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12 June 2008

Madam Speaker
Chief Whip of the ANC
Honourable members

The adoption of the Africa Public Service Charter by African Ministers of Public Service in Namibia during the third Biennial Pan-African Conference in 2001, committed us as South Africa and Mpumalanga in particular, to ensure that services to our people, are provided in an efficient and dignified way. This was meant to restore prestige and dignity to the public service, and also to raise performance levels and competence in governments in Africa.

The Africa Public Service Day which falls on 23 June of every year, is an entrenched strategic event on the calendar of the African Union, which was adopted during the first Pan-African Conference of Ministers of Public/Civil Service held in Tangier, Morocco in 1994, to "recognise the value and virtue of service to the community".

The Africa Public Service Charter commits the public service employees to foster a neutral and stable environment conducive to the strengthening of ethical values and the image of the public service, as well as to perform their duties in a professional manner. The question one could ask is: How far are we as the Provincial Administration of Mpumalanga? Do we have dedicated and efficient public servants, who are determined to turn around the image of the public service?

My assessment is that we do have such a cadre of dedicated officials, hence the achieved level of service delivery over the past 14 years. However I believe government officials can do much better. I believe today is much better than yesterday, and hope tomorrow will be even better than today – for there are signs of real improvement and the eagerness to perform much better.

As the Provincial Administration of Mpumalanga, we commit to continue to adhere to the eight Batho-Pele Principles in servicing the electorates. By adhering to these principles, we will in turn be fulfilling the principles embodied in the Africa Public Service Charter, which South Africa is a signatory to. Our people deserve much better and dignified service from government departments and institutions.

As Africa will be celebrating the Africa Public Service Day on Monday, 23 June 2008, I urge all public servants, irrespective of their political affiliation, to continue to serve our people with dedication and with zeal; respect them as we strive to build a world-class, capacitated and caring public service. As we reflect on issues affecting the African Public Service, we should also as governments, ensure that our employees are capacitated at all times, to deal with any challenge.

We should continue to build a caring public service; whose employees understand and subscribe to the notion that “a customer is always right.” I dream of a day when no patient would be turned away from any public servicing point on the premise that it is shaying time. Nonetheless, the light is getting much brighter at the end of the tunnel – a sign that we are almost there.

As the ANC, we fully support this day, and will leave no stone unturned, to ensure that our people receive quality and dignified public service. The ANC-led government cares! It is unfortunate that the word “caring,” does not feature in other people’s vocabulary they know themselves. I call them, “People of the Crocodile Tears!” History cannot lie.

We have since the beginning of time, as the ANC, strived towards providing a better life for all – and this is realised through the provision of a better and improved service to the electorates. We further fully support the creation of a single public service, as envisaged by the Ministry of Public Service and Administration.

Madam Speaker, Honourable members, today is much better than yesterday, and hope tomorrow will be even better than today.

Ngiyathokoza!

Issued by: Department of Finance, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
12 June 2008