One measure of the quality of the training was that some of these trainees were then poached by other communities, with one of them hired as a supply chain manager at the Greater Taung Local Municipality. However, it also highlights the broader problem of the very small pool of trained professionals that can be used by both the public and private sectors. During the period covered by the MTEF, the DPSA will intensify the fight against corruption in the public sector by promoting a culture of accountability, ethical and professional behaviour. and strengthening discipline management. The Department of Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance to Public Administration is responsible for developing guidelines for conducting lifestyle assessments. To be included in the program, municipalities first need a minimum level of financial capacity. “This is a capacity-building programme, so there must be people who receive this training,” explained Motseoa Lugemwa, municipal coordinator of the programme. “There needs to be a city manager and a chief financial officer, as well as staff in the budget and tax offices.” In the medium term, the DPSA will also assist all national and provincial ministries in improving compliance with public administration legislation. Each of the Department`s line programs will provide quarterly information on the compliance of national and provincial ministries, which will be summarized in an annual report from the Office of Standards and Compliance.
Through the National School of Government, the Government continues to introduce courses and training programmes for its civil servants, from entry-level to senior management and executive. “What we did as treasury was a capacity building strategy – an integrated approach to achieving excellence in financial management that translates into quality services and the development and growth of the economy,” Hlongwane said. “It focuses on discipline within financial management – budgeting, accounting, risk management, internal audit, asset management and supply chain management.” These areas are so closely linked that they act as a Rubik`s cube for financial management – pictured on the right. An in-house academy of chartered accountants at the National Treasury is beginning to look into this issue. “It allows students to complete their Chartered Accountant qualification as part of a specialization in the public sector,” said Newton Stoffels, program director of FMIP-III, based in the Office of the Accounting Officer of the National Ministry of Finance. The school plans to further revise its funding model in order to generate more revenue through training projects. Management is responsible for revising this model, with related activities under the Management and Corporate Services sub-programmes estimated at R109.1 million in the medium term. The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent institution established under Chapter 10 of the Constitution. The Commission`s mandate derives from articles 195 and 196 of the Constitution, which set out the values and principles governing public administration. The Commission is responsible for overseeing the public service; and monitoring, evaluating and investigating public administration practices. It has the power to issue guidelines on compliance with recruitment, transfer, promotion and dismissal procedures for staff. Transfers to the training business account represent 50.4% (R308 million) of the NSG budget in the medium term, while the remaining 49.6% (R330.8 million) is allocated to the management programme.
Program activities primarily include strategic leadership to ensure the operation of the school and the provision of administrative support services such as human resources, internal audit, finance and supply chain management. “We want to take public administration to the next level in all areas of government,” Hlongwane said. “Finance has always been treated as an isolated activity, but it is the first part, the most important ingredient that can contribute to the success of government.” Specific challenges vary from municipality to municipality, but the most common issues were: The recommendation of an independent CFO is a remedy against political interference in the management of public finances. I want to know how it happened in South Africa. How does the legislation ensure that the powers conferred by sub-national legislation are not removed if the CFO is independent in the exercise of its functions? According to De Milito, the programme could be replicated in other countries as long as the content, scope and scope are adapted to the context. “FMIP`s architecture reflects the sophistication of the PFM system in South Africa, and so it may not be immediately possible and feasible to copy and paste this program and implement it in other countries,” De Milito said. The public service is at the forefront of government, and lack of professionalism affects not only service delivery, but also public trust. Promoting honesty, ethics and integrity in the public service is crucial if the government is to build a capable state. The NSG Training Bargaining Account fulfills its expanded capacity building mandate in all areas of government, government institutions and public bodies through its Training Bargaining Account. In the medium term, the NSG aims to promote cooperation with educational institutions, universities, higher education and training institutions and private education providers.
The EU-funded Financial Management Improvement Programme (FMIP-III), currently in its third edition, aims to support the South African government in developing institutional, organisational and individual capacity in public financial management and to establish partnerships with training institutions and other stakeholders. The desired result: better employee retention and skills; more efficient communities; and better value for money on all government spending. In the medium term, the centre wants to use innovations to solve service delivery problems. This is done through initiatives such as the annual Public Sector Innovation Awards, which serve to identify innovative solutions that can be replicated or scaled up in government institutions. The Centre also works with other ministries, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, higher education institutions, academics and international institutions to find innovative solutions to identified service delivery challenges. In the medium term, the Commission will focus on professionalising the public service by promoting meritocracy and ethical behaviour. This is achieved by facilitating and monitoring research and providing capacity in critical areas related to, among others, ethical recruitment practices, effective discipline management, strategic repositioning of human resources in departments, and effective management of ongoing employee development. To ensure that employees` competencies remain relevant, the strategy includes opportunities for regular review and updating. “It`s a living document,” Stoffels said. “It should be an organic strategy […] Ensure that civil servants receive training in effective public finance governance.
The aim is for municipalities to become learning organisations that support the continuous development of staff and help them retain and motivate staff and improve services and value for money for local communities in the future. “The PMFMI has been institutionalized within the Office of the Accountant General (OA) and is very closely linked to the National Treasury`s capacity development strategy. These 20 years of cooperation really matter and weigh in limbo,” De Milito said. “They knew what they wanted, so they made it,” Lugemwa said. In the following 2014-2015 fiscal year, the municipality went even further and obtained an unqualified (or unqualified) audit opinion, meaning that the auditor was completely satisfied.