LESSON 2:

APPLYING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN

GOVERNANCE
LEARNING OUTCOMES

After you have studied this lesson and completed the self-assessment activities, you
should be able to:

• explain the cascading strategic intent of government

• evaluate the context of strategic change in the South African Public Service

• provide an overview of main transformational challenges

• explain the strategic management/change management interface

• analyse the role of the Department of Public Service and Administration in

transforming the public service

• evaluate the government’s strategic agenda by focusing on:

✓ Strategic Priority 1: Speeding up growth and transforming the
economy to create decent work and sustainable livelihoods

✓ Strategic Priority 2: Massive programme to build economic and social

infrastructure

✓ Strategic Priority 3: Comprehensive rural development strategy linked

to land and agrarian reform and food security

✓ Strategic Priority 4: Strengthen the skills and human resource base

✓ Strategic Priority 5: Improve the health profile of all South Africans

✓ Strategic Priority 6: Intensify the fight against crime and corruption

✓ Strategic Priority 7: Build cohesive, caring and sustainable
communities
✓ Strategic Priority 8: Pursuing African advancement and enhanced
international co-operation
✓ Strategic Priority 9: Sustainable resource management and use

✓ Strategic Priority 10: Building a developmental state including

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 improvement of public service and strengthening democratic
institutions

• explain the government Framework for Managing Programme

Performance Information

• briefly analyse the role of the public manager in the application of strategic
management

1. INTRODUCTION
Improving governance requires responsiveness to both political imperatives and the
service demands of customers. This responsiveness requires a strategic orientation
and accountability – accountability for achieving results through the exercise of
specific responsibilities within the specific public institutional context and policy
frameworks.

In this lesson we will give an overview of the application of strategic management in

governance. Specific South African examples will be used to illustrate specific
applications. Note that due to dynamic changes in the sociopolitical, technological
and economic environments, government must constantly adjust its strategic goals
and objectives. Therefore, you — the dedicated learner — should remain abreast of
new strategic developments and applications in public institutions.

2. CASCADING STRATEGIC INTENT

You should understand what is meant by the cascading of strategic intent or
objectives within government. In accordance with the stipulation of the Constitution,
Parliament promulgates legislation that provides a strategic intent or vision for the
public service. The White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service is an
example in this regard. Each public institution in the public service must then
operationalise this strategic intent. This is done through departmental policies, a
strategic plan and the allocation of resources. Within the public institution each
directorate in turn needs to operationalise the strategic plan of the institution (e.g.
Department of Education). All activities of each directorate, such as programmes and
projects, must be aligned towards addressing the objectives of the strategic plan.

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The operationalisation of the strategic intent of government is the main criterion
which the Minister of Finance, for example, should use to determine how much
money in terms of budget allocations should be made available to each department.

3. THE CONTEXT OF STRATEGIC CHANGE IN THE

SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC SERVICES
In the South African Public Service, the key question is not whether change will
happen, it is how it will take place. Change is a continuous process of adjusting and
amending with a view to improving existing structures, processes, procedures and
systems. A strategic approach is required to manage change effectively.

Although the concepts “change”, “transformation”, “rationalisation”, and

“restructuring” usually have distinct meanings, in the context of strategic
management they can be seen as synonymous. The reason for this is that all these
processes require a strategic management response to bring about pro- active and
planned changes to systems, processes, structures and management approaches.

Approaches for managing such change are based on the premises that change is
always disruptive, and that it can be managed successfully. The changing
responsibilities of the South African government require a continuous and strategic
reshaping of the public service. For the future, the strength of the public service will
in all probability be judged by:

• its ability to support national competitive success

• its ability to inspire its employees and to encourage responsible work

culture and ethic

• its ability to respond to, and be stimulated by, rising public expectations

• its capacity to identify and nurture the human resources, systems and
structures which will provide excellent services to the public in the future

The public service contains those branches of the state concerned with controlling
the input of human and financial resources into the public sector: the treasury and
the key personnel management functions. It generally contains core social and
economic policy-making functions. Many service delivery functions are within the

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public sector, but not within the public service, in that their internal personnel and
financial management systems are no longer identical to those imposed within the
core public service.

