1. PRESENTATION TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE AG REPORT ON CONSULTANTS
CIVILIAN SECRETARIAT FOR POLICE
PRESENTATION TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
AG REPORT ON CONSULTANTS

2. AG REPORT W.R.T. SAPS
2008/09 to 2010/11 R4, 039 billion was spent on consultants. The amount spent on consultants peaked in 2009/10 but declined in 2010/11 (although during this same period agencies and support outsourced services increased significantly)
Projects audited by AG include:
Firearms Control System (Waymark)
Refurbishment of 200 Nyala vehicles
ABET Project
Contracting related to Internal Audit

3. AG GENERIC RECOMENDATIONS FOR DEPARTMENTS
General Findings
Improvement of internal processes and structures w.r.t. to accounting officers, BAC, HR directorates, and staff involved in appointing and managing consultants adjudication (focus on compliance & value for money).
Sanctions implemented for non-compliance.
National Treasury & DPSA should monitor compliance and enforce action where deviations occur
Use of consultants should be included in reports and plans submitted to PC (including Plans and Annual Reports)
Quarterly oversight by PCs and SCOPA
Planning and Appointment
Type and extent of services to be outsourced needs to be analyzed
Permanent capacity required vs non-core nature of services
Cost of outsourcing vs cost of permanent capacity
Proper planning must be done before issuing the request and tenders must be detailed, clear and unambiguous

4. AG GENERIC RECOMENDATIONS FOR DEPARTMENTS
Internal Capacity
Internal vacancies must be assessed regularly & internal processes in filling vacancies reviewed.
- Updating HR plan
- Staff retention strategies and priority post plans
Training & Transfer of Skills
Contracts must provide for transfer of skills and agreed upfront. Staff to whom skills must be transferred must be made available.
Performance Management and Monitoring
Competitive bid process must be followed and reasons for deviation recorded
Sections central to the process should pay specific attention to compliance
Contracts should take cognizance of General Conditions of Contract as prescribed by National Treasury. (Contracts be clear and detailed with clearly defined roles and responsibilities)
Proper contract management and monitoring including price, deliverables etc must be in place
Regular progress meetings must occur & evidence kept of these meetings (follow up action taken promptly)
Period of consultants contract should be managed and monitored

5. AG GENERIC RECOMENDATIONS FOR DEPARTMENTS
Extension of Contracts
Extensions should only occur in exceptional circumstances and deliverable must be met before extending contracts
Compliance to prescripts must be adhered w.r.t. extensions
Closure & Finalization of Projects
Ensure timeous implementation of contracts deliverables.
Retrospective analysis done on each project to determine whether proper processes were followed and whether desired objectives were achieved.

6. GENERAL ISSUES W.R.T. CONTRACT WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF POLICE
Need to draw a distinction between consultants & service providers.
Need to address core role of police (police focus on core functions) vs need not to be dependent on consultants.
There will be areas where police may need to make use of expertise not readily available but the issue is ensuring the department is not dependent on consultants & department is able to manage the outcome of the project
Operational staff need to be more involved in the projects (both regarding the needs & w.r.t. implementation and assessment of deliverables & whether objectives are being met).
Drafting of the contract needs to be addressed (the contract should not be prejudicial to SAPS).
Project plans needs to ensure proper maintenance of objectives after the consultants depart.
Monitoring mechanisms must be properly established & involve clients (ie operational personnel)
Monitoring mechanisms established upfront
Clear reporting on contracts and objectives needs to be implemented
Non Compliance should be reported on in ¼ review reports.
Internal audit to play role in monitoring overall processes

7. TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
TSM requires specific attention:
This section of SAPS speaks to the need to ensure smarter policing
Also because the technology budget of SAPS is extensive:
Internationally, technology, in a very real sense, is transforming policing in fundamental respects. New & emerging technologies are playing an increasingly crucial role in the daily work of frontline police officers. Although technology can improve policing, if not properly planned, accessed & implemented it can not only lead to waste of resources and also provide a blockage preventing the police from operating effectively.
Need greater operational involvement in solutions and understanding of project and deliverable
Technology projects must be pre planned & reported on
Proper project plans developed and interface with operational arm regarding these plans
Regular reports on progress of plans submitted
Skills transfer to operational staff essential
Systems properly understood by operational teams
Impact assessment conducted
Post contract planning must be included in costing

8. SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Greater involvement of operations in the planning stage and deliverables
Expert assistance could be included during the planning process, where required
Project plans must be known to the people for whom the service is aimed
Projects should specifically address sub-contracting and associated fees
Ensure better contract management with clear milestones and deliverables
Clear monitoring teams should be established and should involve operational persons
Consequences must be implemented for non delivery

9. ROLE OF THE CSP
CSP needs to be able to monitor the existence of such contracts
CSP is not the accounting authority for SAPS but rather oversight
Review of reports submitted by CSP
CSP focus should be on impact of contract on SAPS
CSP should look at overall systems in place
Assessment of processes to improve use of consultants

10. SPECIFIC INTERVENTION ON AG FINDINGS
SIU and DPCI are currently involved in investigation into some of the contracts identified by the AG.
Based on the investigation action may have to be taken.

11. THE END