12 February 2010
President Jacob Zuma has dubbed 2010 South Africa’s “year of action”, saying government officials would be expected to work faster, harder and smarter to improve service delivery in the country, and would be systematically monitored and evaluated to make sure they did so.
“We will expect the executives and the public service to comply with this vision,” Zuma said during his State of the Nation address in Parliament, Cape Town on Thursday, adding that a performance-orientated state would be achieved by improving planning, performance monitoring and evaluation.
He said ministers would sign detailed delivery agreements with the President, outlining exactly what was to be done, how, by whom, within what period, and what measurements and resources were to be used.
The government was also working on a public service development programme that would set norms and standards for South Africa’s public servants in all spheres of government.
Zuma said a turnaround strategy for the country’s local government had been approved in December following a meeting with mayors and municipal managers. This strategy would ensure that municipalities had the right management, technical and administrative skills.
In addition, an inter-ministerial committee on corruption was looking at ways of cutting out corruption in the public service. This was already having an effect, Zuma said, with the termination of 32 687 fraudulent social grants payments, valued at R180-million, this week alone.
Source: BuaNews
