Pretoria - While the Presidential Remuneration Review Commission (PRRC) has much work ahead of it, the commission will do all it can to deliver on its mandate, Chairperson of the commission retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo says.
Speaking at a briefing session with stakeholders on Wednesday, Ngcobo said while the commission has faced several challenges since its establishment in August 2013, it is now on track.
The commission was established by President Jacob Zuma to inquire into remuneration and conditions of service practices in the public service and public entities listed in Schedules 3A and 3C of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999; the stability of the public sector wage bill; the effectiveness of service delivery in the public service and the stipulated public entities.
The mandate of the commission is very broad. It covers all employees in the public service, regardless of their level of employment, including persons employed in all national and provincial departments including Correctional Services, South African Police Service and the 214 public entities defined in the terms of reference.
This covers approximately 1.4 million employees.
In his address, the chairperson said the commission had been established to run on a timeline of eight months but that this was later extended to run up until 6 April 2017.
To date the PRRC is in the process of filling key posts and finalising a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between itself and the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA).
The MoU, expected to be finalised by the end of the month, will delegate powers to the PRRC that are necessary for its smooth running.
The PRRC in March commenced its inquiry into the education sector due to its terms of reference, but had done so with reservations as some issues like leave pertain to all sectors in the public sector.
The commission is currently receiving written submissions from stakeholders in the education sector with the deadline for these submissions being 30 June 2015.
In his briefing to stakeholders, Ngcobo said the inquiry into the public sector will be conducted in three phases namely information gathering, analysis and the reporting phase.
The first phase will involve baseline research, including public hearings where the commission will call for written submissions. A statement of issues will also be prepared and released to assist those wanting to make submissions to the PRRC.
The notice for written submission will be published alongside the statement of issues on 1 June. “We urge stakeholders to prepare their submissions,” said Ngcobo, adding that all submissions will be published on the PRRC website.
The closing date for submissions is 31 July 2015, with the analysis of responses due to start on 1 August 2015.
The second part of the inquiry will involve the analysis of the information received from stakeholders, followed by the last phase of reporting which will involve the publication of provisional findings and recommendations for public comment before the publication of the final report.
“This is a huge amount of work but despite the huge amount of work the commission will do everything in its power to ensure that it meets the deadline,” explained the chairperson.
Public hearings will be held across the country in the first half of 2016 and provisional findings and recommendations could be published in the second half of 2016.
“The schedule is subject to change as inquiries like this one have a tendency to develop a life of their own,” he said.
He said it is important to know if workers in the public service are receiving a fair remuneration and conditions of service for their labour and whether the state is getting value for its money.
It is also important to know how to enhance service delivery and what mechanisms should be put in place to manage fiscal stability.
“Answers to these questions are vital to public servants, to the government and to the nation as a whole,” he said.
Ngcobo said that the commission expects stakeholders to come forward with accurate information so that the commission can make sound and accurate findings. - SAnews.gov.za
