DG S Mollo 4-6 October 2010, East London

1. TOWARDS A STRATEGIC FRAMEWORKREPOSITIONING PALAMA TO DEVELOP A DYNAMIC CADRE FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICEPresentation to the PSTF DG S Mollo 4-6 October 2010, East London

2. Presentation Outline Purpose Introduction Background Problem Statement The end state Repositioning of PALAMA Programme of Action – way forward 

3. Purpose • PALAMA’s key challenges raised by the MPSA • What defines and distinguishes the Academy from just being a broker of training services? • What defines the state of a government training academy? • What is the most appropriate institutional form for PALAMA? • How can existing public service capacity be used to strengthen PALAMA capacity • What is PALAMA’s strategic thrust? • What is PALAMA’s niche area? • What is the preferred and most feasible financial model? • If key programmes are made compulsory would PALAMA cope with the demand? • Should PALAMA remain focused on leadership and management? • What is PALAMA’s role vis-a-vis other state funded training units, e.g. provincial academies, etc.?

4. Purpose … PALAMA should be the compulsory training institute for senior-managers, after they have been deployed, on ANC and government policies. ANC NEC Lekgotla Resolution, Jan 2010 • According to the Secretary-General of the ANC, PALAMA: • must be more focused and resourced in developing a dynamic cadre for the public service • must take bigger responsibility in developing and enhancing the intellectual capacity of the state • should include the philosophical and political content of government’s developmental agenda in its curriculum • structure strategic partnerships with specific institutions of higher learning • The framework repositioning PALAMA to the above approach must be completed within a year. The purpose of the presentation is to brief the PSTF on a draft framework for developing a public service cadre ANC NEC Lekgotla Res, Jan 2010

5. Introduction • The South African State has pronounced itself as developmental. • Being developmental requires of the State to be able to lead in the strategic orientation of the country. • For the State to lead, its technical and organizational capability is critical. • Such capability must allow the South African State to translate broad objectives into programmes and projects for implementation, which requires – • Proper training at all levels, • Leadership development both at executive and civil service levels, • Re-orientation, engendering new doctrines, culture and practices at all levels, and • Acquiring and retaining skilled personnel.

6. Introduction… • Sec. 4 of the Public Service Act of 1994, as amended, provides: • There shall be a training institution listed as a national department in Schedule 1. • The management and administration of such institution shall be under the control of the Ministerof Public Service and Administration. • Such institution - • Shall provide training or cause such training to be provided or conduct such examinations or test or cause such examination or test to be conducted as the Head of the institution may with the approval of the Minister decide or say be prescribed in or to the public service; • May issue diplomas or certificate or cause diplomas to be issued to persons who passed the exam. • Schedule 1 identifies Palama as the institution. PSA, 1994

7. Introduction… • The mandate of PALAMA is to improve the capacity for service delivery and implementation of government initiatives through training across the three spheres of government – national, provincial and local. • It has the responsibility to decide what training it will provide, but it must obtain the approval of MPSA. • Palama must also provide that training which MPSA may, by regulation, prescribe as a qualification for the appointment or transfer of persons in or to the public service (e.g. the compulsory MIP). • Each Executive Authority (Regulations, Ch.1, Part IIID) or Head of Department (Act, Section7(3)(b)) has the responsibility to ensure that employees in his/her department are trained. • However, MPSA is responsible for establishing norms and standards relating to the functioning of the public service. He does this by making regulations, determinations, or directives.

8. Background – SAMDI to PALAMA • In July 2005 Cabinet Lekgotla requested MPSA to assess capability of SAMDI to respond to the capacity development challenges in the public service, • The MPSA appointed a Ministerial Committee (MINCOM) to consider SAMDI’s adequacy to respond to the challenge, • MINCOM found – • SAMDI not effectively fulfilling its mandate to provide quality, customised training and development to the public service, • Performance of higher education institutions (HEIs) and other training providers, and their collaborations with SAMDI, has fallen way short of expectation (under-performing), • Performance of higher education institutions (HEIs) and other training providers, and their collaborations with SAMDI, has fallen way short of expectation (under-performing), • SAMDI and stakeholders are operating without a coherent and coordinated national institutional framework to guide and integrate their work, • Sub-optimal efficacy of the training institutions within the public service and inadequate linkages and partnerships between government and the training providers resulting in doubtful relevance of training provided, • System encouraged competition rather than collaboration between providers leading to duplication and inefficient use of resources

9. Background – SAMDI to PALAMA… • Cabinet approved MINCOM recommendations BUT amended – • Establishment of an Academy as a Schedule 1 department reporting to MPSA as opposed to an entity with a board. • And, among others approved: • Establishment of an implementation task team to implement decisions over 18 months, • Academy to be established parallel to SAMDI, • Fully funded initially with element of cost-recovery, • Focused on practical management and leadership skills for a developmental state, • Training for development of common ethos and values for a professional public service • The PALAMA business model resulted in the following strategic shifts – • From a provider of training to a facilitator (Resulting in no in-house trainers), • From being a competitor to collaborating with other service providers, • To extend its coverage from selective to comprehensive high-volume (massification)

