Batho Pele! People First! Improving public services in South Africa
23 July 2006
Related pages:
South Africa country profile
| Millennium
Development Goal 1: Poverty & Hunger
 Image courtesy of IPSP
In
the years following the arrival of democracy in 1994, many South Africans were
still missing out on quality public services. By 1999 it became clear that the
benefits of new, inclusive policies were not reaching far enough into the
country. Provincial governments needed to bring better services to more people,
so the central
 Government,
backed by DFID, decided to take action.
Over seven years, the Integrated Public Service Programme (IPSP) worked in the
five poorest provinces to change the way that crucial services like health care
and social benefits were delivered. Under the slogan “Batho Pele!” it aimed to
put “People First!” The innovations that IPSP came up with have made real
improvements to many lives, and served as a model and inspiration for projects
in other areas of government, and in other African countries too.
Meeting challenges with new methods
To make public services work, the Programme had to change practices and
attitudes across the board. During its lifetime, it grappled with numerous
challenges, including:
- Making delivery more effective on the ground, especially in rural
areas;
- Making better use of the resources available, including state
assets;
- Ensuring that policies and services were coordinated centrally;
- Building a work ethic amongst those involved in delivery;
- Fighting corruption; and
- Sharing knowledge, and learning from successes and failures.
It was also crucial that IPSP was flexible in its approach to each
province, helping each one to find its own focus and
solutions. Below are a few examples where the Programme’s innovative and
flexible methods have worked for South Africa's people.
 Back
to top
Reaching into rural areas
 Image courtesy of IPSP
In
rural parts of Limpopo, people were failing to qualify for social grants because
they lacked the necessary certification. The Mobile Service Delivery Project
sent its fleet of trucks into hard-to-access areas, where it registered births
and provided Identity Books. To help with administration, clerks were appointed
from the communities involved, ensuring that local people had an integral role
to play. A
United Nations award for public service innovation recognised the
scale of the achievement.
Also in Limpopo, the Hospital Turn-Around Project showed how the IPSP made more
effective use of state assets. Taking two dilapidated state hospitals, Letaba
and Maphuta Malatji, as its starting point, the project renovated the buildings
and grounds, improved the supply and quality of bed linen, and overhauled
catering. Medical services, such as X-Rays, were also extended, allowing
patients to access them 24 hours a day. This project is set to benefit more of
Limpopo’s poor when it is rolled out to other hospitals in the province. Its
success so far merited a special mention by the Minister for the
Department
for Public Service and Administration in the national parliament.
Back
to top
Sharing knowledge and changing lives
In the Eastern Cape (EC), the development of an electronic filing system for
social grants has made major differences to thousands of lives. During this
programme, an additional 100,000 grants were registered and 50,000 children
received birth certificates (making them eligible for child benefits). The
project also enabled 95% of disability grant applications to reach approval,
which is well above the national average of 55%. Its effectiveness in reducing
backlogs saw the project receive a service excellence award from the Premier of
the EC.
IPSP has also piloted Home Care schemes for HIV/AIDS patients in two
provinces. It is hoped that these schemes will generate models for effective
service delivery that can be applied in future projects. Although these schemes
are in their early days, the Government is interested in developing them
further.
Through the Programme an Annual Learning Academy and four national learning
networks were established. The Academy brings together people involved in public
services, from different government departments, and invites them to learn from
each other by sharing knowledge and experience. This pioneering initiative has
led to the publication of the Legacy Book, which collects the lessons
learnt through the IPSP and highlights successful projects. Guidelines for
public service practitioners have also been compiled through these knowledge
sharing exercises. The value of these exercises is summed up by Khaya Ngema,
the IPSP's National Coordinator: “So many people are keen to learn and share –
it’s amazing how little is usually documented in government but how much people
choose to engage when given the right platforms.”
Back
to top
Spreading the message of People First!
 Image courtesy of IPSP
Although
DFID funding ended in 2006, the Government is committed to the Batho Pele!
principle. For instance, it has pledged more money this year and next to expand
the Hospital Turn-Around Project, and increases in Government spending have
ensured that more South Africans are now receiving social grants. Of all the
public services improved through IPSP, the expansion of the social grants system
has done the most to alleviate poverty.
There have also been unexpected spin-offs from the Programme, such as the
National Treasury’s Infrastructure Improvement Plan, which was designed with IPSP in mind. And the rallying call of "People First!" will soon be heard
elsewhere in Africa, as the Government exports IPSP models to the
Democratic
Republic of Congo and Sudan to boost development efforts there.
Back
to top
Key facts
-
DFID partnered with the Government’s Department for
Public Service and Administration over a seven year period (1999-2006)
with funding of £19 million for the Integrated Public Service Programme
(IPSP).
-
The five provinces where the IPSP worked were
Limpopo, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga and Orange Free State.
-
The Government has given R1.9 billion to the
Treasury to continue with the Hospital Turn-Around Project in 2007 and
R2.8 billion in 2008.
-
Government spending on social grants is now R61
billion compared to R22 billion in 2000, from 2.58 to 10.98 million
people now receiving grants from a quarter of the national budget.
Social grants are monies provided by the Government to children, old people
and the handicapped.
Back
to top
Links
 Back to top
|
Directgov |