Change in the public service is an inevitability. Globalisation — the growing inability

of national borders to restrict the flow of ideas or of capital — has changed the
government equation for national economic and competitive success. It has ensured
that national competitive success depends on an effective public service. The major
dimensions of change in current public service reforms can be summarised as
follows:

• Changes in management culture and style following the move from

administration, concerned with process, to managerial concerns to
maximise efficiency

• Re-examination of work methods and changes in working practices as a

result of the introduction of new technology

• The restructuring and reorganisation necessary to focus on outputs

• Changed performance management frameworks, emphasising output

targets and accepting strict accountability through performance appraisal,
with limited-term contracts and monetary incentives

• Changes in financial management to ensure transparency in the allocation

of costs

The pace of change in the public service, driven by the changing role of governments
seeking to respond to a rapidly economic and social environment, will not slacken.
Social expectations, led increasingly by global media, will continue to rise.
Developments in information technology will enable further organisational
restructuring. National competitiveness will increasingly depend on flexibility in highly
skilled workforces, requiring fast responses from a government that is increasingly
enabling rather than providing the detailed directions for change.

3.1 Overview of challenges facing the transformation of the public

service
To transform anything with a past requires, firstly, an understanding of the historical
nature of things, and secondly, a new theory. For a public institution to transform, it

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must change its historical basis for existence. It must also change its design logic
and its structure (Skweyiya, 1998).

3.1.1 The nature of transformation

Transformation is thus a process of disintegration and re-integration. During this
process all existing structures, such as hierarchies of authority, lines of
accountability, and reward systems are interrogated and contested. Transformation
is also a process invention. It requires new visions, new ways of thinking and a new
language. It is a process of change so fundamental that by definition it exceeds the
predictable. It is about altering the conditions of what is possible.

Transformation is of course about more than just structures. Transformation consists

of rapid and radical change in all the facets of an organisation. These changes are
so significant that they result in a new identity. Transformation is thus a process of
becoming that re-organises organisational knowledge and operations. It creates new
relationships between an organisation and its environment. These new relationships
in turn alter both the organisation and its environment (Skweyiya, 1998).

Although organisational transformation requires a deliberate process of intervention

(strategic), it is also a process of learning and development. In other words it is a
process of dialogue and experimentation as well as a process of decision and
decree.

3.1.2 Key transformation challenges

According to the former Minister of the Public Service and Administration, Dr
Skweyiya (1998), the South African Public Service must address key
transformational challenges to strategically manage change. These challenges
include the following:

• Creating departments that are broadly representative of society

• The blocking of efforts to implement new initiatives by some officials

• Minimising centralised decision-making structures and unclear lines of

authority

• Ensuring that elected officials can effectively give direction and guidance
to the policy formulation activities of departments

• Eliminating the fairly isolated and informal fashion in which policy

formulation tends to occur

• Improving the selection of priority programmes for implementation and the

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 mobilisation of adequate resources around these priorities

• The restructuring of provincial governments to give heads of department

clear accountability

• Greater involvement of senior managers in budgeting and the human

resource planning processes

• Aligning administrative transformation with budget reform and a

fundamental re-direction of fiscal resources

• Participatory and open styles of management

• Creating an appropriate employment policy for the senior public service

• Implementing an effective performance management system which

focuses on outcomes

• Using information technology to provide an infrastructure for management

information systems

According to Skweyiya (1998), the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council

provides a forum where public and elected officials can think strategically about
dealing with these and other transformational challenges in constructive ways.

3.2 Strategic management/change management interface

Changes introduced into the public service internationally have resulted in the
service playing a very different role. Change or reform programmes have reflected
the two broad aims of increased efficiency and effectiveness. While the public service
must produce more from fewer resources, it must also ensure that those products
are the right ones. Through their focus on efficiency and effectiveness, successful
change programmes have broken the perceived link of recent years between public
ownership, on the one hand, and an equilibrium of underachievement and resistance
to change, on the other. Strategic managerial frameworks and programmes can
provide a sound framework for cost-effective services.

Successful change programmes are powered by a determination to make public

services more responsive to the needs of the people who use them. A re-
conceptualisation of service users as consumers of public services has meant that
passive recipients of services are increasingly seen as active customers, and serious
attempts are being made to find out what those customers expect. Successful
change should be built on a foundation of balanced organisational and attitudinal

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changes. For example, the transformation of public service personnel management
policies, supported by monitoring of staff numbers and costs, should be
accompanied by a process of re-orientation for staff in which both quality of service
and accountability to the public are emphasised.

Such a planned process of changing attitudes in step with reforming structures

highlights the central role of staff commitment to change. The process of change
should capture the concern about the quality of service provided to the public is
currently a catalyst in developing an organisational culture where outputs are the
overriding preoccupation. In South Africa, the move from a climate of administration
towards one of comprehensive management has offered an opportunity to tighten up
roles and responsibilities at all levels.

