Deputy Minister for Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), Ms Ayanda Dlodlo
Director-General of DPSA, Mr Themba Maseko, who is also the Programme Director
The Chairperson of the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) Board, Mrs Zodwa Manase, and other Board members
The CEO of SITA, Mr Blake Mosley-Lefatola and his staff
Members of the Senior Management Service
Representatives of SITA
Representatives of the Simunye Consortium
DPSA Staff
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It is my pleasure and privilege to be part of the go-live celebration for the Human Resource Management module of the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) at DPSA. It is indeed a ground breaking moment for me to usher in the age of a smarter integrated Public Service.
This is the first implementation of the HR module in a government department. It is appropriate that the DPSA, as the policy owner of human resource management in the Public Service, becomes the first user of the new system.
The implementation in the second lead site, which is the Department of Education in the Free State, is already underway.
This is also a good time for us to raise our heads with pride and delight that we are heeding the call to deliver on this key programme.
We have come a long way since Cabinet approved the development and implementation of the IFMS in 2005. This decision was reaffirmed by Cabinet in 2007. Through the implementation of the IFMS, Cabinet intended to achieve modernisation and integration of government back-office systems. The older legacy systems which currently provide financial, human resource, supply chain management and business intelligence functionality are at the end of their useful life.
They were developed in a pre-1994 command-and-control legislative framework, so it is increasingly difficult to keep the systems aligned with new legislation and regulations. The technology which was used pre-dates the Internet era by two decades. If the public service of 2011 does not have a modern, agile, web-enabled back-office (e-Government) system, it will not be able to support the needs of a developmental state.
We are all aware there have been challenges, including the capacity of SITA to deliver on the IFMS. It has indeed been a long road! SITA is firmly on a turn-around, and thus we can speak with confidence that the IFMS, which has been seven years in the making, is now here. The celebration of the HR module going live in DPSA is proof that we are making progress and positioning ourselves for the IFMS roll-out. I will address the detail of the roll-out of the IFMS in my budget vote speech later in the year.
Programme Director,
The scale of this effort is not to be underestimated. The system must eventually support the HR management requirements of almost 1.2 million public servants, located in thousands of offices spread across approximately 150 Departments.
The celebration today signifies our complete commitment to modernize, and consolidate a historically fragmented administrative environment, into one that is integrated, to ensure improved effectiveness and efficiency. IFMS is being developed to meet this challenge.
This project has been an important collaborative effort between DPSA, SITA and National Treasury. We acknowledge and appreciate the support of National Treasury for funding the development of the IFMS and the lead site implementations. We commend the SITA Board, executive management and the IFMS team for their tireless efforts in driving the delivery of the IFMS. We also express our gratitude to the Simunye Consortium for all their efforts in realizing this HR module.
The 2005 Cabinet decision demanded of SITA to operate as a Prime System Integrator (PSI) and use IFMS as a catalyst thereof. We are confident that SITA is en-route to becoming a fully fledged PSI for the public service. This includes the up scaling of SITA’s internal capacity as well as partnering with industry.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to reflect on some of the achievements thus far:
Since 2007, the IFMS team developed five (5) of the nine (9) IFMS modules and implemented them in a number of lead sites. These five modules are:
- Asset Management
- Procurement Management
- Catalogue Management
- Master Data Management
- Human Resource Management
Programme director,
We are celebrating the go-live of the IFMS HR module because it will allow us to achieve the following:
- Improve the capacity of the Public Service to manage its human resources more effectively and efficiently.
- Harmonise and align the implementation of Public Service HR management policies and processes.
- Support the monitoring and evaluation of HR policies for the Public Service.
- Promote a standard set of HR processes across the Public Service.
- Support HR reporting at a departmental and national level.
- Improve the quality of, and access to HR management information which should lead to better planning and decision making.
- Improve HR service delivery by automating and standardising processes.
- Enhance the integrity and effectiveness of personnel expenditure management and performance reporting in order to ensure effective service delivery across government institutions.
- The reporting functionality of the module will also allow us to track the pace of transformation in DPSA and eventually in the broader Public Service.
These benefits will be enabled by the new HR module that spans the full lifecycle of HR management within the Public Service. The module supports:
- The establishment of a viable organisational structure to support the strategic objectives of the department.
- Effective sourcing of human resources and the management of the employment relationship within the Public Service. This sourcing will happen via an online portal on which applicants can apply for vacant positions within the Public Service. In addition, the DPSA and later the entire Public Service will have an improved Leave management capability. The current manual leave management processes pose significant risks. This HR module also offers performance management functionality
The implementation of this module is critical for supporting good governance. As you know, corruption remains the biggest single threat to good governance in our country and in the public service. Therefore, fighting this scourge remains a major challenge. Through this module we will be in a better position to eliminate ghost workers and the abuse of leave. The module will enable us to better manage the disciplinary process in the Public Service. The HR module will also automate the declaration of financial interests by senior managers.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The President has declared 2011 as the “Year of Job Creation” and as the broader MPSA community we must respond to this call. And respond we shall. We will create employment where we can, starting by filling all funded vacant positions. In the DPSA, the HR module will allow us to accurately track and manage the filling of vacancies. Citizens will be able to apply for vacancies in the Public Service on-line through the e-Recruitment portal. The automated recruitment functionality will also reduce the turn-around time of the filling of vacancies. Looking ahead we will continue to ensure that there is skills development and job creation in the ICT sector.
Programme director,
Parallel to the implementation of this HR module, SITA has commenced with the development of a new payroll module that will eventually replace PERSAL. Once completed, the payroll module will be closely integrated with the HR module. The payroll module will also be implemented in DPSA and Free State Department of Education as the first lead sites.
Ladies and gentleman,
In the 2010 SONA, the President of the Republic urged the public service to “work smarter and faster; know where people are; what their needs are; and respond faster to those needs”. We have been hard at work trying to deliver to the President and the country such a public service. The implementation of the HR Module is another milestone towards building this public service. There are many more milestones to come. This year is poised to be a challenging year for us but we dare not fail.
Mr Director-General,
The success of the IFMS HR module implementation depends on the support and co-operation of yourself and the staff of the DPSA. To this end, we must thank those of you who have played a role in the successful implementation of this module in the DPSA.
I appreciate your commitment and willingness to be part of this historic milestone in the Public Service.
I thank you.
