Day: September 16, 2022

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Lifestyle audits to curb corruption in public service

The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) says nearly 400 Ethics Officers and interested parties have been trained to conduct lifestyle reviews in a bid to root out corruption in the public service.

The training took place after the establishment of the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit (PAEIDTAU) in 2019, after President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a proclamation on the establishment of the unit.

After one year of compulsory lifestyle audits, 24 national departments and 14 provincial departments have finalised lifestyle audits.

The unit is currently addressing non-compliance letters to departments that failed to implement the guide on lifestyle reviews. The names of the departments were also shared with the relevant Parliamentary Portfolio Committee.

The unit, however, is also continuing to provide technical support to department so as to assess what the challenges are.

In 2021, the unit also facilitated the training of around 210 public service employees as chairpersons and initiators for disciplinary cases, and will continue training in this financial year, using the relevant Public Service Sector-Education and Training Authority.

For the current financial year, 98% of all senior management service (SMS) members disclosed their financial interests timeously.  The other categories are yet to disclosure for this financial year.

For the previous financial year, 54% of the Supply Chain Management, Finance Officials and Middle Management Service employees on levels 11 and 12 (including on Occupational Specific Dispensation) disclosed their financial interests.

Acting against corruption

The unit was set up as part of the restructuring of the DPSA and it contributes to the 2019 – 2024 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) Priority 1, which is “A Capable, Ethical and Developmental State”. It has two key strategic priorities, namely, to build an ethical public administration and to address corruption in the public administration.

At the launch of Public Service Month earlier this month, Acting Public Service and Administration Minister, Thulas Nxesi, said public servants must walk the talk and defend the country’s freedom against the scourge of corruption.

“To win this war against corruption, we must speak out. We must walk the talk as we fight corruption and build a capable, ethical and developmental State that puts people and their needs at the centre of our work.

“We therefore encourage you to speak out and report any wrongdoing that you may be aware of,” Nxesi said.

The PAEIDTAU previously assisted the South African Police Service and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation. Currently, it is assisting the Investigating Directorate in the National Prosecuting Authority.

The unit also assists departments experiencing challenges, and is assisting the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to establish its own ethics infrastructure.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Closing gender gap in science and innovation landscape

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, says his ministry implementing measures to close the gender gap within this sector.

Nzimande said there are a number of women graduates outperforming their male counterparts in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field, regardless of the high number of male students.

This is according to the Post School Education and Training (PSET) Macro Indicators Trends report (2010 to 2019).

Nzimande said this trend is also observed at PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) level, where there is a narrowing of the graduations gap.

“HEMIS [Higher Education Management Information System] data show that the number of women PhD graduates in public universities increased from 1 182 in 2016 to 1 540 in 2020, accounting for 42% and 43%, respectively, of the total number of PhD graduates.

“Consistent with the overall PhD graduation and enrolment trends, women PhD graduations in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) accounted for between 40% to 43% of the total SET PhD graduates,” Nzimande said.

He said it is anticipated that the overall female PhD graduations and enrolments will increase in response to the ongoing support interventions given.

The PSET Macro Indicators Trends report also observes that access to the PSET system generally favours women over males, with the Gender Parity Index (GPI) for the PSET system being among the highest in the world. 

Nzimande said within the university sector, female students continue to be in the majority in all major fields of study that include Business and Management, Education, and the Humanities.

“The Ministerial Guidelines on Achieving Equity in the Distribution of Bursaries and Scholarships (2013), and its successor, the DSI-NRF [Department of Science and Innovation-National Research Foundation] Postgraduate Funding Policy, both set an equity target of a minimum of 55% of female postgraduate students receiving support. 

“The 55% female target at Honours and Masters levels was achieved soon after the policy was introduced, while there was some lag at PhD level. Nevertheless, the target of 55% female students supported at PhD level was achieved for the first time in 2020 and for the second year running in 2021,” Nzimande  said.

Flagship research grants programmes

In addition to post-graduate support, the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), through the National Research Foundation (NRF), implements two-flagship research grants programmes, including the Thuthuka Programme and Black Academics Advancement Programme (BAAP), which support young and emerging researchers holding academic or research positions at South African public universities and public research institutions.

“Over the past three years, the Thuthuka Programme and BAAP have funded 1 849 emerging researchers’ grants for SA citizens and permanent residents, and of these, 1 173 went to women.

“Increasing the number of black women in research and academia is critical for promoting the participation of young women in STEM fields,” Nzimande said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Employers encouraged to educate employees on harassment policies

The Department of Employment and Labour’s Deputy Director of Employment Equity, Masilo Lefika, has called on employers to educate their employees on their harassment policies.

