Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

1. Contact the GCIS Information Centre, which will provide you with the required information or refer you to the relevant government institution. Tel: 012 314 2211; Fax: 012 325 6898; e-mail: information@gcis.gov.za
   
2. The SA Government Online (outside link) website provides government information, as well as access to government websites.
   
3. FAQs (outside link) on government and government-related issues are available on the SA Government Information (outside link) website.

Communication clusters comprise the heads of communication (chief directors) of national, line-function departments. The chair of the cluster is always the head of communication of the lead department in the cluster. There are seven clusters and they meet once a month at GCIS. The objectives of these meetings are to coordinate and plan communication of departmental projects and programmes, to assess and plan issues arising from Cabinet and the DG Clusters, to plan and assess the implementation of departmental communication strategies and to share information.

The DG clusters comprise the directors-general of the same departments as the communication clusters and the same department serves as chair of the cluster. Communication cluster programmes are informed by the decisions of the DG clusters.

• Communications
• Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
• Economic Development
• Energy
• Finance
• Human Settlements
• Public Enterprises
• Public Works
• The Presidency: National Planning Commission
• Transport
• Water and Environmental Affairs

• Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
• Communications
• Economic Development
• Finance
• Higher Education and Training
• Labour
• Mineral Resources
• Public Enterprises
• Rural Development and Land Reform
• Science and Technology
• Tourism
• Trade and Industry

• Arts and Culture
• Basic Education
• Health
• Higher Education and Training
• Labour
• Science and Technology
• Sport and Recreation

• Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
• Environmental and Water Affairs
• Human Settlements
• Labour
• Public Works
• Rural Development and Land Affairs
• Social Development
• Transport
• Women, Youth, Children and People with Disability

• Defence and Military Veterans
• International Relations and Cooperation
• Finance
• State Security
• Tourism
• Trade and Industry
• Water and Environmental Affairs

• Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
• Home Affairs
• Justice and Constitutional Development
• Finance
• Public Service and Administration
• The Presidency: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation and Administration

• Correctional Services
• Defence
• Home Affairs
• Justice and Constitutional Development
• Police
• State Security

Contact:
Delien Burger
Tel: 012 314 2410
E-mail: delien@gcis.gov.za

Tel: 012 314 2211
Fax: 012 325 6898
E-mail: watson@gcis.gov.za

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Government communication efforts are coordinated in the following ways:

• GCIS regional offices participate in communication forums in the provinces and work together with provincial communication counterparts.
• Regional offices play a supportive role in setting up communication forums at district or local level.
• Regional offices share the core messages and content of the national government communication strategy with their provincial communication counterparts.

Thusong Service Centres are one-stop centres where local, provincial and national government, as well as other service-providers, offer services and information about government programmes to local communities. Communities around Thusong Service Centres identify services to be offered by the centre based on their needs. Each Thusong Service Centre is different and can either be located in a single building, or be part of a cluster of buildings.

Thusong Service Centres have access to technology through information technology centres (ITCs) or tele-centres and public information terminals (PITs). This helps communities to use technology to better their lives.

Eventually each district and metropolitan municipality will have at least one Thusong Service Centre.

Thusong Service Centre website

Thusong Service Centres help people who could not reach government in the past to get information and services. The services of non-government and community-based organisations (CBOs) can be found in Thusong Service Centres.

In the past, getting information and services from government was difficult because of the frustration of being sent from place to place and from office to office without getting any help. This led to despondency and a lack of faith in the ability of government to provide services effectively. It is worse in rural areas where distances are vast and travelling to urban centres to get services and information is expensive. It is for this reason that Thusong Service Centres have been identified as the main way of implementing development communication and information as they can offer various services that communities can use to better their lives.

Government departments offer information and services at Thusong Service Centres. However, these differ from centre to centre according to community needs. The types of services you can find include:

• Government services such as applications for identity documents, pensions, welfare grants, unemployment insurance, passports, death and birth certificates and information on issues such as health, government structures and organisations, labour issues, citizen rights, education, contact information etc.
• Training on, and the use of computers, the Internet and e-mail.
• Other services and information such as community banking, craft shops, women's clubs, food production programmes etc.
• Two-way communication between government and citizens. The community can share their views on government programmes, policies and activities and make their needs known.
• Community events such as music concerts, meetings, voting, workshops etc.

Development communication is about providing communities with information they can use to change their lives for the better. This is according to Batho Pele principles which put people first, and uses the communication methods that are practised in communities.

