities – national, provincial and local Administrative support to Constitutional institutions Identified State owned Enterprises Location of the responsibility for public administration HR matters located in a single central department Enforcement authority Identify authority within government Define sanctions for non-compliance

Implementation proposals Develop overarching legislation Setting norms and minimum standards Providing for sector differentiation Transfer of functions and staff addressed Delegation of responsibility and devolution of authority to appropriate levels Specific chapter for senior management

Implementation proposals Human resource management Common HR systems Recruitment and selection procedures Human resource strategies Skills database Remuneration and conditions of service Apply principles of job evaluation Common remuneration principles in a wage policy Common set of conditions of service Mandatory pension and medical aid arrangement

Implementation proposals Collective bargaining and labour relations National framework – transversal and sector- specific issues Ethics Code of Conduct extended to all employees Funding arrangements Investigation into support for struggling municipalities

CHALLENGE FOR HRD Alignment of HRD strategies - Provincial Growth and Dev Plans - Integrated Developmental Plans - National Skills Development Strategy - Education and Training across the Spheres scarce and critical skills, redeployment - Induction and orientation programmes - Working in cross cutting projects - Community inter-action

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