Lefika was addressing an Employment Equity Roadshow, held in collaboration with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration(CCMA) in Vanderbijlpark on Thursday.

“Make sure that your employees are fully aware of the contents of your harassment policies. Make sure that they are aware of the policy, are fully educated and well informed on the contents thereof. It does not help to have a good policy which employees are not aware of,” Lefika said.

He advised employers to include the issue of harassment in their orientation, education and training programmes in an accessible format to make it easy for employees to understand and follow.

“This must contain all the procedures and processes that must be followed when an employee has to report harassment,” he said.

In unpacking case law on harassment matters, Commissioner Samson Phomodi, from the CCMA, told the gathering that when harassment occurs, in most cases there are “the powerful and the weak”.

“This is where we, as the Commission, come in to create an equilibrium with the law. People who ignore the law are just like those who recklessly drive through a red traffic light,” he said.

He told the gathering that the issue of harassment is a subjective one, and therefore depends on what the recipient feels and not what others think about it.

Meanwhile, employers were reminded of the Employment Equity (EE) reporting, which opened on 1 September 2022 for all designated employers.

It will close on 3 October 2022 for those submitting manually and 15 January 2023 for those submitting online.

The EE Roadshows are part of promoting the new Code of Good Practice on the prevention and elimination of harassment in the workplace.

The next Employment Equity Roadshow is scheduled to take place on 27 September 2022 in Bloemfontein, Free State.

More information on EE is obtainable from the department’s website, www.labour.gov.za.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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Eskom to open an online skills database

Eskom announced on Friday that it will soon launch a crowdsourcing digital platform to supplement its existing skills base to help address its operational challenges.

According to the State-owned power entity, the platform will act as a skills database for Eskom to acquire additional expertise and resolve its urgent business needs.

The crowdsourcing initiative, according to Eskom, will also leverage partnerships with statutory and non-statutory bodies, such as the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), to ensure that it can access the best candidates in the electricity supply industry, engineering and technical professions.

In recent months, the power utility, which continues to battle capacity constraints, said it has received an overwhelming response to its call for skilled personnel to come forward to assist in rebuilding skills and numerous organisations, and people have come forward to respond to this critical call for national service.

“A diverse cross-section of South Africans have sent enquiries and made themselves available to respond to the call to national service,” said Eskom Group Chief Executive, André de Ruyter.

“Eskom is in the process of matching the skills that have already been made available to its needs and will be recruiting the suitable candidates imminently.”

Crowdsourcing, according to Eskom, is the practice of obtaining information or input into a task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via a digital platform.

Since South Africa has a pool of skilled people, crowdsourcing of these skills may offer a unique opportunity for available and willing citizens to support Eskom to resolve its business challenges.

The entity said it has been prompted by several offers and submissions received from organisations and individuals, including experienced engineers and technical experts, who have indicated that they could potentially assist Eskom.

“For Eskom to reap the highest benefit from this diversity of skills, it must also develop a governance mechanism and a platform that will provide an equitable opportunity to all those willing to be considered for service,” said Group Executive for Human Resources, Elsie Pule.

“The process will be driven by the needs of Eskom and will follow a standard governance process for fixed-term contracting.”

Interested people will be able to register on the digital platform to allow Eskom to access skills across the country.

Eskom said it looks forward to collaborating with South African citizens to address the current electricity supply challenges facing the country.

Skills that would be required, include but are not limited to, mechanical, nuclear, electrical, system and maintenance skills, as well as senior artisans and plant operators for coal and nuclear power stations.

While the digital platform is still in development, individuals who wish to be considered can contact the office of the Group Executive for Human Resources via crowdsourcing@eskom.co.za.

Source: South African Government News Agency

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North West provincial government hosts urgent meeting on Ditsobotla Local Municipality administration

Invocation of Section 139 (1) (c) of the Constitution of RSA in Ditsobotla Local Municipality

The North West Executive Council convened on an urgent basis on Wednesday 14th September 2022 to receive a report and consider a set of recommendations from the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA) on the state of governance, collapse of administrative systems and institutional dysfunctionality at the Ditsobotla Local Municipality.

Over the past months, the Ditsobotla Local Municipality experienced heightened state of deterioration of stability in both administration and council operations, which escalated in July when government through Section 216 of the Constitution withheld disbursement of the equitable share to the municipality.

Since the inauguration of new councils, the Provincial Government adopted a cooperative approach to give the Ditsobotla Local Municipality a chance to resolve internal governance challenges through support by the Department and the EXCO Team of MECs appointed by Premier Kaobitsa Bushy Maape comprising MEC for COGHSTA, Lenah Miga, MEC for Finance Motlalepula Rosho and MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management Sello Lehari ,as empowered under Section 154 of the constitution.

