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South Africa looking for innovative ways to work with NGOs – interview with Minister

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Ayanda Dlodlo has been South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration since 2010. Before being appointed Deputy Minister she was the Parliamentary Councilor to President Zuma. OGP has decided to interview her to find out more about developments in her country.

 1) As a member of the Steering Committee, South Africa was involved in the OGP from the very beginning. What made the South African government join the initiative, and what were the aims and objectives of joining? The South African Government is alive and engaged with the matter of finding innovative ways to work in partnership with non-governmental stakeholders to improve accountability across the delivery chain and down to the local government level? Some of the past initiatives are:

  • The launch of the Presidential Hotline in September 2009 as part of the government’s drive to enhance interaction with citizens
    • The Hotline receives complaints that reflect the diverse concerns of the South African populace
    • These concerns include service delivery issues such as, land claims, housing shortages as well as challenges related to crime and corruption
    • Since its inception, the Hotline has received a large volume of calls, indicating both the need for such a service and the eagerness of South Africans to interact with government
    • During the period under review 72 299 calls were received, 79% were complaints, of which 53% were resolved
  • The government launched its Batho Pele (People First) Gateway in an effort to improve public access to government services
  • The government introduced Batho Pele in 1997 as an initiative to improve delivery in the public service based on the principle of putting people’s interests first
  • Community Policing Forums have helped reduce incidents of crime in many residential and business areas
  • One of the government’s main projects that seek to raise public awareness and access to information on human rights is the Know Your Service Rights Campaign, which was launched in 2007
  • In compliance with the task of educating society about their rights as contained in the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA), the government has conducted community awareness campaigns using regional radio stations and has also conducted training sessions with different organs of state

2) South Africa as a foremost member of the OGP has made commendable strides in governance and citizen engagement. Are there any particular current projects that are exemplary of South African commitments to OGP?

  • Community workers (including community development workers/facilitators/practitioners and extension officers, community health workers, community policing forums and etc.)
  • Home based care especially for management of TB and HIV patience has worked well in rural provinces like the Eastern Cape. There instances where medical officers move around homes to attend to patients. This model has improved the number of patients doctors attend to in a day
  • Setting up specialized courts to expedite case loads has proved a huge success during the world cup
  • The government’s fiscal information, tax revenue, procurement and audit information is made available timeously through government websites, public and academic libraries
  • There have been efforts made at improving access to public information through the use of simplified budget material and encouraging direct public interaction with the Minister of Finance through web submissions
  • Government continues to utilize Izimbizo[i] as forums for public participation on matters affecting communities and civil society
  • Government has developed the Customer Charter and Services Booklets in order to inform the public about its services
  • Guidelines on the Prevention and Management of Sexual Violence and Harassment in Public Schools have also been developed and these have been widely distributed in schools
  • A Roundtable discussion was hosted by the DPSA on 13 October 2011 to discuss ways and means of drafting the generic public participation guide and to solicit inputs by stakeholders before the actual drafting

3) In his speech at the Heads of State launch of The Open Government Partnership in October 2011 President Zuma said:

We consulted with civil society in drafting an open government country action plan. The consultation process will continue until we finalise this plan.

Can you provide examples of ways in which civil society has been involved in the South African OGP process since then?

  • Government and civil society continue to implement measures aimed at eliminating violence against women and children
  • In response to the global economic crisis which had a negative impact on the South African economy resulting in major job losses, social partners, through National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC), adopted a Framework for South Africa’s Response to the Global Economic Crisis in February 2009
  • The South African Safety and Security Education Training Authority (SASSETA) is supporting the development of the Family Law Learnership, which includes training on the social context of domestic violence and the Domestic Violence Act (DVA), Act 116 of 1998
  • Recognizing that the fight against crime is not the business of government alone, the South African citizenry has formed community groups and societies, across sectors, to assist the government in combating criminal activities
  • There is a civil society-driven approach referred to as the People’s Budget Campaign (PBC)

4) As the first African nation in the OGP Steering Committee, South Africa has been perceived internationally as a pioneer, and as having taken the leading role in getting African governments to join OGP. Is the South African government feeling such a responsibility and, if so, what efforts has it done to get more nations from your continent involved?

  • The OGP engagement provides South Africa with a platform to discharge its international obligations within the Constitutionally expressed mandate
  • The OGP presents South Africa with the elevated visibility to advance the African agenda through continental integration agenda. One such key continental integration instrument is the Africa Peer Review Mechanism. The  APRM remains a strategic tool in the promotion of good governance in the African Continent
  • The RSA regards the APRM as an invaluable instrument for peer review, self-reflection and self- correction in order to achieve inter/intra-State political stability, economic growth and job creation as well as regional integration.
  • South Africa purposes to leverage the APRM network to encourage participating African countries to embrace the OGP as an added impetus to strengthen good governance and citizen engagement initiatives
  • South Africa will, within the NM network partake of the following activities which offer opportunities for OGP African countries to advance the implementation of country action plans:
    • Conduct targeted outreach and engagement with OGP countries: In this regard the NM offers (a) assistance around specific commitments contained in their National Action Plans; and (b) help in identifying important case studies and lessons learned for peer learning and documentation purposes
    • Host dedicated regional and thematic networking sessions in collaboration with OGP Steering Committee members
    • Piggyback on conferences/meetings/events hosted by multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, IADB, ADB, AfDB, UNDP, etc.
    • Continue NM webinar series (four hosted to date) – One per month is planned
    • Streamline the “on boarding” process for new OGP governments: This entails in-person meetings and providing an “onboard pack” to new member countries when they join OGP

5) At the end of the World Bank’s video-conference meeting to discuss the Open Government Partnership in Africa, South Africa concluded that its priority moving forward must be to get immediate Cabinet approval of the SA OGP commitments, to progress on all commitments and particularly on the open environmental data portal. What other future initiatives and priorities in the field of open government are currently considered by the South African government?

  • The Deputy Minister has engaged the Minister of Environmental and Waters Affairs in South Africa and have agreed to establish the portal
  • The OGP is prism through which South can and should showcase and consolidate its democratic culture in particular building the levers of good governance and accountable regimes
  • The OGP avails the avenue for South Africa to constructive strategic partnerships with like-minded countries to enhance the imperative of citizen engagements in governance processes at all levels
  • South Africa has no option but to project its foreign policy beyond the region in view of the increased global interdependence

6) Has any other OGP country’s initiative inspired the South African government in its future projects?

  •  As a member of the Learning and Peer Support (LPS) sub-committee that comprise two governments drawn from the larger Steering Committee – South Africa and Philippines; and civil society representatives: South Africa looks to foster active exchange and learning among OGP countries and other interested parties
  • In the same vein South Africa will within the LPS framework liaise with the Networking Mechanism and other organizations to help countries achieve OGP aspirations more effectively.
 

[i] Izimbizo is a Zulu word referring to community gatherings: In this context it refers to community consultation gatherings organized by government as a platform to interact directly with communities on service delivery matters that affect them.
Filed Under: Africa and the Middle East Champions Fiscal Openness Inclusion National Public Participation Publication of Budget/Fiscal Information
Open Government Partnership