Johannesburg - Public Service and Administration Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi says South Africa is a developmental state that depends largely on the work of public servants.
The Minister highlighted the importance of efficient public servants during the 13th Annual Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) Public Sector Innovation Awards in Kempton Park in Johannesburg on Friday.
He said the ceremony provided an opportunity to illustrate the smartness, creativity and innovation found in the fabric of public service. It was also a moment that focused on solutions rather than challenges.
The Minister called for inter-governmental relations to be strengthened to enable collaboration and similar service delivery at all spheres of government, from national, provincial to local and all other government institutions.
Training should be given to public servants and they should be provided with necessary tools to carry out their work.
Minister Ramatlhodi thanked all the nominees and other hardworking public servants, saying they give government the wings to fly. He expressed his congratulations to the winners.
Innovative government officials were recognised in four categories this year.
The awards ceremony culminated in the Innovator of the Year award which was bestowed on Workplace Service Delivery of Medication, which operates at the Port Shepstone Provincial Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.
The patient-focused project ensures that medication is delivered directly to patients. Medicines are pre-packed according to a patient’s script and delivered for collection from their local clinics and pre-determined points of collection such as workplaces.
The innovative project eliminates long queues at health facilities and patients do not have to travel far to get their medicine.
The project also won the Innovative Partnerships in Service Delivery award.
Innovative Use of ICT for Effective Service Delivery was awarded to the SPHS E-Learning Project in Gauteng; the Innovative Service Delivery Institutions award was won by The One Stop Shop in Gauteng and the Innovative Enhancement of Internal Systems of Government award was won by Revenue Information Management System (RIMS) in Gauteng.
The awards were organised by CPSI, an institution in the Public Service and Administration portfolio established to identify, support, nurture, test and pilot innovative solutions in the public sector with a view to improve service delivery.
They aim to promote and encourage best practices in the public sector innovation and celebrate the successes of individuals and teams at all spheres of government.
The programme also serves as a tool for expanding innovation and encouraging others to innovate for improved of service delivery. - SAnews.gov.za
