Acting Public Service and Administration Minister, Mr Thulas Nxesi will tomorrow, Thursday address the Public Service Compliance and Human Resources Convention on the second day of the three-day conference which kicked off on Wednesday in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg.

The theme of the conference aimed at reducing the reporting burden, improve the analysis of data collected for improved service delivery and good governance is, Building State Capacity: Towards Strategic Human Capital Management in the Public Service.

The Minister’s Media Liaison Officer, Mr Sakhikhaya Dlala, said Minister Nxesi will also preside over the signing of a Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) between the Department of Public Service and Administration and the South African Association for Public Administration and Management (SAPAAM), Wits School of Governance and Regenesys Business School.

According to Mr Dlala, the MOUs are designed to govern the partnerships for research, capacity building and professionalisation.

The Human Resources Conference

The conference aims to ensure that there is clarity on what a norm and what a standard is in public service.

It will also improve the reduction of red tape by ensuring that all the information collected is not duplicated between processes, is not voluminous and useful.

Therefore, the conference is the first in the steps towards consolidating these reporting requirements.

The reporting requirements include Human Resources Management, Financial Management, Information and Communication Technology, Public Entities Oversight Unit, Internal Audit, Enterprise Risk Management and Strategic Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation.

This is also aimed at reducing the reporting burden and improving data analysis for improved planning, service delivery and good governance.

The gathering will assist the government to find a balance among others, the wage bill, expenditure on services and investment in infrastructure.

“The most critical aim is to ensure that efficiencies are introduced, and the disparities in terms and conditions of service between the various parts of the public sector such as public service, as defined in the Public Service Act, municipalities, and public entities are eliminated,” Mr Dlala said.

The approval of the professionalisation framework by Cabinet last year is a step towards the establishment of a single public administration that applies to the national, provincial, and local government as well as state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The framework seeks to ensure that only qualified and competent individuals are appointed into positions of authority in pursuit of a transformed, professional, ethical, capable, and developmental public administration.

Public officials must have the right qualifications, technical skills, and be inducted into the Batho Pele principles.

The Office of Standards and Compliance (OSC)

The OSC became operational as of April 1, 2020, within the Department of Public Service and Administration.

The Office is not designed to encroach on the mandate of any other institution, but to assist in areas of public administration where strategic intervention is required.

The OSC focus on identifying areas of non-compliance with Public Administration and OSC regulations and prescripts, conducting compliance audits, and undertaking interventions where required, to address challenges facing certain departments and provinces.

Developing a core set of transversal norms and standards for the effective functioning of the public service is a critical step in promoting compliance, changing the behaviour and mindsets of public servants.