| 1. |
In accordance with Part III, Sections C1 and C2 of the Public Service Regulations, 2001 (as amended), the Head of Education shall establish and sustain a service delivery improvement programme (SDIP), and publish an annual statement of public service commitment setting out the department's service standards that clients can expect, and explaining how the department will meet each of those standards. |
| 2. |
The SDIP shall consist of the following:
- Main services to be provided
- Consultation arrangements between the department and its clients
- Clients' means of access to the department's services
- Service standards for the main services
- Information-sharing arrangements
- Complaints procedures
- Recognition systems
|
| 3. |
The establishment and maintenance of an SDIP is also regulated by the following legislation:
Batho Pele White Paper (No. 1459 of 1997)
Principle 2 of the Service Standards: "Citizens should be told what level and quality of public services they will receive so that they are aware of what to expect."
Public Finance Management Act (No. 1 of 1999)
This stipulates that strategic plans cannot be developed in isolation and that they must be an integral part of a department's SDIP.
Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (No. 3 of 2000)
This provides a legal framework within which administrators must operate when making decisions that affect citizens, e.g. a decision to grant a subsidy to an ECD facility. |
| 4. |
The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) requires departments to submit annually two service standards for record purposes. For the 2009/2010 financial year, the WCED has complied with the attached service standards for the Directorate: Communication (Walk-in Centre and Call Centre). |
| 5. |
The Directorate: Business Planning and Strategy has been mandated to execute the above-mentioned and other related initiatives, and has formally appointed the WCED's service delivery improvement co-ordinator, Leslie Daniels, (tel. no. 021- 467 2059, e-mail address ledaniels@pgwc.gov.za) with effect from 1 February 2009. |
| 6. |
In terms of the legislation, a new service delivery charter must be issued this year. In order for the WCED to comply, the following steps are planned: |
| 6.1 |
A customer satisfaction survey will be conducted, using a sample of schools; |
| 6.2 |
Each directorate will be contacted by the SDIP Unit in order to conduct exercises to set and/or re-commit to service standards. |
| 6.2.1 |
An initial meeting with the director should take 45 minutes. |
| 6.2.2 |
A subsequent meeting should be held within a week of the initial engagement. This should be attended by the deputy director(s) and assistant director(s). It would be preferable, but not essential, for the director to be present as well. Depending on the size of the directorate concerned, its current capacity and the roles for which it is responsible, this second engagement will last anything between an hour and a day. |
| 6.2.3 |
In the case of bigger directorates, the second engagement will be staggered across the day, i.e. engagements will be with each section in turn and not all staff will need to be present for the entire day. |
| 6.2.4 |
In the case of completely new, or radically revised, directorates, the engagements will tend to be a bit longer. |
| 6.2.5 |
The initial engagement with the director will serve to determine the form of further engagements with the directorate. |
| 7. |
Additional communication about the roll-out plan for the WCED's 2009/2010 financial year will follow later. Kindly share the content of the minute with your staff. |
SIGNED: AMJ SCHLEBUSCH
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2009:04:29
|