In order for the public institution to manage change strategically, it is necessary for
functional groupings or directorates to function in synergy. Synergy refers to teams
working in an aligned fashion towards the achievement of institutional objectives.
Alignment is especially necessary not to waste scare strategic resources such as
money and time.

ALIGNED TEAMS UNALIGNED TEAMS

• Function as a whole • Wasted energy and resources

• Energies harmonise • Empowering individuals leads to
• Commonality of purpose chaos

• Complement one another’s

efforts

Strategic change should be integrated with the key performance areas formulated
for every employee. Strategic change should also be converted into action plans for
direct implementation in a joint, co-ordinated effort. Organisational strategy functions
as a reference framework for the management of the corporate and strategic change
process. It focuses management’s efforts on the optimal positioning of the institution
within a changed environment. Organisational strategy therefore serves as a means
through which actions are jointly aimed at an objective.

Strategic management and the management of change can and should be combined
as a whole. The management of change is a part of strategic management when a
strategy is divided into operational action plans and key performance areas for
implementation. Strategic management emphasises organisational structural

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change and task formulation while the management of change, as part of strategic
management, stresses the human dimensions during the implementation of a
strategy.

3.3 Translating strategic change objectives into projects

Typically, transition or change starts at the top, general management echelon s and
then ends up in the project management (operational/functional) arena. Transition is
not obviously linked to a particular project. In the strategic management process,
vision and mission statements are formulated which have to be implemented via
specific strategies. In turn the strategies must be operationalised through projects.
One is essentially promoting a solution or promoting the need for a solution. The
vision and mission statements imply the need to persuade people to subscribe to a
certain direction (change).

In the public sector, change is in essence political in nature because, before

transitional projects are launched, there needs to be agreement on the expenditure
of funds and resources. It is also political because of the fact that role-players could
have considerable power — and unique interests. Projects also seek to meet the
needs of people and therefore exist in a socio-political environment. During transition
any project will have elements of institutional, interpersonal and political party
politics. With widely differing needs competing for limited funds, and with many
alternatives available to satisfy those needs, reaching agreement on what should
actually be done can be difficult.

ACTIVITY
1. Provide an overview of the context of strategic transformation in the public
service. Your overview should include main transformational challenges, the
strategic management/change management interface, and the need to use
project management for strategy implementation.

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4. APPLYING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN
GOVERNMENT
In examining the application of strategic management in government in South Africa,
it is necessary to focus on the role of the Department of Public Service and
Administration.

4.1 The role of the Department of Public Service and Administration

(DPSA)
Since 1994, with the introduction of democracy in South Africa much work has been
done to transform the public service and to improve the delivery of services. New
policies were developed, a new public management framework was established, and
regulations were put in place which will accelerate the delivery of services to the
majority of citizens. The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA)
plays a key role in directing and guiding public institutions towards government’s
strategic objectives.

In order to accelerate the transformation of the public service, the DPSA has set the
following strategic objectives:

• Integrated Provincial Support Programme (IPSP)

In order to support institutions with the massive service delivery
challenges, the Integrated Provincial Support Programme (IPSP) provides
support for five provincial governments. The aim of this programme is to
improve the effective rendering of services and good governance. The
IPSP is about innovative service delivery, releasing more funds for service
delivery to the poor through restructuring and improving good governance
through regular interaction with citizens, transparency and accountability.
To a large extent the policy frameworks exist in order to address the
challenge to translate policy into action in order to give full realisation to
Batho Pele.

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 These strategic objectives need to be operationalised in other state
departments, which requires an extensive strategic plan.

• Research
In order to improve government’s understanding of the capacity constraints
that institutions are facing, the DPSA undertook various studies. For
example a study was completed on the use of consultants in the public
service, and the underlying reasons for under spending and unauthorised
expenditure in government. The DPSA is currently busy with an audit of
public service transformation with a view to providing a comprehensive
picture of the reforms implemented in the public service during the period
1994 to 2001 and the progress that has been made with the
implementation of these reforms.

• Service delivery improvement and Batho Pele

Government’s vision is to promote seamless, integrated service delivery.
This is done within government’s Batho Pele policy, as promulgated in
1997. The Batho Pele principles are applied as the basis for service
delivery. Various projects are being implemented to give full realisation to
the improvement of service delivery. One of these is the Gateway project,
which aims to establish a single electronic gateway that will facilitate
access to all information and services being provided by government. The
overall vision of the Gateway project is to provide access to government
services, anytime, anyplace, and within a clearly defined and executed e-
government strategy.