10. Problem Statement • Public service training remains uncoordinated, incoherent, and largely outsourced - • Private and public providers, training academies, independent individual contractors etc. • Public service training coverage remains inadequate – • About 38 000 of the 1.4 million public servants covered • Impact of training on service delivery not assessed. • Training narrowly focused on junior, middle, and senior managers – • Administration, support, and frontline staff not covered – more than 70% • The Executive largely not covered. • Local government training neglected. • Relevance and responsiveness of programme provision insufficient. • Cost recovery model too expensive

11. The end state -2014 and beyond • The 1995 White paper on the Transformation of the Public Service envisioned training and education as critical to “develop the professional capacities of public servants and to promote institutional change” by: • “First, equippingallpublic servants …with the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies to carry out their jobs effectively in pursuit of the new vision and mission for the public service; • Second, forming an integral part of the process of increasing the representativeness of the public service; • Third, enabling public servants to acquire a new development-oriented professionalism; this will entail the development of a new work ethic, knowledge and skills with which to implement the RDP; • Fourth, being a powerful instrument for anticipating as well as facilitating the introduction of institutional changeswithin the public service; and • Fifth, assisting public servants in developing a better understanding of the needs of the communities which they are serving, as well as a capacity to respond to these needs.”

12. The Medium Term Strategic Framework of government, arising from the electoral mandate of the 4th democratic elections of 2009, identifies as key amongst its objectives the need for a developmental state including improvement in public services. The State has reorganised itself in a manner emphasising national planning (through the National Planning commission) and performance monitoring and evaluation through the PME Unit in the Presidency. This requires of PALAMA to respond and thus key to the developmental state and improving public services is; The capacity of the public sector to plan the country’s growth trajectory in the context of a globalised and interdependent world economy; The capacity of the public sector to implement and coordinate such a growth trajectory in the context of competing interests; and The capacity of the public sector to simultaneously monitor and evaluate its implementation and the implications thereof in support of a developmental state. Training must impact on service delivery, in line with the Presidency performance monitoring and evaluation processes. Repositioning of PALAMA – Macro organisation

13. Developing a cadre for the developmental state: Break new ground: being innovative and not shying away from coming up with new ideas for the public good. Inspire success: is self motivated and ready to motivate others to service the public. Raise the standard: is capable of giving her/his best regardless of whether she/he is in the front office or at management level. Believe that nothing is impossible: comes up with turn-around strategies to salvage a failing situation. Repositioning of PALAMA – cadre attributes

14. Developing a cadre for the developmental state: Make a difference to the people: understands that the public service has to serve a larger population, and this population has expectations that should always be considered when doing work. Take collective responsibility and teamwork: must believe in partnership and be practically seen to work with other people. Be on-board and owning service delivery processes: owns the processes of service delivery. Be an international activist: is an active agent in implementing the public service agenda on the continent and in the world. Repositioning of PALAMA cont…

15. Developing the executive to: Execute its constitutional responsibilities more effectively. Understand its strategic and ethical role in representing the people and ensuring that government and state institutions meet their developmental mandates. Engage and intervene in debates on strategy, budgets and policy. Enhance its oversight responsibility by understanding governance, government and sectoral accountability. Repositioning of PALAMA – Political content

16. PALAMA allocation: 1.5 million public servants – Total expenditure of R180 million Reduced state grant of R117 million Staff complement of 232 permanent staff. Government allocation increase Direct access to 1% of government skills development fund Donor funding management Repositioning of PALAMA - Resourcing • UNISA, 2008/9AR • 262 000 students • R2.8b total exp • R1.2b govt grant • 4 286 staff

17. The development of mandatory programmes shall be characterised by the following: It relies more on on-board capacity to train and develop public servants, It is compulsory for all designated public servants in national, provincial and local Government Departments, Its design is generic, integrated and multi-disciplinary, It is centrally coordinated, and Training and development shall entail coal-face deployment. Repositioning of PALAMA – Curriculum model

18. The development of demand-led programmes and/or courses on the other hand shall be characterised by the following: Its design is specialised and based on demand, Its development is based on the premise of a matrix informed by research/needs-analysis, It is designed for public servants in need of specialist or unique skills, It relies more on expertise outside public service with the view to building the State’s capacity to deliver public services, and Repositioning of PALAMA cont…

19. The delivery model for cadreship development is premised on two fronts. First it is premised on the need for the state to take direct responsibility for the development of a public service cadre – this will require appropriate resourcing by government and the establishment of an appropriate campus for this purpose. Secondly, it is premised on the need to reach the necessary scale in cadreship development within a short period of time – 1.4 million public servants by 2014. Repositioning of PALAMA – Corporate form

20. 70% of public service training to be done in-house through: Master trainers who are part of the training core of PALAMA, Government trainers located within government and certified by PALAMA. 30% of public service training to be done through strategic partnerships: All providers to be certified and registered with PALAMA to qualify. Repositioning of PALAMA – Corporate form

21. Skills, knowledge and competence Ability Commitment, culture and ethos Will PERFORMANCE Space A supportive institutional environment I want to! I can! • Organisational culture and ethos define the ways things are done: • norms to support delivery • supportive leadership • value driven delivery • Building knowledge and skills through: • skills development • training • networks • research • sharing knowledge • education I am allowed! Formal and informal authority, structures, regulations enable or limit participation and engagement to move beyond policy to practice.

22. By 2014, all public servants should be: Trained under an integrated public service framework; Receiving targeted mandatory training in specified fields; Receiving minimum five days training per annum; and Serving for minimum five days at service delivery points of government per annum. POA – Way Forward

23. Thank You!