srogramme Director,
MEC’s present,
Heads of Departments,
Members of the media,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to the Governance and Administration (G&A) Cluster Media Briefing. This initiative is meant to interface with the media on progress made by the Provincial government in the implementation of those areas of the Provincial Programme of Action for 2013, which are being driven by the G&A Cluster.
These areas are organized around the following themes, namely:
- Public Sector Transformation
- Municipal Functionality and Viability
- Provincial and Municipal Audit Outcomes
- Planning ,Monitoring and Evaluation Coordination
- Empowered and informed citizenry that participates in governance
The period under review is from beginning of July 2013 to end of September 2013.
1. Public Sector Transformation
1.1 As part of our efforts to enhance Public Sector Transformation, and in an endeavour to bring about leadership stability in the Provincial administration, all HOD posts are filled.
1.2 Although CFO posts were filled by end of first quarter, two CFO posts have since become vacant i.e. (DSRAC and DHS). The recruitment process is at interview stage for both posts.
1.3 Also with regards to DDG posts there are five Departments with vacant posts, and the recruitment processes for all these posts have been started.
1.4 At a municipal level 87% overall of section 54 and section 56 posts have been filled.
1.5 The Employment Equity profile of provincial government reflects 38 % female representation at SMS level and 0.4% disability. To address this, EXCO has approved the Women in Leadership Programme for implementation in all departments.
1.6 In partnership with Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University we are implementing a leadership development programme, and 71% of the participants are females. The programme is part of a broader intervention to build leadership capacity covering supervisory, middle management and senior management echelons of the Eastern Cape Provincial Administration.
1.7 Through partnership with the National Treasury’s Technical Assistance Unit (TAU), Phase 1 of the Culture Change Programme has been completed and Phase 2 is being implemented in all departments.
2. Municipal functionality and viability
2.1 The Province is making good efforts in terms of integration towards improving municipal financial viability. The department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs (DLGTA) in collaboration with Provincial Planning and Treasury (PPT) engaged municipalities and government departments on a quarterly basis to facilitate the payment of outstanding debts by government departments:
- Payments effected by government departments from April-June 2013 stood at R101 732 489.
- Debts owed to municipalities have become a standing item on the agenda of various inter-governmental fora including the technical and political MuniMec quarterly meetings.
- A total amount of R811 625 million is owed to creditors by municipalities. Of this amount 75% represents current (0-30 days) creditors.
2.2 The PPT and DLGTA provided hands on support on financial management in 8 municipalities (Baviaans, Kouga, Sundays River Valley, Nxuba, Gariep, Inkwanca, Mhlontlo and Port St. Johns). Furthermore, funding was provided to five municipalities (Blue Crane, Inxuba Yethemba, Makana, Gariep, Port St Johns) for the development of Revenue Enhancement Strategies.
2.3 The DLGTA is monitoring the implementation of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) through receiving monthly spending reports and also conducts analysis which includes verification of projects.
3. Provincial & Municipal Audit Outcomes
3.1 The Province continues to make positive strides in the promotion of good governance. In terms of audit outcomes, the Office of the Premier (OTP) and PPT moved from “unqualified with findings” to clean audits, whilst the departments of Education and Human Settlements have improved. Seven other departments received unqualified audit opinions with other matters, with Public Works regressing to a disclaimer. Whilst there has been a notable improvement in some areas, there is a lot that still needs to be done to improve our audit outcome state.
3.3 A great deal of good work is being done to promote good governance and demonstrate zero tolerance of fraud, corruption and serious maladministration in the Provincial administration. Government’s investigative capacity has been enhanced, and currently our response rate to incidents of corruption reported through the National Anti-Corruption Hotline stands at 82%, the 2nd highest nationally.
The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has investigated about 555 fraud and corruption cases and criminal matters, have been referred to the SAPS and SARS for further action. From 2009 to date more than 500 departmental officials and more than 140 municipal officials have been subjected to criminal proceedings related to fraud and corruption. The conviction rate has also improved from 93.9% in 2009 to 99% in 2012.
3.4 The Provincial Policy prohibiting Public Servants from trading with government and doing remunerative work without approval by the Executing Authority is being implemented. We are hoping it will realise its objective of eliminating unconstitutional and dishonest Supply-Chain-Management practices of officials channelling tenders to their personal companies or close relatives.
4. Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Coordination
4.1 The Eastern Cape Planning Commission (ECPC) is currently finalising the diagnostic report.
4.2 An Integrated Government Cluster Programme (IGCP) has been developed to facilitate integration of programmes, and to improve monitoring of provincial priorities, between National and Provincial Departments, Public Entities and municipalities.
4.1 The monitoring of government priorities has also been institutionalized through the Premier’s quarterly one-on-one sessions with MECs and the performance review sessions with departments by the Provincial Coordinating and Monitoring Team (PCMT). The EXCO has also approved two evaluations (Outcomes achieved through Transversal Training in the Province and Utilisation of Infrastructure Conditional Grants) to be undertaken in this financial year.
4.2 The OTP has engaged Provincial Departments and assessors of municipal Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) on the contents of the National Development Plan (NDP). In collaboration with PPT, engagement with ECPC has commenced in particular on the alignment of the budget process in the context of 2014-2019 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF). Currently we are cascading provincial priorities to the local government sphere.
4.3 Five Provincial Department’s Performance Information Frameworks that were analysed according to the National Treasury guidelines indicated a challenge in the development of indicators which then confirms the findings of the analysis of quarterly reports.
5. Empowered and informed citizenry that participates in governance
5.1 During the quarter under review, the Premier led the EXCO in outreach visits to Alfred Nzo, OR Tambo, Chris Hani and Cacadu District Municipalities. The Outreach Programme has reached the half-way point with 4 municipalities remaining to be covered.
Improvements on this programme include sessions with the Auditor General’s Office (AG) and visits to institutions of service delivery (hospitals, schools, etc.) The quality of engagement with stakeholders and the public, I believe has strengthened our understanding of challenges facing this sector of government. We will be undertaking another EXCO Outreach Programme to the remainder District Municipalities soon.
5.2 The Home of Legends campaign has reached the exciting stage of public participation.
- At the request of stakeholders and members of the public, this phase of the campaign was extended to end October 2013 to allow for more inputs.
- The nomination process has provoked debate amongst society and helped us to ensure social cohesion.
- Currently a report in the nomination process is being compiled and is envisaged to be finalised by end November 2013.
- Subsequent to that, we shall embark on the adjudication and announcement of the identified Legends.
- The campaign will go a long way towards unlocking eco-tourism potential of the Province as well as improved social cohesion.
5.3 Due to the intervention by the Presidency, the OTP and DLGTA, there has been a significant improvement in the resolution rate of the Presidential Hotline cases, with improvements from about 27% in 2010 to 75.6 % by end of September 2013. Notable progress largely has been witnessed at the local sphere, wherein the District Municipalities and Metros are performing above 70% except for the OR Tambo District Municipality.
In terms of the Provincial Administration all Departments are above 60% in terms of the response rate. We remain committed to prioritise and address our people’s needs to improve their lives for the better.
6. Conclusion
In the G&A Cluster, partial progress has been made across all themes. However, particular attention is required in areas of Public Sector Transformation, Provincial and Municipal audit outcomes, where the Province is not performing well. This is confirmed by the regression of Provincial and Municipal Audit Outcomes as well as the results of the 2012/13 Management
Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT) published recently by The Presidency.
The Cluster and the Provincial Cabinet encourages all people of the Province, especially young and first-time voters, to exercise their democratic right by taking the first step of registering to vote on 9 and 10 November 2013.
We then call upon all voters to ensure the 2014 elections achieve a large voter turnout, as we have seen in every election since 1994. We wish to remind taxpayers who still have to submit their tax returns that the 22 November 2013 deadline for electronic filing of individual tax returns for the 2012/13 tax year is fast approaching.
The Cluster and the Provincial Cabinet condemn the recent spate of violence, destruction of private and public properties and looting of goods in the Province and we commend the police and other law enforcement agencies for intervening and quelling the situation.
In short we are on course to address the challenges of the developmental state and are confident that success is certain.
For more information:
Mr Mxolisi Spondo
Cell: 071 671 6663
Mr Mamnkeli Ngam
Cell: 071 685 7981
Ms Nosisa Sogayise
Cell: 083 357 7953
