Given the decision by the President, Mr Jacob Zuma on 10 May 2009 to incorporate agriculture, forestry and fisheries into a new Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, a restructuring process was initiated and the finalisation to transfer the fisheries function from the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs is being concluded.
The new Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries organisational structure has been finalised internally, while external consultations with Department of Public Service and are being concluded. The implementation process of the new structure will commence within the next two months.
At the departmental meeting held with all staff members of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on 2 February 2010, Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson assured all staff members that when the new structure is implemented no one will lose their jobs but a competency assessment will be undertaken by an independent organisation to ensure that each staff member is placed in a post according to their competence.
“No one will lose their jobs. A competency assessment process will take place to ensure that each staff member is placed in a post commensurate to their competency,” Minister assured.
The new Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries organisational structure is equipped to accelerate service delivery of agrarian reform programmes to ensure food security, alleviate poverty, increase economic growth and job opportunities and inter-Africa trade.
The minister has indicated in the past a need for a multi-skilled senior management team that will be able to perform in any position in the new structure of Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to accelerate service delivery. Given the estimated two months in which the new structure has to be implemented, Minister Joemat-Pettersson has decided to re-assign some deputy director-general, chief directors and directors to new responsibilities in the transitional phase to practically assess their competencies in new areas assigned to the posts.
In this process, seven deputy director-generals, four chief directors and two directors have been re-assigned accordingly. All the re-assigned senior managers are professionals and specialists in various areas and they include veterinarians, human resources managers, policy specialists and educationists.
“We are convinced that the re-alignment will positively harness the service delivery machinery of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries unlock its human resources capacity and ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the execution of its new mandate of ensuring food security, creating decent work and sustainable livelihoods,” Minister concluded.
For more information contact:
P Tsotso Sehoole
Tel: 012 319 6043 or 7317
Fax: 012 319 7858
Cell: 083 265 8728
E-mail: CCO@daff.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
3 March 2010
