Conversations with leaders
GCIS Acting DG Phumla Williams celebrates the department’s contribution to supporting the Constitution
As Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) Acting Director-General Phumla Williams looks back on the past 20 years of the department, it is with a sense of pride particularly because of the department’s efforts to ensure that South Africans are informed.
“As we celebrate 20 years of GCIS I want us to celebrate government’s contribution in adhering to Section 195 of the Constitution by making information available to South Africa through the work of GCIS,” she told PSM.
This section of the Constitution deals with the basic values and principles governing public administration.
The section in full states: “Public administration must be governed by the democratic values and principles enshrined in the Constitution, including the following principles:
(a) A high standard of professional ethics must be promoted and maintained.
(b) Efficient, economic and effective use of resources must be promoted.”
Williams added that although much work still needs to be done in ensuring these values and principles are entrenched in government, GCIS has made some inroads.
She pointed out that GCIS has a presence in municipalities, provinces and in national government.
“We have tried with our limited budget to make information available to South Africans and that is a cause for celebration.As we celebrate let us look at what needs to be done to strengthen this organisation and make it a strategic body as what it was envisaged in 1998,” said Williams.
GCIS was launched in 1998 with a mandate to provide leadership in government communication and ensuring that the public is informed of government's implementation of its mandate.
True to the mandate
Williams said GCIS has been true to this mandate but also acknowledged that it can do so on a
much larger scale.
She added that GCIS has been able to excel, even with limited resources.
“The fact that we are a fullyfledged organisation that is able to produce with little money is still a highlight.We still have high quality products. If we had more money imagine what we could do.”
“We feel we could do more with more resources. Our advantage is that we have young people in this organisation who are very passionate about the work that we do,” Williams added.
Reflecting on the positives
Noting the important role of GCIS, she pointed out that the department is represented on and makes contributions to almost every Inter Ministerial Committee.
“Whenever there is a crisis, GCIS is called on and takes charge of communication activities,” Williams added.
The department has also had to come up with innovative solutions to overcome budgetary constraints.
“We have been running a number of campaigns, including those on gender-based violence and employment, on social media platforms. Although we’ve been allocated no new resources, we have grown the social media function considerably. Recent figures show that the GovZa Twitter account has 126 801 followers and more than 10 million impressions, while the Facebook account has 275 592 likes with a reach of almost four million. Similarly, the social media sites of various GCIS platforms are continually growing.”
“We also launched the SA Government App with the intention to make government information and services easily available to citizens,” she said.
Williams is also pleased with how government’s newspaper Vuk’uzenzele newspaper, has evolved over the years.
“Vuk’uzenzele has progressed from a monthly publication to twice-a-month and also has a jobs section. We now print 1.7 million copies a month, translate selected pages and distribute countrywide. Through the funds generated from recruitment advertising we have managed to increase the print
run of specific editions of the newspaper,” explained Williams.
Time for review
After two decades, Williams believes it is time for a review of GCIS.
“When we conceptualised it we thought things would happen in a certain way but there have been a few lags. For example, GCIS is a system that should provide strategic leadership where communicators get a mandate from our organisation.We were of the opinion that communicators would be on board. Currently this is not the situation when it comes to providing leadership in government communication,” she noted.
“We have to go back to the drawing board. The problem is that there is nothing forcing communicators to follow the strategic leadership that comes from GCIS,” Williams explained.
She added that going forward GCIS wants to ensure the professionalisation of government communications.
“It is important that there is more recognition for the profession. We have developed a curriculum to standardise the professional skills of government communicators that is currently with the National School of Government.”
Williams also wants to see GCIS empowered to centrally run government campaigns.
Management that excites
On a personal level, Williams said one of the highlights of her role is working with people and being able to collectively achieve something.
“What makes my role exciting is that I get to work with people. I put out an idea and people run with it. What has defined my management is that I have never seen myself as a person with answers. I have always seen myself as part of a collective that brings in brilliant ideas.”
“Everything that I have managed to do in GCIS is because of the team that I have worked with this is how management should be. I don’t have all the answers,” she noted.
GCIS a second home
Williams has been at GCIS for nearly all of its 20 years, having joined the department in June 1998. She described GCIS as her second home.
“In terms of the culture of this organisation I think we are a big family. I have never had a situation where I feel pressured by my supervisor,” she explained.
Prior to her role as Acting Director General, Williams was the Deputy Director General for Corporate Services and prior to that the Chief Financial Officer. She joined the department as Director for Finance.
Williams said in her previous positions she had to juggle adhering to the demands for revenue while also ensuring that she is compliant with all the relevant regulations and the budget is spent wisely.
“When you are in finance you are debating between compliance and the organisation’s demands,” she explained.
Williams said one of the highlights of her time at GCIS was when the department achieved its first clean audit in 2004.
“I remember when I joined GCIS we had the most terrible audit report. We underspent and we also didn’t have systems in place. I took a resolution that this thing of getting a clean audit was not going to beat me.”
“My highlight was the day we got a clean audit. I am not a person who allows herself to say that she is defeated,” she added.
Williams wished the organisation success in the future and said she was proud that she was able to serve the Information System.
“I like working for South Africa. I am continuing with what I have always been passionate about which is changing the lives of South Africans. The fact that the work that we do here changes every day makes it more exciting,” she said.