Roundtable debates best route to development
A Limpopo government senior manager roundtable discussion on building a capable development state, held last week near Polokwane and led by the Public Service Commission and the Office of the Premier was an opportunity for reflection on the country’s good policy, which needs to be implemented to help develop the province.
Amid calls for integrated planning to realise the aspirations of the Limpopo Economic Development plan, based on the National Development Plan, officials called on their government to draw courage from policy and to demonstrate their zeal for development.
The officials from all tiers of government spent the day working together and analysing how the province can fast-track development, focusing on the theme of Building a Capable Development State, with sub-topics focusing on governance, ethics and development.
By the end of the protracted debates, they had identified several current obstacles and opportunities, and how the two could be turned into positive developments. The recommendations were presented to the province’s director-general Nape Nchabeleng and public service commissioner George Mashamba, who championed and crafted the discussion.
Three commissions emphasised the need for government leaders to create a conducive environment for development. One commission, presented by Beauty Mutheiwana, head of Limpopo’s education department, recommends an evaluation of stateowned enterprises’ mandates and their governing structures.
“We need to revisit the governing structures of our stateowned enterprises. One example: some state-owned enterprises suffer when political heads are changed,” she said, adding: “There is too much dependency in terms of funding.”
The commission also suggested that policy integration should be considered to ensure that development initiatives don’t run parallel to each other. Mutheiwana said their observations reveal that the country has good policy but requires courageous leaders to implement it. Others said policies such as performance management systems should not only focus on monetary value, but offer concrete illustrations of service delivery.
Career-oriented state
The roundtable discussion also heard how government is stuck with incompetent officials, threatening development. Speaker after speaker, including health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba, recommended that the issue of public officials who were unduly hired should be addressed.
They also emphasised the need to ensure that a culture of good practice makes its way into government departments.
When closing the discussions, Nchabeleng urged heads of department (HODs) and senior managers to safeguard the province’s financial status.
He said it is neither his nor premier Chupu Stanley Mathabatha’s desire to have the province placed under administration again.
“The premier has delegated that responsibility of ensuring that we don’t find the province under administration again to all of us. His success or failure will be determined by HODs and senior management.”
However, he said solutions must be found to deal with the fragility in the political-administration interface, as this is key to development. He said information sharing and continuous engagement is the best system by which to share visions and challenges.
Nchabeleng urged officials to utilise discussion forums and his recommendation was to restore the character the province possessed 10 years ago. He said a detailed action plan will be developed and presented to governance and administrative committees.