• Modernising the public service

A key initiative in terms of Batho Pele is to modernise government. As part
of modernisation, the Department of Public services and Administration
has established the Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) to
encourage service delivery innovation in the public service. The work of
the Centre focuses on using innovative means to achieve outcomes in
sustainable service delivery partnerships, influencing the work culture in
government, and developing an environment that supports innovation. The
role of the Centre is primarily to function as an enabler, a facilitator and a
champion of innovative ideas.
New service delivery mechanisms are also being implemented such as the
Multi-purpose Community Centres, Shared Services and One-Stop Shops.
The DPSA will also make a Directory of the Public Services available,

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which will provide citizens with information on the points of service delivery.
The following are the annual events run by departments to promote Batho
Pele:
✓ African Public Service Day

✓ Internal imbizos
✓ Public Service Week

✓ External imbizos
✓ Labour relations and conditions of service

The results of the Personnel Expenditure Review in 1999 highlighted a

need to review a number of public service practices and systems. The
purpose of this review was to highlight problem areas and help identify
opportunities where innovation could result in the release of available
resources to fund other development programmes in line with the national
reconstruction and development framework.
In the medium term, the focus will be on the following:

✓ A review of the determination of conditions of service for SMS

members. Agreement was reached to determine conditions of service
of SMS members outside the normal bargaining structures.
✓ A review of macro benefits in the public service with special focus on
medical aid, housing, leave and pension arrangements with a view to
ensuring efficiency, adequacy, equity and administrative justice.

✓ A review of the rank and leg promotion system as a pay progression

system with a view to instituting a performance-based system.
✓ A review of the structure of public service institutions with a view to
informing the redistribution of available human capital.

✓ A review of collective bargaining structures in the public service with

a view to clearly defining roles and responsibilities and issues to be
negotiated at national and sectoral or departmental level.
✓ The development of a national strategy to facilitate the mitigation of
the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on service delivery.
✓ The implementation of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997
in the Public Service.

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• Fighting corruption
The Public Service Anti-Corruption Strategy has been developed and
approved for implementation over a three-year period. To inform and
support the implementation phase, new anti-corruption legislation has
been introduced in Parliament and processes have been put in place to
assess departments’ capacity to deal with corruption, to gauge the extent
of corruption and to build further institutional capacity. Particulars of the
strategy are available on the website of the department on Public Service
and Administration.

• Senior management service

The aim of the new management framework introduced in July 1999 is to
ensure improved service delivery in public service
departments/institutions. This framework necessitates a number of
initiatives to ensure that a transformed public service is not just “a pipe
dream”. In order to realise this, a need has been identified to:.

✓ strengthen management capacity so that management is competent

to drive the transformation process – hence the establishment of a
senior management service for the public service
✓ constantly audit the progress made by the departments in complying
with the dictates of the new management framework.

• Establishing a Senior Management Service (SMS) for the public

service.

The overall goal of the SMS initiative is to improve government’s ability to

recruit, retain and develop quality managers and professionals. In order to
do this the following have been put in place:
✓ a modernised employment framework consisting of improved terms
and conditions of service
✓ mechanisms to improve the interdepartmental mobility of senior
managers and professionals
✓ a performance management system (through a performance
agreement) supported by a competency framework
✓ an improved, competency-based recruitment and selection process

✓ the institution of improved ethical conduct through the disclosure of

financial interests

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 ✓ focused training and development interventions

• Human resource management systems

Public service human resource management systems have been improved

and, in line with the new management framework, their focus has been
developed. These systems should inculcate a culture of performance, thus
emphasising the importance of strategic planning and HR planning and the
development of human capital.

• Human resource development

Public service practice with regards to human resource development has
been reviewed and consolidated into a human resource development
strategy for the public service. The strategy builds on the foundation laid
by the National Skills Development Strategy and the National Human
Resource Development Strategy for South Africa; it has been approved for
implementation and aims to address the major human resource capacity
constraints currently hampering the affective and equitable delivery of
public services. The strategy has the following four strategic objectives:
✓ drive full commitment to promote human resource development in all
public service institutions
✓ establish effective strategic and operational planning in the public
service
✓ establish competencies that are critical for service delivery in the
public service
✓ drive effective management and coordination of developmental
interventions in the public service

• HIV/AIDS
Following an assessment of the likely impact on HIV/AIDS on the public
service, a programme of action was developed focusing on the following
key areas:

✓ The review of conditions of services to ensure that the potential

impact on medical aid provision, pension arrangements,
management of incapacity leave and ill-health retirement are
considered and that public servants enjoy an acceptable level of care
and support.
✓ The identification and provision of support, capacity development and

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 training as part of the broader processes to manage the impact of
HIV/ AIDS on the Public Service.

