S Moloto on behalf of G Fraser-Moleketi: Batho Pele Learning
Network

9 October 2007

Programme Director
Members of Portfolio Committees
Mayor and Speaker of the Waterberg District Municipalities
Mayor and Speaker of the Bela Bela Local Municipality
All Local Councillors
All heads of national and provincial departments
Representatives of organs of civil society
Public servants and
Everyone present here today

Apologies on behalf of the Minister of Public Service and Administration who
is not able to join us, due to other commitments. All the same, we regard the
Batho Pele Learning Network (BPLN) as an expression of our unwavering
commitment towards making a discernable and qualitative difference in the lives
of South Africans. The annual BPLN traditionally serves an instrument through
which we reflect on our efforts to ensure a better life for all during the
previous financial year. Like its predecessors, the sixth BPLN is an occasion
for exchanging and sharing ideas, reflecting on lessons learnt and celebrating
models of best practice.

More importantly, this particular BPLN also offers us an opportunity to
reflect on the gravity or seriousness of the questionable conduct of some
within the public service, during the June public service strike, which, has
been a low point when measured against the Batho Pele values that we all strive
to embody in our work and conduct as public servants.

Thirteen years into the new democratic order and ten years since the
introduction of the White Paper, we can boldly and unwaveringly attest to the
fact that we have managed to radically change the public service institutional
landscape to such an extent that we are now more than before 1994 better
constituted to meet the needs of all our people. The sixth anniversary of the
BPLN also marks yet another milestone on the evolution of Batho Pele.

We have, for the first time, formally extended an invitation to civic
organisations as an expression of commitment to elicit civil society
perspectives and participation on the national effort which is Batho Pele. This
will give us an invaluable opportunity to note service delivery areas which
need attention and to devise collaborative strategies for tackling them.

Also worth noting in the list of delegates to this year's gathering is the
fact that an invitation has been extended to parliamentary committees
responsible for oversight of health, home affairs and public service and
administration portfolios to enrich discussions and deliberations. The
broadening of the participation is informed by the recognition of the necessity
to break institutional silos and begin to work together in serving citizens in
a complementary and integrated manner.

When our new government was taking its first tentative steps, public service
reform logically leaned heavily on legislative and policy development and
institutional realignment. The second decade of public service transformation
has been characterised by the need to improve our implementation capacity,
coupled with the need to continuously monitor and evaluate service delivery
impact. The Office of the Public Service Commission (OPSC), for instance,
annually monitors and develops reports on the implementation of Batho Pele.
Many of these reports point out challenges and suggest possible solutions to
those problems across the entire public service.

Other evaluative instruments undertaken by the Department of Public Service
and Administration (DPSA) included conducting a survey on the implementation
and promotion of Batho Pele in 2004 whose findings informed the Batho Pele
Revitalisation Programme which has the following four strategic thrusts:

* taking public services to the people
* know your service rights campaign which we hope will be launched this
evening
* putting people first for real
* mainstreaming and institutionalising Batho Pele

Each of these strategic thrusts is characterised by associated flagship
projects which give more impetus to efforts around Revitalisation of Batho
Pele:

These are Project Khaedu, unannounced site visits, Batho Pele Learning
Networks and access strategy

Project Khaedu

Project Khaedu is a deliberate strategy to expose members of the Senior
Management Service (SMS) echelon to the coalface of service delivery
institutions such as hospitals, municipalities or police stations. Deployments
to delivery institutions have generated close to 68 reports which reflect on
service delivery challenges and barriers at an institutional level. More
importantly, the value of knowledge generated from site deployments also
explores innovative solutions to such challenges and often highlight some of
the best demonstrated practices that ought to be emulated.

Unannounced site visits

Complementary to SMS deployment or Project Khaedu, was an undertaking by
politicians and senior echelon of the government to embark on an unannounced
site visits not to witch hunt for the purpose of naming and shaming but to gain
a first hand experience on challenges facing service delivery practitioners on
the ground. Sites visits are now an integral part of the service delivery value
chain.

