Pretoria - Cabinet has extended the term of office for Directors-General from three to five years, it was announced on Thursday.
"The decision applies to Directors-General who will assume duty on 1 April 2010. The existing contracts continue and will only be reviewed and renegotiated when they come to an end," government spokesperson Themba Maseko said following Cabinet's fortnightly meeting.
Maseko said the decision follows a 2008 study conducted by the Public Service Commission entitled 'The turnover-rate of Heads of Department and its implications for the public service'.
"The study found, inter alia, that the high turnover rate had a negative effect on productivity, service delivery and a loss of organisational knowledge," explained Maseko.
According to the study, incidents of turnover across national and provincial departments for the 2003/2004 to 2006/07 financial years were recorded as 92 for the termination of service, 48 for transfers and 19 for the splitting of functions.
"In this regard, the termination of contracts account for over 59 percent of the incidents recorded in the public service's Personnel and Salary Administration System (PERSAL), transfers account for 30 percent and appointments on the basis of the splitting of functions for 11 percent of the incidents," reads the report.
Maseko said the five-year contracts will be renewed based on performance.
"The Minister for Public Service Administration will also review the existing professional programmes to improve performance in the public service," said Maseko.