The main focus of development communication and information is on the poor and disadvantaged who had little or no access to information. They are found mainly in townships and rural areas.

Development communication focuses mainly on face-to-face interaction between government and people.

This approach addresses topics such as:

• rights and duties of citizens
• policies and programmes of government
• development opportunities and how to access them
• information about government campaigns.

Development communication methods include:

• government material written in simple language
• government material written in local languages
• suitable methods for those who cannot read or write such as drama
• community radio
• community participation using local networks.

Thusong Service Centres are run by a centre manager assisted by support staff looking after maintenance, reception, security and the grounds. Staff are employed by either the provincial or local government, at district or town level. There are also different management models in different areas, including centres managed by communities themselves.

The responsibilities of the centre manager are:

• developing memoranda of understanding between service-providers and the Thusong Service Centre
• drawing up contracts with service-providers
• facilitating renovations at the centre
• ensurings that the centre has proper services such as water, electricity and telephones
• helping service-providers acquire space in the centre
• facilitating community research to understand community needs
• monitoring, evaluating and reporting about service provision at the Thusong Service Centre
• receiving reports about successes and challenges faced by service-providers
• facilitating monthly meetings of service-providers and community stakeholders at the Thusong Service Centre
• supervising the Thusong Service Centre's support staff
• monitoring security measures at the centre.

The Thusong Service Centre is managed by a committee of service-providers and community leaders and members. The committee ensures the coordination of the activities of service-providers. Its role includes:

• updating the profile of the community around the centre
• upgrading service and information needs
• facilitating the entry of new service-providers to the centre
• monitoring operations from the reports of the Centre Manager and service-providers
• evaluating service provision according to Batho Pele principles
• assisting the centre manager with administrative functions such as budgeting, monitoring, staff evaluation, fund-raising and human resource management
• motivating for special events at the Thusong Service Centre, such as imbizos, youth programmes, training, workshops, etc.
• lobbying for the extension of the centre to provide more services according to needs.

Proper management is central to the sustainability of Thusong Service Centres. It is therefore vital to have funds and a proper system of financial management in place.

Sustainability is enhanced through creative efforts aimed at fund-raising and self-sustaining activities at Thusong Service Centres, including sponsorship from donor agencies and the private sector. Currently, government departments use their budgets to provide services at Thusong Service Centres. The Department of Public Works through its Expanded Community-Based Public Works Programme plays a role in the building of new facilities where they do not exist and the refurbishment or renovation of existing premises. Other funding and development agencies play a similar role. Launches of Thusong Service Centres are funded by a partnership between government, communities, local businesses and traditional leaders.

The roll-out of Thusong Service Centres is gaining momentum and soon every district or metropolitan municipality countrywide will have its own. Important lessons from Thusong Service Centres launched since December 1999 are:

• communities are in need of government services and are using Thusong Service Centres in growing numbers
• communities must choose the services offered at Thusong Service Centres according to their priorities
• technology in rural areas is costly to maintain and creative mechanisms need to be in place to provide communities with computers and the Internet
• national, provincial and local government have worked well together to make Thusong Service Centres a success
• traditional leaders have played an important role in establishing Thusong Service Centres
• community participation in the setting up of Thusong Service Centres has ensured that no Thusong Service Centre to date has been burgled or vandalised
• Thusong Service Centres run a development communication programme, which builds community participation
• Thusong Service Centres have strong management structures and this contributes to their success.

Project management is the science and art of assembling necessary ingredients in a project to ensure that a project is successfully implemented from initiation to closure. Project management entails the process of guiding work effort from its beginning to results, outcome and finally to its closure.

The GCIS introduced a Project Management System, facilitated by the Project Desk to coordinate projects on an integrated basis, and to streamline GCIS to become more client-focused, responsive and efficient. This approach distinguishes line-function work from cross-cutting projects:

• line-function work is the type of work that requires input from a single discipline in a particular section of GCIS, and is part of a staff member’s day-to-day operations
• cross-cutting projects refer to the type of work that requires expertise from more than one section of GCIS.

