Deputy Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga: Africa Public Service Day commemoration 

Opening and welcome remarks by the Deputy Minister of the Department of Public Service and Administration, Honourable Sindisiwe Chikunga,MP at the occasion of the Africa Public Service Day commemoration 

The Programme Director: Mr Marcel Wilson: Acting Deputy Director General Department of Public Service and Administration
Acting Director-General Mr Willie Vukela   
 Esteemed Panelists and Public Sector Experts 
Public Servants from the Three Spheres of Government 
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and gentlemen 
To the African Youth who are the lifeblood, heart and soul for our hope of a better Africa

Introduction

I extend warm African Greetings to you this morning. The month of June is marked by the most critical historical accounts, such as the June 16 Soweto Uprising, where history archived the struggle potency of a resolved resilient youth of 1976. 

Henceforth, it will be a month where as a Continent we will remember the demise of the last Giant of African Nationalism of the 20th Century.  A Pioneer and a Father of African Socialism and an iconic revolutionary who provided sanctuary to many liberation movements in the African diaspora, Former President of Tanzania, the late Baba Kenneth Kaunda. May his soul rest in eternal peace.

This month also registers the commemoration of the 8th year since the inception of the Continental Africa Public Service Day (APSD), which is an event celebrated under the stewardship of the African Union. Core to the African Union Agenda 2063, is good governance principles of public participation, openness and service delivery to citizens.

This day is meant to recognize the institutional contribution made by public servants to enhance the role, professionalism, image and visibility of the public service, as well as to recognize the value and virtue of public service to the community. 

Moreso, the above mentioned principles also resonate with the African Peer Review Mechanism which is also a specialized agency of the African Union (AU). It serves as an instrument by African States to share   experiences and  reinforce  best practices  towards political stability, accelerated economic growth and regional and continental   integration  as  well as  sustainable  development. It is important to note that the APRM uses  a  holistic  review   process  that   distinguishes it  from  other  institutions  through  inclusive  dialogue, independent and objective self and peer assessment,  peer learning and compliance  monitoring.

These principles also premise the core of our South Africa’s constitutional values and principles as contained in Section 195 of the Constitution, as well as the vision of a developmental state, as articulated in the National Development Plan (NDP) and the Medium Term Strategic Framework (2019-2024). These principles are captured in all the mentioned policy and legislative prescripts to ensure an inclusive and participatory democracy.  

Distinguished Participants; 

The Continental theme for 2021’s Africa Public Service Day is, “Constructing the Africa We Want through embracing an ethical culture that underpins purpose driven leadership”. The National Theme is “Creating the Front Line Service Delivery We Want.”

The White Paper on Transforming Public Service

Ladies and gentlemen;

The White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery (or the Batho Pele White Paper) of 1997 compels us to establish a citizen-centric Public Service that is seamless, adaptive and responsive. 

The honorable President of the Republic, his Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his keynote address at the launch of the 2020 Public Service Month made specific reference to the need for: I quote,

“…a new integrated model for service delivery that is responsive, adaptive and brings development to where it is needed most”. Close quote.
The State of the Nation Address 2021 highlighted weaknesses in State capacity and a lack of coordination between the three spheres of government as an obstacle to service delivery. 

The onset of COVID-19 further highlighted the need for government institutions to work together and as a collective be responsive to the needs of the citizens. It further showed the glaring disjuncture between planning and execution of services to the citizens’ thence the need for government to stop working in silo’s which, in most instances, results in duplication of efforts, displacement of resources and breeds confusion. 

Such systemic, process and policy implementation weaknesses undermine the collective efforts of building a capable, ethical and developmental state; the legitimacy of the State and public trust as well as achieving public value, supported by an active citizenry, partnerships in society and participatory democracy. 

Programme Director;

The above mentioned challenges, prompted government to re-look at the manner in which, it conducts its business. The District Development Model was then identified as a service delivery planning instrument that aims to respond and address some of the challenges by bringing all spheres of government closer to the people at the district level and to foster an integrated approach to governance as a Constitutional Right in South Africa. This required thorough planning, coordination, collaboration and monitoring, to ensure that government gets value for the money it spends and protects the poor and vulnerable.

