Balindlela, at the Provincial Balasela Awards Ceremony, East London
7 December 2007
Programme director
Honourable members of the Executive Council
Honourable members of the legislature
Our honoured traditional leaders
Mayors and leaders in our system of Local
Government
Members of the business community
Directors-General and heads of departments
Senior civil servants and officials
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentleman
The change of scenery in tonight's award ceremony sends a loud and clear
message that provincial government is serious about being accessible to all the
people we serve. Equally important, is our commitment not just to service
delivery, but to excellence in service delivery. This is what today is all
about and I extend a heartfelt welcome to all of you and thank you for gracing
the Provincial Balasela Awards with your presence. Tonight, we recognise those
amongst our colleagues for their innovation and excellence in service delivery.
Tonight, we are honouring the public servants, as individuals and teams
who:
* consistently go beyond the call of duty to ensure that the needs of the
public are met
* strive for excellence in everything they do
* endeavour to bring about innovative and creative ways of responding to
service delivery demands
* treat people with dignity, respect and humility in the execution of their
duties
* are dedicated and loyal to the vision, mission and values of the provincial
government
* put people first, in line with Batho People principles.
It is this calibre of people who are recognised as role model public
servants, upon whom all public servants should model themselves. It is this
calibre of people that the Balasela Programme seeks to honour through
recognition and rewards, in order to engender a culture of continuous
improvement towards service delivery excellence.
Programme director, through the Balasela Programme, we hope as provincial
government to engender service delivery excellence as a way of life amongst all
public servants of the Eastern Cape Provincial Government. The Balasela
Programme is an appropriate vehicle because of its integrated service delivery
improvement focus.
I look forward to the period when the Balasela Programme will involve the
people we serve in determining those to be awarded for excellence. In reality
service delivery is about the people we serve. As such, it is important that
the Balasela Programme be eventually driven by the views of the people we
serve. It would be most appropriate if the people we serve say, these are the
persons, teams and departments that have excelled for these reasons. This
approach will enhance the accountability of public servants to the people they
serve.
When we reach this stage of development in the Balasela Programme, I am sure
public servants will pay more attention to their actions, attitudes, behaviour
and quality of deliverables in their day to day work, and align themselves with
the values of government of putting people first, Batho Pele.
I wish to use this opportunity to congratulate all those individuals who
will be recognised today for their dedication and efforts towards service
delivery excellence. May they continue to serve the public and re-dedicate
themselves never to abandon the poor. May they motivate their colleagues to
ensuring that all our work and efforts contribute to a better life for all
South Africans. This is the pledge the government has made and has put
appropriate policies and programmes in place to realise this vision. I hope by
honouring those who strive for excellence in service delivery, we will make the
Eastern Cape a compelling place to live, work, invest and play!
I thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
7 December 2007
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.ecprov.gov.za)
