Cape Town - The Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) is a corporation with high performance, professionalism and accountability, says acting Director-General Donald Liphoko.
In an exclusive interview with SAnews after his presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Communications at the Old Assembly, in Cape Town, on Tuesday, Liphoko said he draws a lot of comfort from his interaction with the committee which understands the work of the GCIS.
“They have a much deeper understanding of what we are trying to achieve. The evidence is there on our performance. The GCIS is a high performance organisation…very focused. Our average is 94-95%... we’ve a very positive culture of professionalism and accountability.
“Our interaction with the committee has been very positive because when they gave us guidance, we saw it as an opportunity to go and improve our performance,” he said.
Liphoko was part of the delegation from the entities under the Department of Communications that briefed the committee on the 2014/15 first, second and third quarterly performance and expenditure reports.
He said the fact that there are targets that they were unable to achieve is a clear indication that there’s still more work to be done by the organisation.
Liphoko told the committee that the department achieved 93% of the planned targets during the first quarter of 2014/15 (59 planned and 55 achieved), adding that during the second quarter, 95% of the planned targets were achieved (65 planned and 62 achieved).
“We’ve maintained the achievement of 95% during the third quarter ….57 planned targets and 54 achieved.
“Our communication support to government’s cross-cutting communication campaigns included the comprehensive, coordinated communication approach to the 2015 State of the Nation Address, implemented a communications strategy for the country’s 20 years of Freedom Tell Your Story initiative, Presidential Local Government Summit, which adopted the Back-to-Basics strategy, Operation Phakisa and the launch of the African Charter to mention but a few,” he said.
Some of the communication products produced to grow the voice of government includes the 45 000 copies of the 2013/14 SA Year Book and Pocket Guide and 15.3 million copies of the government newspaper, Vuk’uzenzele, were produced in different languages and Braille copies were distributed.
The acting GCIS Director-General said they have also intensified Minister Faith Muthambi and her Deputy’s outreach programmes.
With regard to administration, Liphoko said they have assisted the newly established Department of Communications with the configuration process and maintained a vacancy rate of 7.92% (below 10% target).
The entities that briefed the committee were the SABC, Film and Publications Board (FPB), Brand SA, Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) and the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA). - SAnews.gov.za
