5 September 2006
Date: 20-21 September 2006
Venue: International Convention Centre, Durban
Theme: Age of Hope: Capacity Building for Accelerated Service Delivery
Sub-theme 1: Capacity requirements for sustainable growth and development
Sub-theme 2: Enablers to halve poverty and unemployment by 2014
Background and purpose
The pressure to improve services and modernise our operations is escalating.
South Africans want service improvements and greater value, transparency and
accountability from all spheres of government. Whilst some clients report that
they are satisfied with services they receive from government, others express
their dissatisfaction with how government manages its operations, including
cost effectiveness, openness and accountability for public spending.
Capacity building is a huge challenge facing the country, especially to
enable SMS members to manage the delivery of quality services to the public. If
there is inadequate capacity, functions and responsibilities in departments
cannot be effectively implemented, even with the best institutional policies,
structures, corporate plans and budgets. Capacity building involves the
improvement of skills and knowledge amongst existing staff and building on
existing competencies and know-how. The aim is to take an incremental approach
within the existing framework for capacity building and to maintain progress in
any way possible.
The State of the Nation Address clearly stated that the machinery of
government, especially local government, must discharge its responsibilities
effectively and efficiently, thus honouring the implementation of the Batho
Pele principle. In order for this to happen and accelerated implementation to
take effect, capacity levels in government institutions must be raised.
We must also keep in the mind the objective to halve poverty and
unemployment by 2014. The three spheres of government have been working
collaboratively with private and business sectors and collectively came up with
specific interventions to ensure that the Accelerated and Shared Growth
Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA), which aims to reduce poverty under the
leadership of our Deputy President, succeeds in its purpose of reducing levels
of unemployment. For the SMS to proactively and successfully engage with the
accelerated and shared growth initiative, capacity needs, ranging from basic
upgrading to specialised institutional requirements, will need to be thoroughly
examined and understood.
Objectives
Based on the proposed theme, the conference aims to achieve the
following:
* to bring senior managers to a common understanding of what capacity is
needed to implement government's programme of action (immediate)
* have a common understanding of the direction Government is taking and their
role in reporting for the programme of action (immediate)
* continuously support and build capacity of senior managers through
information and learning sessions in order to improve service delivery
(long-term)
* accelerate leadership and management development in order to develop a
culture of accurate reporting, accountability and responsibility of senior
managers (long-term)
* ensure that senior managers in the Public Service, as the driving force of
translating Government policy into implementable programmes, have a complete
understanding of the priorities of Government (immediate and long-term)
* enable information sharing and best practice models through presentation of
case studies (immediate)
* identify best practices for good leadership and management of the Public
Service and to develop a model for development of managers (immediate and
long-term)
Targeted audience
The audience is Senior Management Service members of government.
For registration or any enquiries, feel free to contact:
Raisebe Mphela
Tel: (012) 336 1424
Cailin Hedderwick
Tel: (012) 336 1112
Issued by: Department of Public Service and Administration
5 September 2006
Source: Department of Public Service and Administration (http://www.dpsa.gov.za/)
