Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity PRESENTATION TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON THE FILLING OF POSTS AND THE VERIFICATION OF APPLICANT INFORMATION DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity CONTENTS Background Average Funded Vacancy Rates Median Period to Fill posts Trends in respect of targets Personnel Suitability Checks Way forward 2

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity BACKGROUND Government’s Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) provides for 14 outcomes to be achieved The MPSA is responsible for leading the implementation of Outcome 12, which seeks to establish “An efficient, effective and development - oriented Public Service” Outcome 12 inter alia calls for the reduction, by 31 March 2015 of- ▫ the average vacancy rate to at most 10%; and ▫ the median period to fill a funded vacancy to 6 months. 3

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity CALCULATION OF VACANCY RATES AND THE TIME TO FILL POSTS 4 The average vacancy rates are calculated by means of the following formula: The period to fill vacant posts is calculated on the following basis: ▫ The vacancy period constitutes the period between the date of the employee vacating the post and the date that the post is filled. The days so counted are converted into months on the following basis: Vacancy periods are restricted to a maximum of 36 months to align with the MTEF budget cycle. The vacancy periods are expressed as a median. Calculations are done at the end of each quarter. No. of funded vacant posts as at a specified date X 100 No. of filled posts + no. of funded vacant posts at a specified date 1 No of days 30,5 days

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity PREVIOUS TRENDS ON THE VACANCY RATES AND PERIOD TO FILL VACANCY RATES: Median Time to Fill: 5 30/06/201230/09/201231/12/201231/07/201331/01/2014 AVERAGE FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE 9,68%8.58%9.2%8.86%9.56% MEDIAN FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE 30 June December December ,9 months4,0 months4,95 months

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity AVERAGE VACANCY RATES (30/04/ /01/2015) Department 30/04/201431/07/201430/09/201431/01/2015 National departments (excl. Defence) 6.37%6.74%6.40%7.32% Eastern Cape15.36%14.10%13.60%14.97% Free State7.73%15.89%13.21%9.23% Gauteng11.09%10.86%11.11%12.75% KZN7.81%8.55%8.65%10.82% Limpopo6.74%6.44%24.41%30.13% Mpumalanga10.76%10.67%13.07%22.78% North West13.15%13.22%13.24%19.37% Northern Cape20.25%21.16%22.15%24.32% Western Cape10.21%9.27%9.84%9.72% AVERAGE FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE 9.51% 9.89%11.78%14.25% 6 (Source: PERSAL)

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity MEDIAN PERIOD TO FILL POSTS (1/04/ /12/2014) Department9 Posts filled during the period 1 April 2014 to 30 June July 2014 to 30 Sept October 2014 to 31 Dec 2014 National departments (excl. Defence) 8.03 months6.05 months6.03 months Eastern Cape4.62 months5.11 months6.16 months Free State4.13 months0.03 months10.00 months Gauteng4.98 months4.95 months6.20 months KZN2.95 months3.02 months2.07 months Limpopo11.97 months5.02 months4.95 months Mpumalanga8.00 months6.98 months8.00 months North West4.95 months10.62 months5.98 months Northern Cape2.95 months5.02 months7.05 months Western Cape2.98 months4.00 months1.54 months MEDIAN FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE 5.87 months4.98 months5.02 months 7 (Source: PERSAL)

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity CURRENT TRENDS IN RESPECT OF THE TARGETS 8 41 departments have reduced their vacancy rates during the 6 months from 1 April 2014 to 30/09/2014 The increase during 2014, in the average vacancy rate is a concern. Whilst the time to fill posts is within the target of 6 months, there are at departmental/provincial levels shortfalls in respect of the time to fill posts and the vacancy rate Detail of such shortfalls appear in the following slides:

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity DEPARTMENTS/PROVINCES WHERE THE AVERAGE VACANCY TARGET IS MORE THAN 10% Department % of departments that did not achieve the target Highest vacancy rate by a department National departments (excl. Defence) 53.56%37,50%. Eastern Cape30.76%15.96% Free State75.00%68.24% Gauteng78.57%31.07% KZN60.00%31.77% Limpopo50.00%45.01% Mpumalanga50.00%25.63% North West83.33%28.60% Northern Cape66.67%32.72% Western Cape61.53%23.24% 9 (as at 30 SEPTEMBER 2014)