✓ The review of current legislation and policy documents with a view to

eliminating any form of discrimination and ensuring relevance.

A comprehensive implementation strategy has been developed which

focuses on the implementation of a workplace policy framework and
minimum standards, facilitating the development and implementation of
departmental workplace policies and continuous monitoring and the
evaluation of progress achieved by departments.

• Public service information

Taking into consideration the importance of accurate management

information for planning and informed decision making, the DPSA has
published the National Minimum Information Requirements (NMIR). These
identify the information required at a strategic level that departments must
ensure that it is accurate and kept up to date.
As from 2002, departments will also, as part of the annual report, publish
a statistical report with regard to human resource management. This report
will strengthen HR information in the Public Service.

• The Government Information Technology Officer’s (GITO) Council

The DPSA has led the process that resulted in the establishment of the
Government Information Technology Officer’s Council. The Council was
created to serve as an IT co-ordination and consolidation vehicle in
government, and as a form of “radar” that will assist in informing the
government, on a continuous basis, when and how to intervene in the
interests of enhanced service delivery to citizens. The GITO Council has
been involved in the investigation, formulation and development of an IT
security policy framework, e-government policy and strategy and IT
procurement guidelines. It is also involved in the effort to monitor IT
projects in government to eliminate duplication. The Inventory of
Government-wide Information Systems (IGIS) report was successfully
completed in 2001 and the office of the Government Chief Information
Officer (OGCIO) in the DPSA has interacted with the GITO Council to
facilitate project coordination aimed at delivering a single access window
to government services by citizens, anytime, anywhere.

• e-Government policy

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 The current draft policy outlines the mission and vision of the South African
government with regard to electronic service delivery, the challenges and
mechanisms of effecting service delivery based on citizens’ life
expectations/ events and the necessary institutional framework to realise
e-government.
e-Government regulation, which will form a new chapter in public service
regulation, was developed and approved by the GITO Council in November
2001. In January 2001, a legal ratification process of the regulations was
carried out to ensure compliance with the Constitution and other legislation.
These regulations seek to enforce interoperability and information security
across all government departments in all tiers of government.
These standards are intended to enable the seamless flow of information
across government departments.

• State Information Technology Agency (SITA)

This major parastatal is accountable to Parliament, the Minister and the
Department for Public Service and Administration. SITA recently received
Cabinet approval to restructure into a holding company and divisions as
follows:
✓ SITA D – ring-fencing the affairs of the Department of Defence
✓ SITA C – taking care of the affairs of all other national departments
and provincial governments
✓ SITA e-service – will have the major responsibility for transforming
the way in which government conducts its business. It will also be the
single channel for procurement of government IT and related services
through its Information Technology Acquisition Centre.
The benefits of restructuring SITA now focus on service delivery to its base
by adhering to the principles embedded in the IT “house of values”.
Improved coordination of requirements and interoperability will become the
order of the day resulting in the elimination of duplication and leveraging
the buying power of government.

Central SITA’s procurement mandate is the promotion of openness and

fairness and socioeconomic responsibility for advancing black economic
empowerment (BEE). Particular attention will be given to ensuring the
regional distribution of spending and skill development (www.sita.co.za).

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5. THE STRATEGIC AGANDA OF GOVERNMENT
The fourth democratic elections ushered in a new electoral mandate which defines
the strategic objectives and targets of government for the period 2009 to 2014,
outlined in the Medium Term Strategic Framework (2009–2014) (MTFS).
Subsequently, the strategic plan of The Presidency has been aligned to the strategic
agenda of government (MTSF), which has set out comprehensively the ten priorities
that government will pursue in the five-year electoral period. These ten main priorities
underpin the strategic direction of government.

However, government’s strategic agenda was introduced into an environmental

context characterised by an economic downturn resulting from the global economic
crisis which has affected every region of the world. These volatile times have
negatively impacted on economic growth prospects in our country and we are likely
to experience the consequences of this up to at least 2010. Current forecasts of real
growth in the South African gross domestic product for the period 2009 to 2014 put
the average annual growth rate much lower than the average for the period 2004 to
2009. This has concomitant negative implications for investment, employment,
incomes and government revenue, resulting in the prevailing concern that the burden
of this crisis may further deepen poverty and inequality. The steps outlined in the
Medium Term Strategic Framework (2009–2014) had to take into account the
constraints imposed by the economic crisis and outline a comprehensive programme
to manage South Africa’s path through the economic challenges it faces.

