The Public Service Commission (PSC) has called for transparency and accountability in order to build a South Africa where all citizens enjoy a high standard of living.

“All people in the public service are accountable and must be transparent. They must be held accountable so that we can improve public administration to realise a South Africa where all people enjoy a high standard of life,” PSC chairperson Ben Mthembu said on Wednesday.

Mthembu was speaking at the Gauteng Stakeholder Engagement session held at Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg under the theme ‘Living constitutional values and principles to achieve excellent public service and administration’.

The objective of the session was to evaluate the extent to which Gauteng Government Departments adhere to the values and principles of Section 195 of the country’s Constitution. The principles include high standards of professional ethics, responsiveness and good human resource management, among others.

Mthembu described the PSC as a knowledge intensive organisation that conducts research and makes findings and recommendations regarding the public service.

The PSC was established in terms of Chapter 10 of the Constitution.

Mthembu called on departments to make use of the recommendations made by the PSC and other institutions of democracy like the office of the Auditor General.

“We believe that if departments can make use of these recommendations… and implement them, they can go a long way,” he told those attending the session.

If the recommendations were implemented, this would result in the better management of resources.

“The challenge is that recommendations are made by the PSC, by the Auditor General to help public administration to achieve values and principles. We appeal very strongly that … recommendations (should be) considered,” Mthmbu said.

Commissioner at the PSC, Mike Seloane, said that for the Gauteng province, only 79% of senior managers generally made their disclosures by the 30 April deadline annually. By law, senior managers are expected to disclose all their registrable interests, with the PSC expecting 100% compliance.

The PSC found that the Economic Development Department in Gauteng had 33% of senior managers doing remunerative work outside the department in the 2012/13 financial year.

Dealing with misconduct

Departments are also compelled to report on finalised financial misconduct cases to the PSC. In the 2013/14 financial year, 93 cases were reported while in the past five financial years, 561 finalised financial misconduct cases were reported.

Seloane said the 93 cases reported involved an amount of R8.8-million, while the 561 cases involved R71.4-million.

On the spending of budgets in Gauteng, the provincial Education Department had spent 99% of its budget in 2013/14 and had achieved 90% of its targets.

“That is a good story,” said Seloane.

The PSC also found that audit outcomes in Gauteng departments were improving.

“The departments are improving because over the past four years, they have been getting unqualified audit opinions,” said the PSC.

With regard to the payment of invoices within 30 days, only 36% of creditors had been paid in the 2013/14.

Last month, Public Service and Administration Minister Collins Chabane told the National Assembly that legislation is planned to strengthened the powers of the PSC.

However, the PSC acknowledged the effort that the province has made \ to improve the lives of its citizens.

Gauteng chairperson of Committees, Nomantu Ralehoko, welcomed presentations made by the PSC.

“The Gauteng Provincial Legislature welcomes the study conducted by the PSC,” said Ralehoko.

She said the Legislature will continue to strengthen the relationship it has with the PSC.

The Gauteng Provincial Government said it appreciated the efforts made by some departments to improve and called on those that have not yet done so to pull up their socks.

“The Premier [David Makhura] is taking the work of Chapter 9 institutions seriously. A zero tolerance to non-compliance will be adopted. Non-compliance is a no-no and we don’t expect government officials to do business with government,” said Sifiso Mkhize, the Deputy Director General for Corporate Services in the Office of the Premier.