Keynote Address by Honourable Premier TSP Makwetla at Premier's Service Excellence Awards

27 November 2008

Emnotweni Arena, Nelspruit

Programme Director,
Hon Speaker of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature,
Members of the Executive Council and MPLs,
The Mayor of Mbombela Local Municipality,
HOD’s, CEOs of our parastatals and other Senior Managers in our Administration,
CEO of the Youth Commission,
Representatives of our partners, Standard Bank and PriceWaterhouseCoopers,
Adjudicators of the Premier’s Service Excellence Awards,
Nominees and Recipients of the Premier’s Service Excellence Awards,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

We gather once again on this inspirational moment in our annual calendar to recognise and acknowledge public servants who have demonstrated dedication, passion and excellence in the execution of their duties. 

We pay tribute to individuals and teams whose work and service delivery innovations have contributed to improving the lives of Mpumalanga’s citizens. Importantly, service excellence is an important measure of citizens’ positive and pleasant experiences in their daily interaction with government. We must congratulate all the Premier’s Service Excellence Awards finalists for their outstanding performance in various initiatives aimed at improving the quality of service delivery to the people of Mpumalanga.

As government, we have an obligation to continuously transform the public service to become more efficient and effective, responsive, user-friendly, accountable and committed to inculcating a strong culture of Batho Pele. Batho Pele is not about plans, documents, posters and statements of intention to improve service delivery. It is about lived experiences and practical application of Batho Pele principles in the public servants’ daily interactions with the citizens of the Province.   

Programme Director, today’s occasion also accords us an opportunity to recognise and bestow accolades to youth organizations and individuals whose outstanding achievements exemplify commitment to youth empowerment and community development in general. The active participation of the youth in community development, entrepreneurship and job creation is critical if we are to address challenges of high youth unemployment and poverty in the Province. The youth constitute the larger proportion of the unemployed in the Province.

In the face of socio-economic challenges facing the youth in the Province, we are encouraged by the contribution of our youth to the development initiatives in the Province. The recognition of excellence by the youth in areas of entrepreneurship, education, volunteerism, culture, sport and the arts should serve to inspire our youth in the Province to dream and take responsibility for their own development and empowerment. The youth should to take advantage of opportunities provided by government and its development agencies.

Programme Director, as a Province, we should continue to strengthen efforts in institutionalizing a public service culture that rewards and values community service, humility, transparency and respect for the people we serve. To live by the principles of Batho Pele, it is essential that our public institutions should, among other things:

·         evince a high standard of professional ethics

·         inculcate a culture of transparency and accountability

·         become responsive to the needs of the citizens

·         ensure the provision of services impartially, fairly and equitably

·         utilise resources efficiently, economically and effectively

·         encourage the public to participate in policy-making

There is a need to ensure that we enhance the capacity of public institutions to improve the delivery of basic services such as water, sanitation, and electricity in order to realize the vision of a better life for many of the poor people in our Province. This calls for leadership commitment to put people first, and to ensure that we improve turnaround times in service areas such as hospitals, clinics, police stations and pension pay points. This is necessary to instill citizens’ confidence in public institutions to execute their constitutional mandates.

Programme Director, our experiences during the Executive Council Outreach visits to communities suggest that there is a lot of work to be done to inculcate a culture of service and accountability to the citizens. Notwithstanding financial constraints in some areas of development, it is worth noting that communities are not provided services in accordance with the values and spirit of Batho Pele. Poor communication and inability to address simple and basic community needs contribute to communities’ lack of confidence in government’s commitment to address their service delivery needs.

Access to government services in some communities still remains a major challenge that we need to address as a Province. In some cases, government services are not available in areas where people live. Therefore, it is critical that we accelerate the implementation of Thusong Service Centres throughout the Province to ensure that we provide an integrated and comprehensive suite of government service in areas where communities live. In this way, we will improve access to health, welfare services, home affairs services, economic development services, as well as access to paypoints for municipal services.

Programme Director, public sector excellence in essential in creating a conducive environment for accelerated economic growth and development. To attract investments into the Province, we need to implement effective measures to reduce the cost of doing business in the Province. We must ensure that we provide the necessary support infrastructure and services to attract foreign investment and create a supportive environment for entrepreneurial development.

 We should work hard to eliminate red tape, streamline approval processes, and create efficient service centres for business development, including support to small and emerging businesses. Among other things, we need to pay attention to the efficient and effective management of Environmental Impact Assessment processes, improved access to finance to emerging and small businesses, business development support for entrepreneurs and effective post-settlement support to beneficiaries of restituted land. If we are failing to do these things, we are not yet living by the values and principles of Batho Pele. Significantly, the practical expression of Batho Pele principles is manifest when we have a dedicated, competent and committed cadre of civil servants who go beyond the call of duty to make contributions to the growth and development of the Province.  

Ladies and Gentlemen, today we commend and celebrate the outstanding work of all the Service Excellence Awards finalists. Every one of them is a winner. The Province is a winner in having a calibre of individuals dedicated to the noble cause of community service and empowerment. Lessons learned from their service delivery innovations and initiatives will be shared throughout the Administration in order to build a culture of continuous improvement in service delivery.

In congratulating the nominees of the Premier’s Service Excellence Awards for the work well done, we must encourage the participation of all public institutions in the Premier’s Service Excellence Awards. This is an important programme to reflect on public sector performance and the impact of government services in changing the lives of citizens for the better. Provincial departments, municipalities and parastatals should institutionalize Batho Pele to underpin their strategies and approaches towards the delivery of services to communities.  This is the only way we will be able to improve the quality of service delivery to the citizens of the Province.

In conclusion, allow me to thank our partner, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, for the contribution they have made over the years to support service excellence in the Province. Your support for the Premier’s Service Excellence Awards programme is highly appreciated.

This occasion to celebrate our heroes and heroines of labour is again a reminder that we are urging towards the end of yet another year in which, through our efforts, we made a difference in the lives of many citizens in our province.  I wish to take this opportunity on behalf of our administration to wish every one of us a well-deserved rest as we enter the December month.  Most importantly to wish you and your families a joyous and peaceful Christmas and Happy New Year.

Thank you