To give effect to the strategic objectives spelt out in the electoral mandate, the ten
priority areas identified in the Medium Term Strategic Framework (2009–2014),
which have become the foundation for The Presidency strategy for the same period,
comprise the following:

Strategic Priority 1:
Speeding up growth and transforming the economy to create decent work
and sustainable livelihoods

The main objective is to respond appropriately, promptly and effectively so that

growth in decent employment and improvements in income security are reinforced
and investment sustained to build up national economic capability and improve
industrial competitiveness. This has to be conducted in an environment of a stable
macro-economy which provides conditions for higher rates of investment and the

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creation of decent jobs.

Strategic Priority 2:
Massive programme to build economic and social infrastructure

In the period ahead, government will continue with the investment programme for
expanding and improving social and economic infrastructure to increase the access,
quality and reliability of public services and to support economic activities while also
considering environmental sustainability and pursuing maximum employment
impact. The aim is to ensure sustained investment growth over the medium term so
as to achieve the target of a fixed investment ratio above 25% of the GDP by 2014.
Such projects will be spatially referenced, planned for and implemented in an
integrated manner. In addition, government will continue with programmes to provide
and maintain health, education, library, sport, recreation and other social
infrastructure.

Strategic Priority 3:
Comprehensive rural development strategy linked to land and agrarian
reform and food security

Between 10 and 15 million South Africans live in areas that are characterised by
extreme poverty and underdevelopment. Recognising the diversity of our rural areas,
the overall objective is to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy of rural
development that will be aimed at improving the quality of life of rural households,
enhancing the country’s food security through a broader base of agricultural
production, and exploiting the varied economic potential that each region of the
country enjoys.

Strategic Priority 4:
Strengthen the skills and human resource base

Education has enjoyed the largest share of the national budget throughout the past
15 years. This significant investment in building human capital and capabilities has
gradually improved the country’s human resource and skills base. However,
progress has not been optimal and the achievements have not taken place on the
required scale. Government’s objective is thus to focus our skills and education
system on the delivery of quality outcomes. The focus will be on, among other things,
learner outcomes, early childhood development (ECD), improving school
management and monitoring and evaluation systems, and supporting and

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developing a high quality teaching profession.

Strategic Priority 5:
Improve the health profile of all South Africans

In the current MTSF period government aims to transform the public health system
so as to reduce inequalities in that system, improve quality of care and public
facilities, boost human resources and step up the fight against HIV/Aids, TB and
other communicable diseases as well as lifestyle and other causes of ill-health and
mortality. Elements of our strategy include the phasing in of a national health
insurance system over the next five years and increasing institutional capacities to
deliver health system functions and initiate major structural reforms to improve the
management of health services at all levels of healthcare delivery, particularly
hospitals.

Strategic Priority 6:
Intensify the fight against crime and corruption

Government is determined to curb levels of crime and corruption. Contact crimes,

crimes against women and children and organised crime remain a key focus, and so
is the combating of corruption. Key to government success would be the
comprehensive revamp of the criminal justice system, including the strengthening of
accountability systems and the enhancement of citizen involvement and community
mobilisation in the fight against crime.

Strategic Priority 7:
Build cohesive, caring and sustainable communities

Social cohesion is important if we are to achieve developmental success. However,

inequalities of condition and opportunity and weaknesses with regard to a sense of
being part of a common enterprise, are placing severe stress and strain on social
cohesion. In this MTSF period, government aims to meet its target of halving poverty
and unemployment by 2014 and, in conjunction with other priorities, to strengthen
human capabilities, promote shared values and social solidarity and strive to reduce
overall inequality.

Strategic Priority 8:
Pursuing African advancement and enhanced international co-operation

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Over the medium term, the main goal is to ensure that our foreign relations contribute
to the creation of an environment conducive to economic growth and development
domestically, within African and in other developing countries. Implementing the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), promoting Southern Africa
Development Community (SADC) regional integration, strengthening South–South
relations and pursuing a developmental and investment-orientated approach to
engagements with the North, are key aspects related to this priority.

Strategic Priority 9:
Sustainable resource management and use

Like the rest of the world, South Africa is vulnerable to the impact of climate change,
biodiversity loss and diminishing water resources. Interventions will include, among
others, diversification of the energy mix in pursuit of renewable energy alternatives
and the promotion of energy efficiency, enforcing a zero tolerance approach to illegal
and unsustainable exploitation of resources, supporting local and sustainable food
production, promoting sustainable water use and preserving the quality of drinking
water.

