DPSA Minister on drive to improve public service

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Public Service and Administration Minister Faith Muthambi is on Thursday expected to listen to the day-to-day challenges faced by Limpopo public servants.

The meeting is aimed at promoting an innovative, selfless and inspired public service in honour of liberation struggle hero, Oliver Reginald (OR) Tambo.

The South African government declared September as Public Service Month (PSM). Minister Muthambi said September is about celebrating the value and virtue of service to the community.

“For the public service to prosper, we need to create and instil a culture of efficient and effective labour relations between the employer and labour. PSM is an integrated strategic national event in the calendar of the Department of Public Service and Administration.

“This year’s PSM is significant in that it seeks to provide feedback and progress made on the 2016 public service-wide consultative meetings and engagements by the [Minister of Public Service and Administration],” Minister Muthambi said.

The country is marking Public Service Month under the theme ‘Together Moving the Public Service Forward: We Belong, We care, We serve’.

The focus of this year’s PSM will be on creating an enabling policy environment for the rest of the public service and to support the effective implementation of these policies through monitoring, training and the promotion of innovation.

September also marks 20 years since the adoption of the Batho Pele (Putting People first) Principles and the White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery.

The principles of Batho Pele were developed with the intention of improving service delivery within government sectors by supporting the transformation of the public service into a citizen-orientated institution.

Batho Pele is also about moving the public service from a rules-bound approach that hinders the delivery of services to an approach that encourages innovation and is results driven. – SAnews.gov.za