Keynote Address by Honourable Premier TSP Makwetla at Premier's Service Excellence Awards
Riverside Estate, Steve Tshwete Municipality
18 October 2007
Programme Director,
Members of the Executive Council,
Executive Mayors and Councillors,
Chairperson of the Mpumalanga Youth Commission, Mr Sipho Shongwe,
Nominees and Recipients of the Premier's Service Excellence Awards,
Representatives of our partners, Standard Bank and PricewaterhouseCoopers,
Our Judges of the Premier's Service Excellence Awards,
Managers in the Public Service,
The Youth of our Province
Ladies and gentleman
Once again, we meet to recognise teams that have displayed commitment, innovation and excellence in the performance of their duties. We bestow honour on the public servants who uphold the values of continuous improvement and innovation in the delivery of services to the people of the Mpumalanga.
Today's occasion also marks the recognition of youth organizations and individuals whose projects and achievements epitomize values of commitment to self-empowerment and service to society. The individuals nominated for awards exemplify extraordinary dedication to ‘deepen youth participation through service' as was highlighted in June this year when we commemorated Youth Day.
In these awards, we extol the virtues of hard work by our youth in the areas of entrepreneurship, sports, arts and culture, volunteerism and education. We trust that the recognition of the youth's contribution to service delivery and development will inspire the youth of the Province to participate actively in development initiatives intended to empower the youth and contribute to the development of the Province.
Programme Director, it is critical that we sustain ongoing efforts of creating a responsive and caring public service characterized by leadership commitment, speed and service delivery excellence. Excellent service to the citizens defines the essence of government's existence. Therefore, public sector institutions should inculcate a strong sense of urgency to serve and change the lives of people for the better. This suggests that the leadership and organizational culture of these institutions should reflect a deep sense of appreciation for the need to entrench Batho Pele principles in their day-to-day operations and interaction with citizens.
We need to entrench a servant leadership culture that puts the needs of communities first, rather than self-serving bureaucracies that tend to sustain red tapes that impede quick and efficient delivery of services. Servant leadership in the public sector context should mean that the interests of citizens that we are mandated to serve are placed above self-interest of whatever form. A change of organizational culture towards service excellence should result in improving service turnaround times, and delivering results that change the citizens' lives in the areas of health, education, safety and security, water provision, housing etc. The interaction of government with citizens should result in positive experiences for the citizens.
For the public sector, service excellence is about commitment to making a difference and changing lives for the better, especially for the poor and previously disadvantaged individuals in our society. The projects and initiatives short listed for the Premier's Service Excellence Awards display extraordinary commitment to social empowerment and servant leadership.
We should applaud all Service Excellence Awards finalists for their outstanding work that gives true meaning to ‘Batho Pele'. Hopefully, best practice case studies will emerge from the innovations and experiences of institutions and projects selected for the Premier's Service Excellence Awards. We should be able to learn from each other, share experiences and best practices so that we enhance and entrench a culture of service excellence throughout the public service institutions in Mpumalanga . This will take us a long way towards realizing the goal of a truly people-centred government.
In the implementation of Batho Pele, it is critical that provincial departments, municipalities and parastatals develop and implement Service Delivery Improvement Plans, with clear measurable targets and indicators to monitor progress and evaluate outcomes. Necessary capabilities (in the form of people, systems and processes) should be put in place to achieve service delivery outcomes in line with the expectations of the citizens. To improve organizational performance, Batho Pele should be integrated into the performance agreements of senior managers as well as employee performance plans and work plans.
Programme Director, access to government services remains of the challenges facing many of our citizens, especially in remote and underdeveloped parts of the Province. Some of our people still need to travel long distances to towns to access services. In many cases, the fragmentation in the delivery of government services means that citizens will access different services in different locations that are not in close proximity.
As a Province, we have prioritised the implementation of Thusong Centres (MPCC's) to improve access to government services and provide a platform for the delivery of government services in an integrated manner. Thusong Centres are facilities designed to centrally locate government services such as home affairs services, welfare, municipal services, economic services, youth services, health, labour etc. in order to bring government services closer to where people live. It is crucial that we accelerate the roll-out of these centres, and improve the quality of services delivered in those centres.
As we congratulate the nominees of the Premier's Service Excellence Awards for the work well done, we should be reminded that service excellence is the responsibility to which all institutions of government should commit, and strive to achieve at all times. This is the only way we are going to make a difference in the lives of the citizens of the Province.
Finally, I would like to thank our partners, Standard Bank and PriceWaterhouseCoopers for their continued support to the Premier's Service Excellence Awards programme. Your contribution is appreciated.
Thank you.