Durban - KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube says skills audits are being conducted on more than 200 000 public servants in the provincial administration including municipalities, in order to deliver high-quality services to citizens in the province.
The premier revealed this Monday at the start of a three-day Government Capacity and Performance Review Conference at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).
The conference hosted by the Department of Public Service and Administration in partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal Office of the Premier, UKZN and the National Planning Commission, will focus on issues affecting service delivery.
It brings together a variety of stakeholders working in the field of state capacity and government performance including academics from across South African universities, researchers, public servants and cabinet leaders.
Dube-Ncube said the conference will confront the challenge of uneven implementation that arises clearly out of capacity inadequacy across the state.
This resulted in uneven outcomes at local, provincial and national government.
“We are clear that these skills gaps lead to, and are also a result of weak accountability, (and) persistent corruption emanating from a leadership skills deficit,”she said.
The premier said the skills audit will assist the government to ascertain whether the KZN provincial administration had the required skills set to deliver services.
“The skills audit in all the municipalities has been finalised while the skills audit in government departments will be finalised in 2023,” said Dube-Ncube.
Dube-Ncube highlighted that a functional and integrated government required professional, responsive employees obsessed with efficiency and citizen-focused delivery.
“To be able to lead a state that is capable of playing a developmental and transformative role, this public service must be immersed in the development agenda but must be insulated from undue political interference. These factors must interact together in one direction to achieve the National Development Plan goals,” said the premier.
Dube-Ncube said in KZN at least 100% of municipal officials had been audited for skills.
She said the audit revealed training needs for senior managers in among areas including financial management, strategic capability and leadership, risk management, change management, policy development, and monitoring and evaluation.
Dube-Ncube said KZN had developed a Framework for Mentorship and Coaching to address the findings of the skills audit:
- Councillors are being capacitated on the complexities of the District Development Model through the Integrated Councillor Induction Programme and Sector Based Councillor Orientation Workshops.
- The capacity development of public servants has been conducted with 791 officials already trained.
- The repositioned Provincial Training Academy is prioritising key skills and capacity building interventions to improve service delivery in partnership with the National School of Governance (NGC), and other institutions.
- Our partnerships are not only ensuring that the curriculum offered in universities responds to the economy and skills needed by the province but to partner with university and NSG in the skilling, reskilling and upskilling of public servants.
With regard to corruption, the premier announced that the Provincial Anti-Corruption Implementation Plan had been drafted based on the National Anti-Corruption Strategy that was approved in 2020.
In addition, the Office of the Premier, together with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Special Investigating Unit, the Hawks and National Prosecuting Authority were working together to conduct ethics and anti-corruption awareness campaigns.