Page 25 - Service Delivery Review

National Development Plan and State Capacity Conference

The threat of low expenditure on infrastructure Regarding the capacity and skills challenges, the
Low expenditure levels on infrastructure investment KwaZulu-Natal Government has undertaken a skills
are evidence of these capacity deficiencies despite audit that covered a majority of municipal officials in
the National Government continuously emphasising the province. The audit pointed to the need for skills
the need for more investment. We have also experi- and training in areas ranging from financial manage-
enced relatively massive under-funding for decades, ment to policy development, monitoring and eval-
leading to decay and, in some instances, a collapse uation. In response, the province has developed a
of key network infrastructure at local, provincial and Framework for Mentorship and Coaching to address
national levels. We believe that government spending the findings of the skills audit. Councilors are now be-
on infrastructure peaked in the 1960s to late 1970s. ing capacitated on the complexities of the District De-
Although this decline is from 1977, in 2000, the coun- velopment Model through the Integrated Councillor
try’s per capita spending on infrastructure reached a Induction Programme and Sector-Based Councillor
40-year low and resulted in a number of well-known Orientation Workshops.
challenges today, including loadshedding.
In addition, 791 officials across the provincial govern-
Recognising the lasting impact of our racialised past, ment have gone through a range of capacity-build-
we have thus conceded to the state a significant role ing and training initiatives. Through the repositioned
in driving social and economic justice, particularly to Provincial Training Academy, the province prioritises
address the transformation challenges of unemploy- critical skills and capacity-building interventions to
ment, poverty and inequality. Such a post-apartheid improve service delivery in partnership with the Na-
project requires a capable, ethical and developmental tional School of Governance and other institutions.
state to lead the implementation of the NDP targets,
the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Growth and Develop- Minding the skills gaps
ment Plan and Integrated Development Plans at the The Public Service will not be able to deliver higher
local government level. quality public services to our citizens if public ser-
vants are not capable and competent. Towards Build-
ing the Capacity of the State, the Provincial Executive
Skills at the core of unequal service delivery Council resolved that a skills audit be conducted for
Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of modern Singa- all 200 000 public servants in the Provincial Adminis-
pore – one of the world’s leading capable and eth- tration, including the municipalities. This will assist us
ical development states – points out: “To get good to ascertain whether, as the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial
government, you must have good people in charge Administration, we have the required skills set to de-
of government.” Currently, South Africa is confronting liver services to our people. The exercise helps us to
the challenge of uneven implementation that arises know the skills in supply and the skills in demand.
clearly out of capacity inadequacy across the state The skills audit in all the municipalities has been final-
and shows itself in the uneven outcomes at local, ised, while the skills audit in government departments
provincial and national governments. Clearly, these will be completed in 2023.
skills gaps lead to and result from weak account-
ability and persistent corruption emanating from a To address corruption, the Provincial Anti-Corruption
leadership skills deficit. Moreover, the Public Service Implementation Plan has been drafted based on the
has yet to embrace Information and Communication National Anti-Corruption Strategy that was approved
Technology, resulting in missed opportunities and ef- on 18 November 2020. In addition, the Office of the
ficiency gains. Premier, together with the Department of Coopera-
tive Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), the
Building capabilities is critical to retooling the state Special Investigations Unit, the Hawks and the Na-
for higher performance. We need an excellent public tional Prosecuting Authority are working together as
service cadreship that would be on par with the best a forum in conducting the ethics and anti-corruption
in the world and committed to working for the state. awareness campaigns. Our partnerships ensure that
A functional and integrated government requires a the university curriculum responds to the economy
professional, responsive, meritocratic public service and skills the province needs, and helps public ser-
cadre obsessed with efficiency and citizen-focused vants’ skilling, reskilling and upskilling.
delivery. To lead a state capable of playing a devel-
opmental and transformative role, the Public Service In closing, we are reminded by war-time president of
must be immersed in the development agenda of the the United States of America, Woodrow Wilson, who
government it serves, but must be insulated from un- said: “You are not here merely to make a living. You
due political interference. These factors must interact are here to enable the world to live more amply, with
together in one direction to achieve the NDP goals greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achieve-
and lead our country’s thorough transformation at all ment. You are here to enrich the world, and you im-
levels. poverish yourself if you forget the errand.”

SERVICE DELIVERY REVIEW | Volume 15. No. 3 of 2023 25