Lack of appetite for consequence management is undermining good governance
Governance within the public service and municipalities and the lack of consequence management were the topic under discussion at various meetings recently.
POLOKWANE – “We have the responsibility as the Legislature to ensure that we promote clean corporate governance, integrity, ethics and professionalism,” Mocheta Monama, Chairperson for the Portfolio Committee on Public Administration said recently. Governance within the public service and municipalities and the lack of consequence management were the topic under discussion at various meetings recently.
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The public service
The Portfolio Committee on Public Administration and Public Service Commission (PSC) agreed at a meeting on 9 October in Polokwane to enhance performance of the public service. The parties held a strategic dialogue aimed at ensuring the provincial government is effective, efficient and responsive to the legitimate demands of the public and that the performance capacity of the public service is enhanced. The PSC advised the committee to utilise its reports in exercising and strengthening its oversight functions so that its recommendations could be more effective.
The meeting agreed that public servants as professionals are expected to behave in an acceptable, effective, efficient, accountable and equitable manner in the execution of their duties. It was also decided that high standards of professional ethics have to be inculcated in the provincial administration.
The portfolio committee and the Commission recognised that a culture of commitment in serving the public must be fostered and it is incumbent upon the executive council, to continuously maintain high standards of propriety in the discharge of their official duties and creating legislative and institutional arrangements that reinforce ethical behaviour and create harsh sanctions against wrongdoings. The committee undertook to do its oversight role of ensuring that the recommendations of the PSC are closely monitored and implemented.
Discussions indicated that every public official must be held accountable for their actions and to ensure that the public resources are protected and safeguarded. The committee noted that the PSC will assist in improving accountability in public institutions as well as its oversight work.
The Committee on Cooperative Governance also committed to regular monitoring of the implementation of audit action plans to ensure that municipalities in the province improve. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) requested frequent updates on the implementation of those action plans.
Local Governance
The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance criticised the lack of clear and substantial consequence management in local government in Limpopo despite continuous transgressions.
Council is said to have also neglected their fiduciary and oversight duties, adopted investment policies contrary to the Municipal Investment Regulations, and have failed to adequately investigate the recoverability of expenditure and liability of officials.
The committee has urged for speedy civil claims to be instituted, especially against those MMs and CFOs that have since resigned from these municipalities, in an effort to recover part of the money lost through VBS investments.
Engagements with the Office of the Auditor-General, the Provincial Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA) and municipalities that invested monies into Venda Mutual Bank have shown that those municipalities are technically insolvent, jeopardised their financial viability and the ability to service their creditors. Vacant positions cannot be filled to the detriment of the ability of the municipality to service its clients. More than R1,2 billion has been lost. The committee added that the clear lack of appetite for consequence management undermines prescripts of good governance. The committee was astonished that, despite suspensions of various MMs and CFOs, no further action has been taken.
The lengthy suspensions of senior managers created management gaps in municipalities, many of which have had negative audit opinions, which impacts on stability and performance.
The committee urges the Department of Public Service and Administration to find a way of blacklisting officials who resign before completion of disciplinary proceedings, only to emerge somewhere else within the public service.
The committee criticised over-reliance on consultants to prepare financial reports and the millions spent, while the AG found the financial statements unreliable. It was considered unacceptable that there were no skills transfer from consultants to internal staff at municipalities, resulting in ongoing reliance on consultants, despite that municipalities have personnel who are paid to work within the finance environment.
Irregularities around the supply chain management (SCM) remains a concern for the committee. Above all, councils were urged to play their oversight role to ensure that they hold the executive accountable for the effective and efficient running of the municipality.
