President Jacob Zuma will soon meet with ministers for an update on government's plan to speed up the delivery of services through changes to the way it operates.
Zuma made this announcement to media at the conclusion of the ANC's week-long national general council in Durban on Friday.
“We spent [the] past year and a few months speaking to various sectors of the public service to share our vision. We also spent the year working with ministers to clarify roles and make expectations, desired outcomes, timeframes and targets clear. Ministers signed performance agreements with the President in April. They have currently been negotiating delivery agreements with their partners at local and national level,” he said.
The objective of the ministerial meetings will be to obtain feedback on the conclusion of those delivery agreements, he added. “This is important because we should now move actively into the implementation phase.”
Ministerial movements mooted
Political and government circles have been abuzz with talk of an impending shake-up to Cabinet.
Communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda was among the first ministers believed to be heading towards the ruling party's recall register. Since taking office, Nyanda has made headlines with controversial reports of extravagant vehicle purchases; allegations of tender manipulation; chaos reigning in a variety of his parastatals; the axing and, following presidential intervention, reinstatement of his director-general, Mamodupi Mohlala; and his public backing of Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siyabonga Gama, which instigated a reprimand from Zuma.
While some of these issues have faded with age, others continue to receive high-profile coverage. This morning, mainstream news media reported the determined return of Mohlala to her DG post as one of the day's main stories. Similarly, difficulties at Sentech and the SABC appear to be far from resolution.
Meanwhile, public service and administration minister Richard Baloyi is rumoured to have been added to the recall list, based on his handling of the public service strike. Closer inspection reveals that he has also yet to deliver the much promised and anticipated turnaround at the State IT Agency (SITA).
As ICT evaluation and procurement arm for government, it is essential that SITA's turnaround be successful to ensure national, provincial and local buy-in to the transversal systems under its development.
Despite the ongoing rumours, presidential spokesperson Zizi Kodwa has told Sapa there are no plans to reshuffle Cabinet ministers.
Action on implementation
Zuma's government renewal drive will see him meeting with a task team representing directors-general from national and provincial departments early next month.
“Deputy President [Kgalema] Motlanthe and I met the DGs and deputy DGs from all over the country on 23 April this year, and outlined changes we want to see in the way they manage the public service on our behalf.
“They have been consulting and working on an implementable national action plan which they need to present to us at that meeting,” he said on Friday.
Supporting these topline meetings is a tour of the country's service delivery points to monitor and evaluate work being down at the coalface of government, Zuma revealed.
Zuma travelled to Belgium yesterday to attend the third SA/European Union Summit which takes place tomorrow. This will be followed by an official visit to Belgium on Wednesday before returning home.
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