21 November 2012
President Jacob Zuma convened a consultative forum of the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC) in Cape Town yesterday, 20 November 2012, to raise matters of national interest with representatives of provincial and local government and take their views on such matters. The Council's quarterly meetings ensure coordination and alignment of priorities, objectives and strategies across all spheres of government.
The PCC is chaired by the President and comprises the Deputy President, the Minister in the Presidency, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Minister of Finance, Minister of Public Service and Administration; Premiers of the nine Provinces and South African Local Government Association (SALGA)
Key issues:
Management Performance Assessment
The PCC welcomed the first report on the results of the Management Performance Assessment of the departments for the period 2011/12. The assessment tracked 31 management standards based on 17 key management areas which were developed by the three departments: Public Service and Administration, National Treasury and Performance Monitoring and Evaluation.
These reports would form the basis of future annual assessments that monitor the state and quality of management practices of National and Provincial Government. The assessments for 2012/13 will build on the methodology of departments conducting self-assessments on the state of management practices in their departments. This will, however, be independently moderated and published before June 2013. Departments will need to implement improvements based on these assessments to ensure areas of non-compliance and weakness are addressed. From 2013/14 the state of management practices will also contribute to the future assessment of Heads of Departments.
Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring (FSDM)
The PCC commended the collaborative work by the Department for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation and the Offices of Premiers in improving the quality of service rendered by government to the general public. The site visits took place in service centres where members of the public interact with government to access various services. Between June 2011 and September 2012 more than 300 service delivery centers were visited. The PCC was briefed on the outcome of the 185 reports that have been finalised.
The reports highlighted areas that needed improvement, such as cleanliness, queue managements, customer satisfaction and non-attendance of basic maintenance of the facilities. The monitoring process entailed interviewing customers, the officials managing these facilities and through observations made by the monitoring teams. The monitoring was tested against the generic quality standards and norms expected in the respective service centres.
The PCC called on the Offices of the Premiers and the relevant Departments to commit to addressing the challenges noted by the reports. Premiers and Ministers have been asked to further support these planned visits by follow-up surprise visits to the sites and facilities. The Council will be briefed in the next sitting on progress made in addressing the issues raised.
Payment of service providers within 30 Days
The PCC was apprised of the monthly exception reports of all the national and provincial departments. The PPC noted the progress made in the submission of the monthly statistics from all the departments. It, however, noted the need to further improve the rate at which progress is made in achieving full compliance to the payments within 30 days.
The PCC agreed that Premiers will monitor the payment of invoices on a monthly basis to ensure adherence to the 30 day period and the reduction of the number of exceptions in this regard.
The meeting further endorsed that performance agreements of all the Accounting Officers and Chief Financial Officers should have the payment of invoices within 30 days as a key deliverable .
Provincial Equitable share for the 2013 MTEF
The PCC was briefed on the revised 2013 MTEF Provincial allocations. The revision was based on the recently released Census 2011 results. The PCC was apprised on the increases of the population in Gauteng and Western Cape. The current equitable formula used for allocating the provincial budget has been adjusted accordingly.
The revisions will be phased in over the three year period, to ensure there is stability in these provinces. The PCC further mandated the National Treasury to recommend to the Fiscal Financial Commission (FFC) to review the current formula which should take into account a number of societal changes that have been revealed by the Census 2011.
The PCC agreed that a discussion should take place in the New Year, to align the imperatives that are articulated in the National Development Plans as they impact on the Integrated Urban Development.
Executive Protocol in the appointment of Deputy Director Generals and Directors General
A presentation was made on the revised Guidelines on the Executive Protocol for the employment of Heads of Department (HoDs) and Deputy-Director's General (DDGs). The presentation sought concurrence with the provinces so as to further improve and entrench good governance principles across government.
Amendments to the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 and the Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965
The PCC approved the proposal for the amendment of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992 and the Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965. The proposed amendments will strengthen and improve regulation and monitoring of certain chemicals such as methamphetamine and other amphetamine type stimulant drugs.
These are drugs that are not regulated and easy to find over the country, but form an ingredient to the production of illegal drugs such as “tik”. The PCC recommended that the proposed amendments be transferred to a further cluster of Ministers that may be directly and indirectly affected by this. Based on all the inputs the Minister of Health will submit the proposals to Cabinet for processing.
Enquiries:
Phumla Williams (Acting Cabinet Spokesperson)
Contact: 083 501 0139
Issued by Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)
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