South Africa: The Provincial Executive Council of the Free State met on 22nd March 2023 to undergo an induction and was thus challenged by the Premier to always be willing and open-minded to learn, unlearn and relearn to give effect to new ways within the ambit of values and principles of public administration, in a constitutional state.
The workshop was quite intense and provided an immense opportunity for the Premier and the EXCO, as respective Executive Authorities (EAs), to oversight over their portfolios. Thus, EXCO received extensive presentations and engaged vigorously with those as follows:
✓ The South African Revenue Service (SARS) – Focusing on tax compliance by individual Members of the Executive Council, departments and municipalities in general, such as paying the Pay – As You- Earn over to SARS on time, and the extent to which such compliance can be turned into a mutual benefit for SARS and affected parties;
✓ Auditor General South Africa (AGSA) – The role of AGSA in helping departments obtain clean audits and avoiding unnecessary Material Irregularities (MIs) in the form of Unauthorized, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure, thus resulting in substantial harm to a public sector institution or the general public;
✓ State Security Agency (SSA) – The role of SSA in securing the country and how EAs can assist in overcoming threats to state security, be it in relation to the vetting of HoDs and other senior officials, Technical Surveillance Counter Measures (TSCM) of buildings and special venues or any deserving case, for the wellbeing of all;
✓ Special Investigating Unit – Uncovering malfeasance and corruption and ensuring consequence management for those implicated, such as taking disciplinary steps against implicated officials where applicable and extracting Acknowledgement of Debt (AODs) and referrals to the NPA for prosecution;
✓ Corporate Administration & Coordination Office of the Premier – covering salient aspects of the Constitution and relevant; important legislation such as the PFMA, Treasury Regulations, Public Service Act and the Public Administration Management Act – centring roles and responsibilities of EAs on these constitutional and legislative planks;
✓ FS Provincial Treasury – Dealing with budget processes and financial governance to help EAs lead their portfolios on an informed, efficient and effective basis and, the
✓ SAPS Protection and Security Services – rights and obligations of the Premier and MECs as defined VIPs – dos and don’ts.
The Premier challenged Members of EXCO to take time to internalize the content of all presentations, with the view to evolving into a better – version – of- themselves, serving citizens of the Free State better and leaving no one behind, with specific reference to the implementation of the ethos of democratic values and principles of s195 (1) of the Constitution, that impels EAs to pursue a high standard of professional ethics, efficient, economic and effective use of resources, as well as an impartial, fair, equitable and bias-free provision of services; underpinned by a clear development orientation.
To this end, the Premier urged all Members of EXCO to thoroughly read and re-read all presentations that were made and others that could not find time within the allocated slots so as to assume moral high ground while serving the people of the Free State.