Qualifications of senior managers a mystery
At the end of 2023 the qualifications of 1,779 senior management service (SMS) staff in the government were not specified on the central system used for the administration of the public service payroll (Persal), public service & administration minister Noxolo Kiviet has disclosed.
Out of the total, 1,427 individuals held senior managerial positions, with 989 of them being hired before August 1 2016, before the implementation of minimum requirements, and 448 being hired after that date.
DA spokesperson on public enterprises (formerly public service & administration) Mimmy Gondwe said in an interview on Monday that the issue of a lack of qualifications was critical as it could be linked to poor service delivery and to cadre deployment
where individuals were appointed to senior government positions by the ANC when they were not qualified for them.
The total composition of SMS members in the public service on December 31 was 9,278. This means that 19% either did not have qualifications listed on Persal or did not have the minimum
National Qualification Framework level qualifications required, said Kiviet in a written reply to a question in parliament by EFF MP Rosina Komane.
Of the total of 1,779 SMS staff, 1,216 (68%) were employed before August 1 2016, before the implementation of the minimum requirements, and 563 (32%) were employed after this date.
“The Public Service Commission (PSC) initiated an investigation to establish the employment circumstances of senior managers without qualifications,” the minister said. “The outcome of the investigation will determine the course of action as the impact of having unqualified managers could erode public trust in government institutions and undermine the government ’ s standpoint for the professionalisation of the public service.
“It is essential to recognise that some SMS officials occupied their roles before the 2017 directive on minimum entry requirements came into existence, and their extensive experience might reflect the requisite knowledge and skills for their positions. The project to verify qualifications is expected to be completed by June 30 2024.
“In the public service, performance monitoring is rigorous, with each department held accountable for the performance of its SMS officials, irrespective of their qualifications. Departments report underperformance to the department of public service & administration (DPSA) and undertake the necessary corrective measures. In addition, the DPSA is initiating a verification process to confirm the qualifications of SMS officials as part of the skills audit project.”
Kiviet cautioned that public service performance did not only depend on academic qualifications, which were not the exclusive measure of competence. Competency includes the acquired knowledge, skills, behaviours and aptitudes an employee contributes to their position. The public service has implemented a comprehensive performance management and development system for assessing the performance of individuals in their designated roles,” she said.
Gondwe, who asked the PSC to undertake the investigation, said in a statement on Sunday that she had received a letter from PSC chair Somadoda Fikeni who confirmed that the PSC investigation into qualifications had been completed and that the data was being analysed and an investigation report drafted. He anticipated that the final investigation report would be submitted to the portfolio committee on public service & administration once it has gone through the PSC approval process in April.
Meanwhile, in reply to a separate question by IFP MP Liezl van der Merwe, home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi said there was no backlog for critical and general workers visas but the spousal visa backlog stood at 41,083. This was due, he said, to the lack of immigration staff to assess the legitimacy of relationships being claimed or cited in the application.
“It must be noted that some foreign nationals take advantage and follow corrupt methods to legitimise themselves, family members, friends, and others. Fraudulent marriages, marriages of convenience, and a special category of cohabitation are unfortunately on the increase.” Motsoaledi said.