Public Service and Administration Minister, Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi at the first seating of Public Service and Administration Portfolio Committee, committed to raise the bar in promoting transparency, efficiency and the highest standards of public service delivery.
Speaking at the first seating of the Portfolio Committee of the 7th administration in Cape Town on Tuesday, Minister Buthelezi said: “as representatives of the people, you will be tasked with holding us as the Ministry for the Public Service and Administration, accountable.
“This is a role we welcome with open arms, for it is through your rigorous oversight that we can ensure transparency, efficiency and the highest standards of public service delivery.”
Minister Buthelezi further described the Ministry for the Public Service and Administration as the alpha and omega of the public sector.
“We are responsible for setting the policies, frameworks and norms and standards that govern the entire public service.
“From human resource management to information technology, from ethics to service delivery improvement – the decisions made in this Ministry reverberate throughout the entirety of government,” he said.
Inkosi Buthelezi also committed to providing the committee with unfettered access to information, to engaging robustly on policy matters, and to working together to strengthen and modernize the public service.
“I am confident that through our collective efforts – through open dialogue, rigorous oversight and a shared commitment to the public good – we can transform the public service into an efficient, ethical and citizen-centric machinery that delivers on the promise of our democratic dispensation,” he said.
The MPSA portfolio: the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), the Public Service Commission (PSC), the National School of Government (NSG), and the Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) also shared their respective Annual Performance Plan (APP) presentations with the newly established committee.
The DPSA, as the department responsible for public service and administration, outlined its plans to continue driving public service reforms, improving human resource management, and enhancing service delivery capacity across the public sector.
The PSC, as the independent constitutional body tasked with promoting good governance, highlighted its intended interventions to monitor and evaluate the performance of the public service. This will include its plans to investigate grievances, conduct ethics and integrity assessments, and provide advisory support to departments.
The NSG, as the premier training institution for public servants, presented its strategy for building the skills and capabilities of public sector employees. This will include details on new training programs, leadership development initiatives, and plans to expand the reach of their offerings.
The CPSI outlined its innovation agenda, showcasing its intended efforts to identify, incubate, and scale innovative service delivery solutions within the government. This will cover process re-engineering, digital transformation, and the use of emerging technologies.
These APP presentations are an important part of the public service accountability and transparency process. They provide a detailed overview of the strategic objectives, key activities, and performance targets that these institutions have set for the upcoming financial year.
