HOD Performance Agreements 2020/21 and 2021/22 Mr. Henk Serfontein, Chief Director of DPME: Public Service Oversight, said that the HOD Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) is monitored by the policy issued by DPSA and the policy developed by DPME. Since April 2021, HoD PMDS tracking is 100% online. In 2020-2021, eight service agreements were submitted late. Due to COVID-19, there have been two extensions. The Minister`s approval is required for submission after the due date. In 2021/22, 28 service contracts were submitted after the April 30, 2021 deadline. Four performance agreements were not submitted and no reasons for non-compliance were given. 27% of performance agreements were submitted late. Overall, performance agreements submitted for 2020-21 were 96%. Forty-three national and provincial departments had directorates-general/DDD in place, representing 27% of all posts. This is an increase from 37 in 2020-2021.
Eleven of them are Directorates-General of the national services. The annual assessment between the Executive Authority and the DG shall be completed by 31 December 2021 and submitted to the DPME together with the relevant documentation. Statistics South Africa: Census 2022 Mr Calvin Molongoana, Census Project Director and DDG: Statistical Support and Informatics, Stats SA, explained that the census plays a key role in public administration as it provides insight into the implementation of government policies and programmes. A census is the most complex and extensive task carried out by a national statistical office and is carried out every ten years. The last one was conducted in 2011 and it is planned to conduct the fourth population census. A large-scale sample survey is conducted between censuses. The 2022 Census will be different because it will use geospatial technology and information to provide a much faster, more efficient and better quality product. Statistics SA conducted the pilot phase of computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) in seven of the nine provinces (35 counties out of 52) and completed the census pilot project on August 31, 2021, made salary payments to field staff via a payment initiation system with a PERSAL download, and received and staged the 165,000 devices used in the field. There are systems for rural/remote areas. They also have online/offline data collection capabilities. Discussion Mrs .
Mr. Kibi (ANC) welcomed both presentations. She told Stats SA that it was encouraging to note the large number of people who responded to the announcement and asked how field staff positions were advertised and unemployed young people in very rural areas who were aware of the announcement. She asked DPME if the non-compliance with the 2020/21 performance agreements was due to the pandemic or if there were other reasons. It was reported that 43 national and provincial ministries had HRDs and directorates-general in place, or 37 per cent. It asked what were the underlying reasons, whether recruitment and appointment had not been carried out on time, or whether there were suspensions or other reasons. On average, which of the two does not provide evidence for assessments between the HOD and executive authorities – is it consistent with no evidence or not at all? Mr. J. Mcgluwa (DA) said a covid-19 apology for non-compliance was made in both presentations. DpME noted three unsigned documents. How will DPME be able to hold HODs accountable for providing key service areas? The dpME`s primary mandate is to ensure that performance is achieved for the objectives of the National Development Plan, and if performance agreements are not signed, this is of great importance.
Another problem is that 20% of HOD and CEO positions are incumbent positions, which shows that there is a problem with the HR process. What is the strategy to meet the challenges posed by the Court of Auditors` report? Stats SA cited the apology for interference in local elections and COVID-19 in its non-compliance. There is a major challenge in terms of census and electronic devices. He does not want there to be personal and paper-based questionnaires that take into account the future challenges of COVID-19. He felt that the devices can be used offline, but he warned that Stats SA must ensure that cyberattacks are bypassed and that backup plans are in place so that it is certain that there will be no disruptions. In rural areas, there is a major challenge in terms of access. He asked for clarification on the tablets. There are 100,000 tablets, but 165,000 sales reps – there seems to be a contrast when it comes to budget. Finally, one of the challenges is to finalize plans based on the availability of budgets.
Is there a budget and what is the budget? You cannot conduct a census with budget constraints. Ms M Ntuli (ANC) noted that the number of performance agreement submissions had decreased during the 2021/22 period compared to 2020/21. It sought clarification on the cause of the decline. Second, she noted that DGs and HODs will lose their benefits if they have not submitted their performance agreements and asked what kind of benefits and whether they are important. If the loss of benefits does not affect the individual to a large extent, the department should consider a new penalty strategy. Ms Ntuli told Stats SA that she understood that this would not go as planned due to the disruptions related to COVID-19. For connectivity in remote areas, Stats SA has set up other services to deal with such situations. Outside of communities, does Stats SA have a relationship with other relevant structures on the ground such as NGOs, community organisations and traditional leaders? Can these structures play a role? The committee understands that there has been an outcry about under-budgeting, and it has noted the increase of R45 million.
The digital system will have many requirements – how will Stats SA be able to do the job in such conditions? The President went even further to assist Stats SA in discussions with the Ministry of Finance on the type of budget needed. Ms T Mgweba (ANC) stated that she had not seen the HOD assessment. She asked what the PMDS reflects in terms of performance, have there been any improvements or setbacks? And how can DPME improve? Can the DPME provide clear timelines for the conclusion of unsigned performance contracts? Regarding provincial compliance, she noted that compliance with Mpumalanga was 50 percent and northwest was 40 percent. What will DPME do to prevent low compliance in the provinces? Ms T Mgweba asked Stats SA how online data collection will improve data quality to ensure the effectiveness of the 2022 census. Ms C Motsepe (EFF) asked what the consequences were for the Directorates-General that had not carried out their work in accordance with the performance agreement. Can follow-ups be carried out to monitor compliance with the DPME Directive? If it cannot monitor this, DPME should be removed as it does not operate in accordance with its mandate. He can`t constantly blame COVID-19 for not doing work. The work should be carried out independently of COVID-19. Which provinces have not joined and what will be the consequences for those provinces? Ms Motsepe highlighted the development of Stats SA`s strategy to counter the low turnout in the census compared to local elections.
To prevent field workers from fainting due to long distances and fatigue, what means will Stats SA use to protect itself? Has Stats SA planned well for rural areas and received all the necessary support so that they do not collapse due to a lack of digital connectivity? Is the budget sufficient for the success of the 2022 census? Mr S Malatsi (DA) said Stats SA “encourages” field workers to vaccinate. Can the committee clarify whether vaccination will be mandatory? Since this will be the first digital census, can the committee be assured that robust measures are in place to minimize or eliminate the risk of any form of digital manipulation that may occur or the risk of digital collapse? Mr. Malatsi told DPME that he needs to implement interventions where underperformance is to be expected, so that when they occur, action is already taken. If people do not comply and have not submitted on time, why are they not explicitly mentioned with their departments? Providing general references to three department heads is not helpful in addressing non-compliance. He requested explicit information on the three DSMs and their provincial ministries and on late submissions. .