Honourable Speaker;
Minister in the Presidency, Jackson Mthembu;
Ministers and Deputy Ministers here present;
Honourable Chairperson and Members of the Portfolio Committee;
Honourable Members;
Deputy Chairperson and Commissioners of the National Planning Commission (NPC);
Secretary of the National Planning Commission (NPC), Mr Tshediso Matona;
Director-General of DPME, Ms Mpumi Mpofu;
Statistician General, Mr Risenga Maluleke;
Acting Director General of GCIS, Ms Phumla Williams;
Acting CEO of Brand SA, Ms Thulisile Manzini;
Board members of the MDDA;
Our Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

It is my singular honour to deliver my maiden Budget Speech here in this august house of our people. We are humbled by the trust South Africans have shown in us. 

This day is made more special because it happens when as the country we honour the founding father of our democracy, President Nelson Mandela. Indeed, as Minister Mthembu, reminded us earlier, we all need to heed the call to take action; inspire change; make every day a Mandela Day.

As we honour the late President Mandela, we also pay homage to our traditional leaders and the role they played in the liberation struggle- we present this speech in honour of King Sekhukhune and the Bapedi people in Limpopo and the entire Marota dynasty. The warrior King Sekhukhune's revolutionary deed of refusing to collaborate with the regime inspired successive generations of traditional leaders within the Bapedi nation. It was for this reason that the area was excluded from the main stream service delivery by the apartheid regime. This gallant struggle was intensified by the Sebatakgomo uprising of 1958.

Our resolve to bring government closer to the people and enhance service delivery complain mechanisms is dedicated to that brave warrior king of Bapedi nation who refused to collaborate with the oppressive regime.

We want the Bapedi people of Sekhukhune, and many other previously oppressed people, to easily interact with government. Going forward, we will review the operations of the Presidential Hotline and improve its effectiveness by introducing modern technology. For instance, we would like citizens to have a Mobile App that they can access for free and report issues of government and get responses in real-time. We are going to add more platforms to the current telephone and email method of engagement to enable citizens to send SMS and WhatsApp their complaints and compliments. In our redesigning, we will ensure accommodation of different needs and technology options, including the use of social media like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The Presidential Hotline must evolve from its current format as a complaints instrument to become a mechanism to facilitate government-citizen engagement.

PM&E Capacity development coordination

We are mindful that the country cannot progress fast enough in implementing the NDP if PM&E is not properly guided, aligned, integrated across all spheres of government, and horizontally across all sectors of society. We have put in place platforms of engagement such as the PM&E Forum that draws from the collective wisdom and experience of all sectors to address national challenges, and to find solutions through dialogue.

The forums provide an overview of various elements of PM&E in the country. This was successfully done in the past in terms of consultations on the drafting of the NDP Five-Year implementation plan. The PM&E Forum is also used to share information, provide feedback, communicate DPME policy frameworks, share experiences with our stakeholders, and engage on possible solutions and explore options to address enduring challenges in society.

We will continue to facilitate training to build capacity of government officials to apply PM&E in partnership with National School of Governance (NSG), Universities, and the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA). DPME provides support on the implementation of its planning and evaluation policy frameworks through NSG training. We also rollout a bursary programme in collaboration with PSETA on postgraduate diploma in M&E conducted by Universities of Fort Hare and Wits.

We will mobilise government, labour, civil society, academia, and private sector towards ensuring delivery of our objectives in every Province. Our planned new model, as announced by President in the SONA, is to focus our energies at district level and activate various participatory governance mechanisms.

New analytical framework for departmental performance (NEW MPAT)

We are in the process of developing a new analytical framework for departmental performance, otherwise known as the new MPAT. This will ensure that we move from assessing compliance to analysing the e-capabilities of the state using existing data sources.  We will strengthen our early warning capacity to guide and support interventions for national and provincial government departments. One of the areas analysed would be financial management and improvement of audit outcomes.

SOE/Public entities framework

To strengthen governance of public entities, we are developing a monitoring and oversight framework. The extent of oversight by the relevant departments differ substantially. It is critical that departmental oversight in relation to their entities is improved. We would like to ensure stability of entity boards as Accounting Authorities in terms of the PFMA. We will also prioritise the filling of vacancies in senior positions, particularly the CEOs of entities.

Establishment ofthe Head of Public Administration

We recognise that the establishment of the Head of Public Administration as an NDP requirement for the professionalization of the public service is long overdue. We are therefore developing an implementation strategy to give effect to the NDP proposal to establish the office of the Head of the Public Administration by end of this financial year. The proposal will be negotiated with key role players in government to make it happen. The current work of DPME on the implementation of the Performance Management and Development System of the HoDs will be part of the roles and responsibilities of such an office.

Conversely, we will continue to champion the objectives of the NDP with regard to the absorption of women and youth into mainstream economic activities. In accordance with the injunction of the NDP, we must create work opportunities for women and youth in the public service. The NDP is very emphatic in this regard, and goes on to say:

“Public employment should expand, with a focus on youth and women. It is expected that public employment will provide the equivalent of 2 million full-time jobs by 2020"

It is about time that more opportunities are opened for young people and women, in particular, to play a key role in our efforts to grow South Africa. Young people and women must rise and take their rightful place in the leadership echelons of our society.

Conclusion

The framework and programmes we have outlined here are essentially about bringing government closer to the people. They are about fulfilling our promise to South Africans that we are a caring government. We are a listening government. We are a government that is accountable to the people, and a government that is open to ideas.

We will walk hand in hand with South Africans from all sectors of our society as we strive to deliver the promise of a better life for all.

Ke a leboga! ​