This adaptive integrated service delivery model aims to establish a citizen-centric Public Service that is seamless, adaptive and responsive as per the dictates of the 1997 White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery. 

Where lies the success of the District Development Model

Programme Director;

Integral to the successful implementation of the District Development Model (DDM) is a much needed Policy dialogue on developing an integrated frontline monitoring and service delivery improvement system in support of the DDM. The intent is, therefore, to use this platform today to kick start a process with the relevant center of government departments and institutions to enhance a mutual understanding of the various frontline monitoring mandates, the approach in the execution of these mandates and the commitments that can make a meaningful impact on evidence-based decision making and the inclusion of the voice of citizens in the process. 

This Policy dialogue will be amiss if it does not reflect on the reasons why the current monitoring systems and approaches do not yield intended results. At a Continental level, we have the APRM instrument. The APSD is also one of the critical continental programmes that has been distilled into a Batho Pele Service Delivery Initiative, whose key objective is to “Take Services closer to where the People Live”, across the three spheres of Government. 

At National, Provincial right down local government levels we have a plethora of monitoring political and technical institutions and adopted approaches. These include Chapter 9 and 10 institutions, Parliament, Legislatures, Executive Authorities and civil organizations. 

We do need to dissect the reasons why policy implementation but also our monitoring methods are embattled. Are we saying the current monitoring and oversight mechanisms are not adequate? Is it possible that lack of policy implementation and monitoring to enhance service delivery is difficult because we implement and monitor to comply instead of implementing and monitoring to make a change? Is it possible that Policy implementation and monitoring impact negatively on service delivery because our policies do not complement one another thus create compliance conflict instead of effecting transformation? 

How would we ensure that we emerge with a seamless integrated frontline monitoring and service delivery improvement system which also respond to the current policy implementation and monitoring challenges across the three spheres of government? These are questions that must be reflected upon by this very platform of experts in governance and state machinery management and operations. 

Ladies and gentlemen;

Whereas government has made significant strides in the improvement of access to services, with innovative approaches in some Frontline Service Delivery Points and Sites, it is nevertheless clear that more still needs to be done to address these (frontline service delivery issues) in an integrated and holistic manner.

It is important to ensure that Frontline Service Delivery access is integrated; these include; physical and language access, interoperability and coherence of systems, flexi and extended office hours and days, etc. for optimal impact to be realized. 

The 2021 APSD Dialogue

The 2021 APSD Dialogue presents a valuable opportunity and space to the different stakeholders who have and continue to play a critical role in interventions at the Frontline Service Delivery Points and Sites across the three spheres.  

Part of this APSD dialogue should be the forging of effective partnerships with citizens, the private sector and other strategic sectors, as there are many instructive lessons that we in government can and do often learn as we seek to improve systems, processes and performance of our public services. But most importantly, governments should be the champions of creating enabling environment for innovative approaches to take root and flourish.

The dialogue today seeks and is affording a platform for critical interactions, update, exchange and sharing of data, information, knowledge as well as best practice by the different stakeholders; who are key to Frontline Service Delivery across the three spheres. Our main aim is to optimize government’s initiatives and interventions and realization of the desired impact of effective, efficient and economical service delivery.

Conclusion

I wish you well in these important deliberations and look forward to the outcomes that seek to achieve integrated frontline monitoring and service delivery improvement system in support of the DDM across the three spheres of government for the benefit of our people.

Jomo Kenyatta said and I quote, “Our children may learn about the heroes of the past. Our task is to make ourselves architects of the future.” Close quote. It’s upon us now to emerge in this dialogue with a construct that will establish a Frontline Service Delivery We Want for now and generations to come”.

We belong to the Public Service, We Care for our clients and We Serve our citizens! We Belong! We Care! We Serve.

It my honour and priviledge to declare this APSD Dialogue officially opened. 

I Thank You.