1. 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

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

3. BACKGROUND
In 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. KEY FINDINGS CONT
Challenges in verifying qualifications 8 8

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

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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. THANK YOU