Action plans and checklists should be developed for work activities and tasks, which are taken from your Directorate’s/Unit’s business plan. The action plans and checklists should be made as simple as possible, and they should be achievable. The action plans and checklists should be made visible and discussed at regular meetings to monitor progress. Templates for developing agendas and taking minutes should be used. By using action plans and checklists to monitor progress on work activities and tasks, your will notice the following benefits:

• ensuring that line-function work is more visible in business units
• monitoring and evaluation of business plan milestones
• providing a better sense of the use and spread of resources
• efficiency levels will improve
• meetings will become more effective through the use of templates for agendas and minute-taking
• tasks will be better prioritised in line with key issues in the business plan.

The GCIS, like most government organisations, traditionally operates within a structure of functional silos. Each silo operated within a hierarchical command and control structure, hampering the integration of the disciplines, knowledge, experience and skills available within the organisation. It has the potential to impair the coordination of projects and campaigns.
The Project Desk acts as the focal point or the co-coordinator of all cross-cutting projects within the GCIS - as the single project interface between the organisation and other government departments. It acts like a hyphen that connects the work effort of various sections into a complete whole. The Project Desk is the single project management facility in which all cross-projects within the GCIS are registered and controlled at a macro level.
The Project Desk only deals with activities:

• in the GCIS which are multidisciplinary in character, or cut across various line-functions
• with huge resource implications
• with major strategic implications.

The Project Desk maintains a register of all projects aligned to the annual Government Communication Programme (GCP) to ensure that the GCIS’ strategic goals are being met and measured continuously The Project Desk also:

• provides regular updated lists of project leaders/members
• ensures the effective and efficient appointment of members of project teams
• monitors project implementation
• acts as an early warning system
• addresses training and skills development of GCIS employees and government communicators in project management and communication strategising.

The Project Desk distinguishes between three categories of cross-cutting projects, featuring the Government Communication Programme (GCP), transversal projects/campaigns, and GCIS projects/campaigns.

The GCP refers to the programme that the Project Desk develops annually on the basis of priorities identified in the directors-general clusters’ reports to The Presidency, the President’s State of the Nation Address, the annual Government Communication Strategy and the GCIS Corporate Strategy. The GCP pre-determines the key communication programmes in which GCIS would be involved, the level of GCIS’ involvement in these communication programmes, and project teams that have to assist the specific lead departments or clusters in the implementation of the projects, should the GCIS’ assistance be required.

Transversal projects/campaigns: These campaigns involve more than one department and require their joint efforts for a maximum communication impact. For example, the HIV/AIDS Campaign involves the departments of health, education, social development, science and technology and Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs well as The Presidency and GCIS.

GCIS projects/campaigns: GCIS' top management initiates these mainstream projects/ campaigns. Project teams are set up, drawing expertise from various sections to achieve particular strategic imperatives of the GCIS. For example, the State of the Nation Address Campaign (which, among other things, seeks to popularise the key priorities of government as outlined in the President’s State of Nation Address) is handled by a project team assembled with expertise from the chief directorates Government and Media Liaison (G&ML), Policy and Research (P&R), Communication Service Agency (CSA) and Provincial Coordination and Programme Support.

All GCIS projects/campaigns are allocated a priority rating on a scale as follows:

1 = High priority (focus projects/campaigns)
2 = Medium priority (standard projects/campaigns)
3 = Low priority (ad hoc projects/campaigns).

• Focus project:
  • An experienced project leader is allocated to manage the project.
  • A team of skilled line-function specialists is nominated to support the project leader.
  • Team members may be required to lead sub-teams and implement related activities.
• Standard project:
  • A project leader is allocated to lead the project.
  • A small team representing relevant line-function areas is nominated to support the project leader.
• Ad hoc project:
  • These are referred to the supervisor of the relevant broad project team, based on the theme they fall under and are dealt with at advisory level.

Communication project supervisors: A project supervisor is usually a member of the GCIS Exco, and is allocated to each project in GCIS. They are responsible for:

• leading the specific Reference Team
• ensuring timely decision-making
• advocating the need for resources
• overcoming organisational conflicts and barriers to project performance
• maintaining an overview of where the project is going, with interventions where necessary
• giving advice to the project leader on issues requiring strategic input.

Project leaders and project team members:

A project leader is a temporary appointment, which only lasts as long as the duration of the project/campaign. They are empowered to be the single point of accountability for the projects under their control.

The project leader does not have exclusive human resources but utilises and directs the human resources allocated to the project by line managers to function as project team members for the duration of the project.

Members of project teams have the following responsibilities:

• implementation of tasks allocated to them by the Project Leader
• frequent and effective communication with the project team, including the relaying of questions and feedback arising from the project team.

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