The MECs for Education, Honourable Mahlubandile Qwase, Finance, Honourable Mcebisi Jonas and Health, Honourable Phumulo Masualle are driving a three year intervention to restore public and state trust in public education and health services in the province
In August 2009, the provincial Cabinet endorsed an initiative of the MECs of Education, Finance and Health to confront the challenges confronting the delivery of public sector health and education. Both departments have received disclaimers of opinion from the Auditor-General for the financial years 1995/96 to 2006/07 and adverse opinions from 2007/08 to 2008/09. The audit reports highlighted poor management in both departments, which negatively impacted service delivery.
To address the situation, the MEC's of Education, Health and Finance have, acknowledging a number of previous and current interventions, have commissioned the development of a detailed implementation plan. The strategic goal of the turnaround intervention in the Departments of Education and Health (turnaround) is to restore public and state trust in the Departments of Education and Health. To realise this goal, the following must be achieved:
* eliminate corruption
* deliver on Departmental mandates in an effective and efficient manner
* employ appropriate capacity at both management and operational levels
* achieve an unqualified audit opinion from the Auditor-General
Already, as part of the turnaround, efforts are underway to ease the backlogs in payments to service providers, a supply chain management improvement programme has been initiated, contract and project management improvements have commenced.
These allow for the intervention to tackle the issues of irregular and fruitless expenditure plaguing the departments. In addition to cleaning up related systems, disciplinary and criminal action will be instituted against officials found to be complicit in these practices.
The following projects have been identified for roll out over the turnaround period:
Department of Education
* human resources management
* document control and management
* contract management
* supply chain management, procurement
* supply chain management, payments
* asset management
* finance
* anti-corruption
* delivering on mandate
* skills and vacancies grants
Department of Health
* human resources management
* payroll
* contract management
* supply chain management
* asset management
* finance
* anti-corruption
* delivering on mandate
* skills and vacancies
* grants and National Environmental Management Act
* occupational health and safety
* emergency medical services
* order tracking
Performance information system
The turnaround will operate on the principle of in-sourcing. This means that, where capacity is not available in the Departments of Education, Finance or Health, capacity will be recruited. Incumbents will be contracted into existing management posts within the departments on time bound contracts with specific mandates for affecting the turnaround of specific functions. Priority will be placed on deploying and developing existing capacity.
There will be two exceptions to this principle:
Rapid response teams
These teams of experts will be hosted by Provincial Treasury and deployed to resolve specific issues. Incumbents will be recruited or seconded from provincial or national departments, from the private sector, or from existing response initiatives already underway in the Department of Education and Department of Health. Because these teams will operate on an ad-hoc basis, capacity may be contracted for short periods.
External monitoring
A service level agreement will be entered into with an independent monitoring facility to ensure that the intervention is open to public scrutiny, and that gains are appropriately communicated to external stakeholders. The turnaround is planned to start immediately the action plan is finalised.
For further details on the turnaround plan please contact:
Qonda Kalimashe
Cell: 082 450 5299
E-mail: qonda.kalimashe@treasury.ecprov.gov.za
Issued by: Eastern Cape Provincial Government
25 November 2009
Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.ecprov.gov.za/)
