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