Pali Lehohla Statistician-General

Portfolio Committee on Finance Contents Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Finance Strategic overview Key strategic priorities Key projects The future “Stats SA on the move”

Purpose of the presentation To outline Stats SA’s work programme for 2007/08 in line with its strategy

Legislative framework Role of the Minister and Council According to section 5(1) of the Statistics Act (Act No. 6 of 1999) the Minister must- on the recommendation of the Statistician-General, and on advice of the Statistics Council, prioritise the work programme of Statistics South Africa, in accordance with the purpose of official statistics and the statistical principles.

Legislative framework Role of the SG According to section 7 of the Statistics Act the Statistician-General must, after receiving advice from the Council, make recommendations to the Minister on the policies and priorities of Statistics South Africa. The Statistician-General determines, and exercises final responsibility regarding the implementation of the work programme of Statistics South Africa

strategic overview

Our direction accurate, relevant and reliable statistics trust in official statistics transparent methods highly skilled professional staff numerate society Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices

Vision and Mission Vision To be the preferred supplier of quality statistics Mission Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society through the application of internationally acclaimed practices Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices

Strategic themes Providing relevant information to meet user needs Enhancing the quality of products and services Developing and promoting statistical coordination and partnerships Building human capacity Enhancing effective governance and accountability Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices

key strategic priorities

Statistical information Stats SA provides relevant and reliable statistical information on: Economic growth Price stability Employment and job creation Life circumstances, service delivery and poverty Demographic profile and population dynamics Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices

Key priorities During 2007/08, the following key priorities: Community Survey Income and Expenditure Survey Quarterly Labour Force Survey Pilot Poverty Survey Reweighted PPI Data Management and Information Delivery project International Relations Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices

key projects

Results to be released by the 3rd quarter of 2007/08 Community Survey “Better understanding of our communities” Aim: Provide service delivery information at municipal level Planning the Community Survey commenced in 2005 and was conducted in February 2007, visiting approximately 284 000 households Currently processing and analysing CS data Community Survey used to build technical and human capacity for Census 2011 Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices Results to be released by the 3rd quarter of 2007/08

IES results to be released in November 2007 Income and Expenditure Survey “A new basket for the CPI in the making” Aim: Provide information on the income and spending patterns in SA to update the basket of goods and services for the CPI IES collection initiated in September 2005 to September 2006 visiting 24 000 households Currently processing and analysing IES data Engagement on initial results starting in June Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices IES results to be released in November 2007

New QLFS to be launched in January 2008 Quarterly Labour Force Survey “Capturing the pulse of the labour market” Aim: To comprehensively measure the dynamics of the labour market. LFS is the primary instrument to measure employment Re-engineering the LFS introduced in 2006 Improvements: Reviewed concepts and definitions of key indicators, frequency, timeliness, redesigned questionnaire and processes Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices New QLFS to be launched in January 2008

Pilot to be completed in November 2007 Poverty Survey “A working definition of poverty” Aim: Measuring the extent of household poverty and monitoring progress in poverty reduction Proposes to develop a methodology to measure poverty Engage the public for comments during development Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices Pilot to be completed in November 2007

Reweighted PPI to be released by February 2008 Producer Price Index “Fresh factory-gate prices” Aim: The PPI indicates changes in producer prices over time Large Sample Survey of Manufacturers conducted in 2005/06 Extensive consultations with suppliers in the economy during 2006/07 Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices Reweighted PPI to be released by February 2008

Hosting ISI in 2009 International Relations “Statistical world cup coming to South Africa” SADC – towards statistical capacity building and product harmonisation African statistical development in an uneven political environment – ASSD towards 2010 RPHC Global statistical development and learning in a competitive climate Isibalo programme Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices Hosting ISI in 2009

Data management and Information Delivery “DMID… the foundation for building quality statistics” DMID is a tool that will provide the ability to manage, monitor and assess the quality of all elements of the statistical cycle DMID is to provide: - Common standards and definitions to govern the production of statistical products - Centralised storage of metadata - A single access point in managing statistical data - Infrastructure (physical, conceptual and skill) allowing comparison between different collections over time Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices

the future

Characteristics Core Competency Intellectual Techno-logical Logistics Political Admini-strative Technological Administrative Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices

Strategic context Core Competency Collection Processing Reputation Intellectual Technological Logistics Political Administrative Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices

The future Beyond 2007 - Poverty Survey in 2008 Tourism Survey in 2008 QLFS results in 2008 Reweighted CPI in 2009 Statistical Training Institute in 2009 ISI in 2009 Census 2011 New Building in 2009 Vision - “Preferred” : responds to lack of credibility and increasing competition; Has the ambition of being the first point of reference Quality statistics is what we strive for, is the basis of being preferred Mission: What we do - Provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics Why we do it - to inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society How we do it - through the application of internationally acclaimed practices

thank you