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity DEPARTMENTS/PROVINCES WHERE THE AVERAGE VACANCY TARGET IS MORE THAN 10% (as at 30 SEPTEMBER 2014)…. Continued (1) At the national level, 19 have met the target and 4 departments have vacancy rates above 20%, with Sport and Recreation SA having the highest rate of 37,50%. Whilst the vacancy rates during the quarter ending 30 September 2014 was more or less stable for most of the provincial administrations, the rate in respect of the Limpopo Provincial Administration increased from 6,44% on 31 July 2014 to 24.41%. Of the 115 provincial departments in total, (offices of premiers included), 43 departments have met the target and 72 departments (62.6%) have vacancy rates higher than 10%. 10

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity DEPARTMENTS/PROVINCES WHERE THE AVERAGE VACANCY TARGET IS MORE THAN 10% (as at 30 SEPTEMBER 2014)…. Continued (2) Of these 72 departments, 12 have vacancy rates above 30%, with the Free State Department of Social Development having the highest vacancy rate of 68.24%. Using the vacancy rate of 31 July 2014 as a baseline in relation to the rates as at 30 September 2014, the departments listed below show significant increases in their vacancy rates: ▫ National Department of Higher Education and Training, 8.02% to 14.51% ▫ North West Office of the Premier, from 28,62% to 51,50% ▫ Limpopo Department of Health, from 3,18% to 45,01% ▫ Limpopo Social Development from 15,75% to 33,79% ▫ KwaZulu Natal Sport and Recreation, from 4,22% to 16,10% 11

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity DEPARTMENTS/PROVINCES THAT DID NOT FILL POSTS WITHIN 6 MONTHS (as at 30 SEPTEMBER 2014) Department% of departments that did not achieve the target yet Longest time to fill by a department National depts. (excl. Defence) 41.02%36.00 months Eastern Cape30.76%36.00 months Free State41.67%36.00 months Gauteng53.33%21.70 months KZN23.08%10.98 months Limpopo27.27%36.00 months Mpumalanga33.33% months North West58,33%36.00 months Northern Cape27.27%12.00 months Western Cape61.54%21.43 months 12

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity DEPARTMENTS/PROVINCES THAT DID NOT FILL POSTS WITHIN 6 MONTHS (as at 30 SEPTEMBER 2014)….cont. The median period to fill vacancies at the national level is 6,05 months. Of the 39 national departments that filled vacancies during the period 1 July 2014 to 30 September 2014: ▫ 17 exceeded 6 months. Of these departments, the longest vacancy period appeared at the SAPS that featured a median period of 36 months. At the provincial level, 7 provincial administrations met the target of 6 months. The North West Provincial Administration had the longest median period of months. The following provincial departments feature the longest turnaround time to fill their vacancies in their respective provinces: 13

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity DEPARTMENTS/PROVINCES THAT DID NOT FILL POSTS WITHIN 6 MONTHS (as at 30 SEPTEMBER 2014)….cont.(2) Name of department Median period in respect of posts filled during the period 1 July 2014 to 30 September 2014 Eastern Cape Transport36.00 months Limpopo Public Works36.00 months Limpopo Safety, Security and Liaison36.00 months North West Social Development, Women, Children and People with Disability months Free State Police, Roads and Transport36.00 months Gauteng Finance21.70 months Western Cape Local Government21.43 months KwaZulu Natal Arts and Culture10.98 months Mpumalanga Culture, Sport and Recreation14.95 months Northern Cape Co-operative Governance, Housing and Traditional Affairs months 14

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity Personnel Suitability Checks 15

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity PRE-EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATIONS In 2006, the then National Intelligence Agency (NIA) submitted proposals to Cabinet in a Cabinet Memorandum entitled “Introduction of a National Vetting Strategy for South Africa to enhance Government’s vetting capacity on national, provincial and local government level, parastatals and other organs of State.’’ Following Cabinet’s approval, the Minister for the Public Service and Administration issued a Directive to supplement the Public Service Regulations 2001, Chapter 1, Part VII D.8(a) that deals with the verification of a candidate‘s information prior to appointment or the filling of a post. The Directive took effect on 1 January 2008 and entails that the following verifications must be done prior to an appointment or the filling of a post: 3.1Criminal record checks. 3.2Citizenship verification. 3.3Financial/asset record checks 3.4Qualification/Study verification. 3.5Previous employment verification (Reference checks). 16