Strategic Priority 10:

Building a developmental state including improvement of public service and
strengthening democratic institutions

In the previous mandate period, government committed itself to improving the

capacity of the state for growth and development. This remains a priority. Whilst
progress has been made, government continues to face significant challenges in
transforming the system of governance. Challenges include capacity gaps in local
government; the poor quality of some of our public services; declining trust and
confidence in public institutions such as the judiciary, legislatures and the executive
branch of government; and weak planning capacity across the three spheres of
government. As government strives to overcome these hurdles, its long-term goal
remains the building of an effective and accountable state as well as fostering active
citizenship.

The Presidency, naturally, does not deliver directly in each priority area, but must
ensure co-ordination, integration, mobilisation and support towards the attainment of
government’s goals. The Presidency will, therefore, in line with its mandate, lead,
manage, plan, ensure coordination, facilitate, oversee as well as monitor and
evaluate the successful implementation of the agenda of government outlined above.

Over and above the traditional role was played by The Presidency in the past, that

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of assisting government to work in clusters in order to respond to the needs of the
South African citizen in an integrated and co-ordinated manner, The Presidency has
also further strengthened its organisational machinery through the establishment of
the National Planning and the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation ministries
respectively, to ensure the successful planning and implementation of its priorities.

To this end, firstly, government has recognised the absence of national planning
capacity as a major deficiency in our government system, hence the initiative was
taken by President Jacob Zuma within this current financial year 2009 to establish a
National Planning Commission. The National Planning Commission will have
responsibility for planning for and initiating a national conversation about the kind of
South Africa we wish to construct in the next fifteen to twenty years (Vision 2025).
The Commission will comprise about twenty South African experts from a variety of
disciplines who will, on a part-time basis, give impetus to this expressed need. Their
task will be to identify the needs, to call for expert inputs from researchers in a
number of fields, and to facilitate a national consensus around the future we want for
our nation, and to facilitate decisions by Cabinet. The policy paper on National
Strategic Planning sets out the approach that government will take on this matter.

Secondly, to ensure that the state is held accountable for performance against this
plan, the other big initiative taken by President Zuma in this current financial year
2009, was the establishment of a Ministry in The Presidency which will be
responsible for the performance monitoring and evaluation of government ministers,
MECs and mayors across the three spheres of government. This will be in addition
to the existing system for monitoring and evaluation (which includes the programme
of action reports, developmental indicators and reviews).

Through the enhanced monitoring and evaluation (M&E) function government will,
firstly, see public performance contracts signed with the public representatives.
Another element of the enhanced M&E function includes the improvement of the
quality and standard of service delivery. Government will be able to assess the
impact made with its interventions and implement actions to rectify weaknesses and
strengths. Finally, another component of the enhanced M&E function will be that
each priority area noted above will develop a set of outcomes and outcome
indicators, and will be measured systematically
(www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id =85975).

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6. GOVERNMENT FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING
PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

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7. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND THE PUBLIC
MANAGER
For the application of strategic management in governance to be effective and
efficient, public managers must have a strategic perspective. It is necessary that
public managers articulate long-term strategic goals for changes in functions,
processes, systems and structures.

Public managers must realise that resources will always be finite and limited, so it is
important that existing resources are strategically prioritised in line with customers’
priorities, and not wasted on unnecessary, inefficient bureaucratic processes. Top
management backing and leadership are essential to ensure this. Public managers
must also appreciate the fact that there must be participation by citizens. Good
customer service must be rewarded and recognised and poor customer service
penalised. To further improve strategic management in governance, co-ordination
between national, provincial and local authorities and liaison between government
and the private sector must be improved.

ACTIVITY
1. Do a quick survey in your institution to assess the role of public managers in
the application of strategic management. Write down your main findings
below.

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8. CONCLUSION
The challenge of successful transformation and change in the South African Public
Service is the successful application of strategic management. Effective governance
to implement service delivery programmes is extremely important because it is
closely linked to democracy and the realisation of individual rights. Furthermore, the
transformation of the public service will be judged on the basis of what the impact of
the transformation has been on service delivery.

Specific strategies are needed to address the various challenges associated with the
complex activities associated with governance. The activities include policy- making,
human resource management, financial management, performance management,
and the application of information technology.

