The team of senior managers deployed to frontline service centers in Limpopo has wrapped up their week-long visit with findings and recommendations to improve service delivery in the province.

 

Senior managers from both the Limpopo Office of the Premier and the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) visited frontline service sites such as the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and Home Affairs offices in Capricorn, Mopani, Sekhukhune, Waterberg and Vhembe districts.

Their goal was to help unblock day-to-day service delivery challenges faced by citizens.

 

“The deployment was not malicious compliance,” said Mr Mphahlele Monyela from Limpopo’s Premier Office, who was part of the team that visited the SASSA and Home Affairs offices in Makwarela outside Thohoyandou in the Vhembe district.

The team interacted with management, staff and citizens during their visits.

 

As next steps, the final deployment team report will be submitted to the Office of the Premier on June 25, 2024. Management of the Department of Home Affairs and SASSA in Vhembe will then develop and submit improvement plans to the Office of the Premier by July 15, 2024.

A closure report will be submitted to the Director-General in the Office of the Premier on July 31, 2024, followed by a signed-off report to the DPSA.

 

“This process will be followed by the presentation of reports or improvement plans to decision-making structures of both the DPSA and the Office of the Premier,” Mr Monyela said.

 

Another team led by Mr Andrew Ngwandula from the DPSA visited several frontline service centers, including the local Home Affairs Office in Lephalale. “We have identified areas of good practice, and where we found challenges, we have resolved to engage various stakeholders to unblock those challenges.

For the next three years, each team deployed to the various districts will be focusing on resolving the challenges they have identified during their visits to improve service delivery,” he said.

 

Ms Mamello Mahomed from the DPSA, who led a team at the border town of Musina, said: “We have witnessed the rendering of high-quality service delivery at the local Home Affairs office, but the few challenges that we’ve identified, such as lack of waiting area with shelter, we will continue to work closely with the management until the challenge is resolved. We want citizens to be treated with dignity at all our frontline services.”

 

The Khaedu project, a government initiative aimed at ensuring that residents consistently receive high-quality services at frontline service delivery sites, was the driving force behind the senior manager deployments to Limpopo.

Khaedu is a Tshivenda word meaning “challenge.”