Batho Pele Learning Networks

Whilst the implementation of Batho Pele reflects numerous service delivery
challenges, it has also attained many praiseworthy service delivery
achievements. A significant achievement in this regard is how we are
successfully engendering a culture of collaboration through initiatives like
this learning network which noted earlier is an important platform for sharing
lessons and best practices that are fundamental to service delivery.

Amongst some of the proposals which came out of a recent report
implementation and promotion of Batho Pele was that we needed to put in place
instruments which would ensure the spirit and practice of Batho Pele more
visible and tangible in the public service.

The same report mooted the idea or concept of a Single Public Service (SPS)
as part of "taking public services to the people" and bridging the gap between
service delivery policy instruments (BP white paper) and the service delivery
coalface environment, particularly at local government. The fact that there are
serious service delivery challenges at the level of municipalities is
increasingly becoming obvious and government has undertaken a number of
initiatives, including the move towards a SPS, in order to remedy local
government service delivery challenges.

The SPS is part of the government's strategic vision aimed at strengthening
the service delivery capacity of the State by broadly integrating the three
spheres of government into a common institutional framework. It is about
creating an integrated public service with harmonious systems, conditions of
service and norms which will reduce fragmentation and promote more efficient
co-ordination between the different spheres of government, thereby facilitating
seamless service delivery to our people.

Some of the benefits of the SPS includes the fact that It will enable the
mobility of staff between the three spheres of Government thereby facilitating
appropriate deployment of skills and allocation of functions where needed.
Increasing access to services through the development of Access Strategy is one
of the critical areas of focus by government.

Access strategy

The access strategy is aimed at enhancing and consolidating existing
initiatives around the improvement of access to government services. The
strategy aims to facilitate significant improvements in the delivery of
services through a range of channels such as the Thusong Service Centre
Programme; health and policing mobile units, the Community Development Workers
(CDW) programme, the use of intermediaries such as banks and retail chains to
deliver services.

The strategy has a range of benefits both for the public service as well as
citizens as service beneficiaries. Citizens would be accessing government
services that are convenient, of improved quality, relevant to citizens' needs
and accessed through a range of responsive channels. Its implementation would
assist departments in adopting and internalising a citizen-centred approach to
service delivery.

Cascading Batho Pele to Local Government

In his 2007 State of Nation Address, the President said, I quote: "Further
to improve its service to the people, government should roll out the Batho Pele
campaign at local government level, intensify outreach activities including
Izimbizo and set up more Multi-Purpose Community Centres beyond the 90
currently operational."

The President's call has been heeded through the implementation of a culture
re-orientation programme, or the Batho Pele Change Management Engagement
programme, at local government. Remarkable strides have been made to enhance
the importance of strategic partnership across the three spheres of government
to ensure that there is no wrong door to the public service. More than 650
officials from over 200 municipalities have already attended the Batho Pele
Change Management Engagement Programme.

Some municipalities took the programme as a widow of opportunity to
rigorously engage with staff in order to turn around their work environment.
The Ugu District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal can be cited in this case as
a living example of what this programme can do for our municipalities or
departments.

Service Delivery Improvement plans

Programme Director,

We cannot continue talking about improving services without Service Delivery
Improvement (SDI) plans. The plans should be seen as tools for continually
upgrading the levels of services. It is for this reason that should be regarded
as an ongoing process for guiding institutional growth instead of an annual
activity. Last year saw a massive undertaking by the DPSA to ensure that all
departments have Service Delivery Improvement plans.

Pledge of commitment

In conclusion, I would like to invite the middle management echelon and
civil society representatives present here today, to come to the stage and sign
the pledge of commitment. A public service pledge, symbolic of our commitment
and resolve to improve the lives of our people will be signed during this
session. Officials who should sign it should represent the entire public
service across the three spheres of government. It is a symbolic, yet powerful
representation of the public service’s will to provide best practice services
to our citizens.

The discussions that will ensue here should inform the public of what has
been achieved over the past ten years of implementing the Batho Pele
principles. The discussions should also take stock of the achievements and
challenges experienced and how to improve our efforts to ensure that we
overcome our challenges. Ultimately, it is through our resolve that we can make
a breakthrough in "Beating the drum for improved service delivery" because "We
Belong, We Care and We Serve."

I thank you

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Limpopo Provincial Government
9 October 2007