As the driver or facilitator of the application of strategic management, the public

manager plays a fundamental role. Public managers must have the necessary
strategic orientation, skills and knowledge to optimally utilise scarce resources to
achieve the strategic objectives that have been set. In the next lesson the strategic
management process will be discussed.

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9. SELF-ASSESSMENT
9.1 Explain the cascading strategic intent of government. [8]

9.2 Evaluate the context of strategic change in the South African Public
Service. [15]

9.3 Provide an overview of main transformational challenges. [12]

9.4 Explain the strategic management/change management interface. [5]

9.5 Analyse the role of the Department of Public Service and Administration in
transforming the public service. [10]

9.6 Evaluate the strategic agenda of government by focusing on the following:

Strategic Priority 1: Speeding up growth and transforming the economy to

create decent work and sustainable livelihoods
Strategic Priority 2: Massive programme to build economic and social
infrastructure
Strategic Priority 3: Comprehensive rural development strategy linked to
land and agrarian reform and food security
Strategic Priority 4: Strengthen the skills and human resource base
Strategic Priority 5: Improve the health profile of all South Africans
Strategic Priority 6: Intensify the fight against crime and corruption
Strategic Priority 7: Build cohesive, caring and sustainable communities
Strategic Priority 8: Pursuing African advancement and enhanced
international co-operation
Strategic Priority 9: Sustainable resource management and use
Strategic Priority 10: Building a developmental state including
improvement of public service and strengthening democratic institutions

[50]
9.7 Briefly analyse the role of the public manager in the application of strategic
management. [8]

9.8 Explain the Framework for Programme Performance Information

[50]

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10. FEEDBACK ON SELF-ASSESSMENT
9.1 Refer to section 2 of this lesson. Explain the cascading strategic intent of
government by indicating that strategic intent commences at policy level
(Parliament) and then cascades down to public institutions (e.g.
government departments) that must operationalise strategic objectives
derived from the intent.

9.2 Refer to section 3 of this lesson. Evaluate the context of strategic change
by providing a brief overview of current transformation processes. Your
evaluation should include challenges associated with transformation, the
strategic management/change management interface, and the translation
of strategic change objectives into projects.

9.3 Refer to section 3.1 of this lesson. Give an overview of main

transformational challenges; you may also include additional challenges
that you have identified.

9.4 Refer to section 3.2 of this lesson.

9.5 Refer to section 4.1 of this lesson.

9.6 Refer to section 5 of this lesson.

9.7 Refer to section 7 of this lesson. Briefly analyse the role of the public
manager by indicating his or her role in directing all resources towards the
achievement of strategic objectives.

9.8 Refer to section 6 of this lesson

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REFERENCES
Barker, J.A. 1992. Future Edge. New York: William Morrow.

Bass, B.M. & Avolio, B.J. 1994. Improving Organisational Effectiveness Through
Transformational Leadership. California: Sage.

Bridges, W. 1995. Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. New York:
Addison-Wesley.

Burnes, B. 1992. Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational

Development and Renewal. London: Pitman.

Champy, J. 1995. Reengineering Management. New York: Harper Collins.

Faulkner, D. & Johnson, G. 1992. The Challenge of Strategic Management. London:

Kogan Page.

Fraser-Moleketi, G. 2000. Press statement: African countries adopt a public service

charter at a meeting in Morocco, 20 January 2000.

Healy, P. 1997. Project Management. Singapore: Butterworth Heinemann.

Osborne, D. & Gaebler, T. 1993. Reinventing Government: How the Entrepreneurial

Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector. London: Penguin.

Skweyiya, Z.S.T. 1998. Address by the Minister for the Public Service and
Administration at the National Transformation Conference held in Kimberley on 17th
September 1998.

South Africa. 1993. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 200 of 1993.
Pretoria: Government Printer.

South Africa. 1994. White Paper on the Reconstruction and Development

Programme. (Notice no. 1 954 of 1994.) Pretoria: Government Printer.

South Africa. 1995. White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service. (Notice
no. 376 of 1995.) Pretoria: Government Printer.

South Africa. 1999. Press statement: Cabinet approves new management plan on
skills audits and management framework, 4 August 1999.

Treacy, M.W. & Wiersema, F. 1995. The Discipline of Market Leaders. London:

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Addison-Wesley.

Van der Waldt, G. & Du Toit, D.F.P. 1997. Managing for Excellence in the Public
Sector. Kenwyn: Juta.

Vander Waldt, G. & Knipe, A. 1998. Project Management for Strategic Change and
Upliftment. Johannesburg: International Thomson.

www.treasury.gov.za/publications/guidelines/FMPl.pdf

www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=85975

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