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity ROLE OF THE SSA The DPSA circular through which the Directive was implemented, also established a protocol whereby the then NIA, currently the State Security Agency (SSA) will- ▫ assist departments to conduct criminal record checks and citizenship verifications; ▫ assist departments to establish their own databases on financial/asset record and qualification/study record checks; and ▫ provide training to departments to conduct the prescribed verifications. 17

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity PRE-EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATIONS & VETTING The system for pre-employment verifications stands separate from the vetting function through which persons/employees are screened for purposes of being allocated a security classification: Pre-employment verifications form part of the staff selection process and is an obligatory practice. The outcome thereof is used for staff selection purposes. The vetting function screens persons for the purpose of security classification. Except for appointments at HOD level, the need for vetting rests with the discretion of departments. The vetting function resides with legislation and the Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS) that are administered by the SSA. 18

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity PRE-EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATIONS & VETTING The PSC, including Qualification verifications are necessary to protect the State, as employer, from a security perspective and from the risk of potentially employing corrupt/fraudulent applicants – these processes are important. However any delays experienced in finalizing the verifications will have a concomitant effect on the departments’ ability to meet targets. The DPSA in supporting departments to meet the Outcome 12 Targets is engaging with the SSA, SAPS (for criminal records), Department of Home Affairs (citizenship) to jointly explore processes to create greater efficiencies in the PSC’s with respect to: ▫ Coordination and accessing information ▫ Vetting Fieldwork Units ▫ Verifications in respect of temporary employment such as casual workers and emergency staff and ▫ Training by the SSA on the pre-employment verifications 19

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity VERIFICATION OF INFORMATION PRIOR TO EMPLOYMENT The MPSA issued a Directive that requires departments to, with effect from 1 January 2008, conduct the following pre-employment checks: ▫ Criminal record checks; ▫ Citizenship verification; ▫ Financial/asset record checks; ▫ Qualification/Study verification; and ▫ Previous employment verification (Reference checks) Key Role Players are: ▫ The State Security Agency (SSA) and ▫ The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) 20

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity VERIFICATION OF EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS Based on a Cabinet decision, the MPSA further issued a Directive in 2010 that only SAQA may be used to verify a candidates’ qualification(s). SAQA has developed a verification process to support the directive. Where applicant records are on the National Learners Records Database (NLRD) the turnaround time is quick. SAQA has been challenged in two main areas which affect turnaround times:  In verifying qualification records from a historically disparate education and training legacy (e.g. matric completed pre which is not yet digitised, teacher and nursing college qualifications).  The need for funding to support the implementation which warrants a labour intensive verification process of physical records. The DPSA, DHET and SAQA continue to explore various options on how to improve on SAQA’s ability to render the service in an affordable, cost effective and reliable manner. SAQA provides the service to departments in terms of standardised priority categories with clearly defined timeframes for verification which is linked to a fee structure. 21

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity VERIFICATION OF EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS BY SAQA SAQA has reported to DPSA that for the period January to December 2014 :  The number of people for whom verifications were received and completed is  A total of records were completed  Of all records, 640 records were found to be instances of fraud/ misrepresentations  Out of 41 national departments, 40 departments (98%) utilized SAQA to verify qualifications for pre-employment  Out of 116 provincial departments, 62 departments (62%) utilized SAQA to verify qualifications for pre-employment. 22

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity WAY FORWARD Departments have in the past reported the following causes that hinder the achievement of the targets: ▫ Ongoing restructuring over long periods ▫ Moratoria on filling of posts for extensive periods ▫ Insufficient funding to fill posts ▫ Insufficient delegations to fill posts ▫ Competition with the private sector for scarce and critical skills ▫ Delays in finalising the prescribed pre-employment verifications:  by SAQA (in respect of educational qualifications) and the  State Security Agency (in respect of the other prescribed verifications) Departments that fail significantly in achieving the targets in respect to vacancy rates and the time to fill posts are engaged by the DPSA on the challenges experienced to improve their positions. The DPSA has assisted the National School of Government to develop a training programme on Recruitment to support recruiters. The DPSA continues to engage with SAQA and SSA to support their respective roles. 23

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity THANK YOU 24