1. COMMUNITY SCHEMES OMBUD SERVICE – PROGRESS REPORT
PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS MEETING
14 November 2013
Director-General
T Zulu 1

2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE Background Progress made by the board
2.1. Appointment of the board
2.2. Induction of the board
2.3. Board meetings
2.4. Board committees
2.5. Approval of the Strategic, Annual Performance Plan
and operational policies
2.6. Board remuneration
3. Challenges 2

3. 1. BACKGROUND
The Community Schemes Ombud Service Act (Act no 9 of 2011) [CSOS Act], was proclaimed on 11 June 2011 and provides for the establishment of the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) as a public entity. The entity has been listed as a schedule 3A public entity in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (Act No. 1 of 1999, as amended) (PFMA).
The Sectional Titles Act (no. 95 of 1986) has been amended by the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act (no 8 of 2011), as the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act (no 8 of 2011) will now deal with the establishment of bodies corporate to control common property and the application of rules. 3

4. 2. PROGRESS OF THE BOARD 2.1 Appointment of the board
The CSOS Act provides for the appointment of 7 non-executive
members and 2 executive members, namely the Chief Ombud and
the Chief Financial Officer.
The Minister appointed the non-executive members of the board
effective from 1 January 2013.
The chairperson is Dr Rev Vukile Mehana and the deputy
chairperson is Adv Millicent Malebye. 4

5. 2. PROGRESS OF THE BOARD 2.2. Induction of the board
The Department inducted the board on 22 March 2013.
The board was provided with the draft Strategic and Annual Performance Plan, related budgets, draft operational policies and CV’s of the applicants for the position of the Chief Ombud and the Chief Financial Officer. 5

6. 2. PROGRESS OF THE BOARD 2.3. Board meetings
The board had 2 board meetings (3 April and 24 May 2013) and 2 workshops (26 August and 13 September 2013) since the
appointment of the board. 6

7. 2. PROGRESS OF THE BOARD 2.4. Board committees
The board has established the following board committees:
Remuneration, Human Resources and Finance Committee
(REMCO);
Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee;
Adjudication and Governance Committee; and
Levies, Regulation and Registration Committee. 7

8. 2. PROGRESS OF THE BOARD
2.5. Approval of the Strategic, Annual Performance Plan and operational policies
The board reviewed the content and the budget of the draft Strategic and the Annual Performance Plan. The content had to be adjusted to be aligned to the actual financial resource availability of R20 million in the current financial year.
The board approved and submitted the Strategic and Annual Performance plan for implementation in the 2012/13 financial year to the executive authority for final approval. 8

9. 2. PROGRESS OF THE BOARD
The board reviewed and approved the following operational
policies for implementation at the workshop of 13 September:
Human Resource policy and procedures;
Procurement policy;
Business travel policy, procedures and guidelines;
Budgeting policy;
Fixed asset policy; and
Financial procedures manual. 9

10. 2. PROGRESS OF THE BOARD 2.6. Board remuneration
The board prepared and submitted a board remuneration
evaluation form to the National Treasury for evaluation. The purpose is to classify the CSOS board for remuneration purposes as it is a new entity. The response from National Treasury is still pending. 10

11. 3. CHALLENGES 3. Challenges
The appointment of the Chief Ombud and the Chief Financial
Officer remains a challenge.
The board is of the view that a more comprehensive process must
be followed, including head-hunting, in order to ensure that
suitable candidates are found for these critical positions.
A R20 million roll-over has been approved by the National Treasury
to provide for the operational funding of the CSOS in the 2013/14
financial year 11

12. The board is in the process of procuring office space.
3. CHALLENGES
The board is in the process of procuring office space. 12

13. “We have come a long way – Celebrating 20 Years of Freedom!”
THANK YOU
“We have come a long way – Celebrating 20 Years of Freedom!” 13