Section 154 stipulates that by legislation and other measures the Provincial Government is to support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to manage their own affairs, exercise their powers and perform their own functions. This intervention measure was used along with Section 139 (5) of the MFMA by the Provincial Treasury to implement the financial mandatory recovery plan given the dire financial distress of the municipality.

All these interventions and many others failed to restore stability in the municipality resulting in the total collapse of systems. This resulted in the municipality failing to discharge its constitutional obligation and legislative mandate.

In the recent past, the municipal council was divided into two groups and each of the two councils elected a Municipal Mayor and appointed a  Municipal Manager. Despite various intervention measures by Provincial Government through the COGHSTA department, the municipality failed to remedy the situation. Only a week ago, the Municipal Council resolved to request the MEC for COGHSTA to second an official from the province to act as a Municipal Manager.

The MEC responded positively to this request by seconding an official from the Department. The council rejected this appointment and prevented the official from taking office as Acting Municipal Manager.

As a result, the equitable share of the municipality remains withheld, and the municipality is unable to pay salaries of workers and compulsory third party payments. This week, employees held municipal councilors hostage in demand of their August salaries which remain unpaid.

The Executive Council has taken all these matters into consideration including the interest of the public, disruptions to delivery of services, threats to public safety and stability as well as hampering of effective functioning of economic and business activity in the municipality.

The Executive Council during its urgent meeting convened on Wednesday 14th September 2022 approved the recommendation from the Department of COGSTA and resolved to invoke Section 139 (1) (c) of the Constitution of Republic of South Africa with immediate effect.

EXCO has mandated the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to notify the National Minister of COGTA, the National Council of Provinces, the leadership of the affected municipality, the Provincial Legislature and other stakeholders.

An Administrator will be appointed to take over the running of the municipality to ensure continuity of service delivery and consult with National Treasury to secure the release of the Equitable Share of the Ditsobotla Local Municipality.

Source: Government of South Africa

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Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma launches Local Government Anti-Corruption Forum and Local Government Ethical Leadership Initiative, 20 Sept

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will on 20 September 2022 officially launch of the Local Government Anti-Corruption Forum and the Local Government Ethical Leadership Initiative (LGELI).

The Local Government Anti-Corruption Forum (LGACF) was established in October 2020 under the chairship of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) supported by the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCOG) as the Secretariat.  The Forum was formed with the intention to foster collaboration and coordination amongst the various stakeholders at the local government level on anti-corruption matters. 

Key stakeholders that form part of the forum include representation from government (including law enforcement agencies), business and civil society.

To date, the forum has, amongst others, achieved improved collaboration between DCoG, provinces and law enforcement agencies in relation to municipal investigations; targeted joint anti-corruption communication and awareness between government and civil society stakeholders in line with District Development Model (DDM).

The LGELI project aims to facilitate a national dialogue on ethical leadership in municipalities, culminating in the development of a Code for Ethical Governance for Municipalities that sets out the principles and practices for ethical governance and leadership in local government.

Source: Government of South Africa

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Western Cape Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning on training session with United Nations

Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning congratulated the Provincial Disaster Management Centre for hosting a successful four-day training session, held from the 13th to the 16th of September, at the Provincial Disaster Management Centre.

The initiative was jointly organized by the Western Cape Provincial Disaster Management Centre (WC: PDMC), the Provincial Training Institute and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

“Disaster preparedness is all about training and planning for events that you hope will never happen. This training session, while benefitting us with an international perspective, also focused on the phycological wellbeing of the people at the forefront of disasters and emergencies, and as such was much needed and of great value,” Bredell said.

The training was attended by officials from Western Cape Disaster Management Centre, City of Cape Town and District Disaster Management Centres as well as the National Disaster Management Centre.

Graham Pause, Head of Department for the Western Cape Department of Local Government said: “Not all disasters can be prevented and the need to respond to major incidents and disasters have become more prevalent over the recent years in the province.  It is for this reason that the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre place a big focus on disaster risk reduction and disaster response to ensure that we can mitigate, prevent, or effectively respond to any potential disaster.”

Colin Deiner, Manager of the WC: PDMC said the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) is part of the international emergency response system for sudden-onset emergencies. UNDAC is designed to help the United Nations and governments of disaster-affected countries during the first phase of a sudden-onset emergency. UNDAC also assists in the coordination of incoming international relief at national level and/or at the site of the emergency.

“During the past week Western Cape Provincial Disaster Management staff together with officials from the city and District municipalities across the province received training in the management of sudden-onset emergencies and how to work together as a team in dealing with all the aspects of a disaster. The province faces many disasters annually and this training programme has exposed the team to well-developed disaster management methods and strategies which will be included in our own systems,” Deiner said.

Source: Government of South Africa