The event was hosted as part of the 2011 ASSADPAM Annual General Meeting and Conference taking place from 5 to 7 September 2011 at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
Delivering the address, Minister Baloyi observed that globalisation has left no corner of the globe untouched, having transgressed national political and economic domains.
“As the scope of the world economy expands and countries face pressures to adopt policies that enhance their global competitiveness, so too have we observed indicators of the citizens’ disaffection provoked by their increasing expectations and demands for better quality services. Whichever direction we face from Tunisia to Egypt and Syria, the message is clear; people expect more and more of their leaders and their governments in delivering quality basic services,” noted Minister Baloyi.
As part of measures taken to ensure responsiveness to this global competiveness, several initiatives have been undertaken by the public service. South Africa has been part of the continental efforts that respond to people’s expectations for better quality basic services from government.
During the 16th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union earlier in the year, the continent adopted the African Charter on Values and Principles of Public Service and Administration, a culmination of the work done over many years by like-minded African countries. The assembly of the union said it understood the importance of the African Charter on the Values and Principles of Public Service and Administration in the consolidation of commitments collectively taken by Member States to improve public service delivery, combat corruption, protect the rights of citizens as users of public service as well as promote good governance and sustainable development on the continent.
Minister Baloyi further observed that the conference challenged both the academic fraternity and the public service to reflect on the efficacy and or deficiencies in how public service interventions are strengthening or failing to strengthen our democratic systems. “As we all work together in partnership, as government and academia, we must, as much as possible, seek the so-called ‘home-grown’ solutions that are implementable and that have the potential to help us address the pressing developmental needs facing the majority of our people,” he added.
Speaking on the need for training that is relevant to the task, the Minister noted that, “When we developed the White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service in 1995, we envisioned training and education as critical to develop the professional capacities of public servants and to promote institutional change. The 1997 White Paper on Public Service Training and Education cited the need for ongoing staff development and life-long learning. It recognised that learning does not “culminate” at any point but must be considered a permanent process informed by the institutional memory, life’s experiences and at times even the trial and error lessons learned in the mastery of knowledge and skills acquired in the process.”
“As government we have been implementing a number of other interventions aimed at ensuring that public servants undergo regular training. Yet as I speak here today we continue to confront two interrelated challenges with regard to training. One challenge is that we are as yet to come to a point where we can confidently say that training has yielded the desired impact with regard to the skilling of public servants. The other challenge is that there is no clear causal link between training and improved service delivery or put otherwise, the gap between theory and practice.”
“Is it that the training that is being offered at institutions of higher learning and other similar institutions is not relevant to the task of modernising and improving our public service? Or is it that public servants or prospective public servants are incapable of being adequately trained or re-oriented to the ethos of the new public service cadre,” Minister Baloyi questioned.
These and other questions will be responded to as professionals in higher education schools and departments in the disciplines of public administration, public management, public governance and development management in Southern Africa converge over the next three days.
For more information contact:
Dumisani Nkwamba
Tel: 012 336 1704
Cell: 082 885 9448
E-mail: dumisanin@dpsa.gov.za
Lebohang Mafokosi
Tel: 012 336 1017
Cell: 082 312 4641
E-mail: lebohangm@dpsa.gov.za
