Delivery officials 'pressured'
2010-03-11 20:13
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Durban - Recent sporadic service delivery protests put public servants under pressure to urgently improve their work, a summit in Durban heard on Thursday.
Such protests were an albatross hanging around the neck of government and its servants, according to a paper authored by the Public Servants Association (PSA).
The PSA said the lack of better delivery was caused by serious weaknesses in the public sector, lack of professionalism and lack of highly specialised skills.
Public servants, ministers and union delegates converged on Durban's Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre for the event, which aimed to discuss enhancing delivery and ironing out differences between unions and the government before they led to strikes.
The PSA said it was unfortunate the majority of poor South Africans had no alternative but to endure sub-optimal state services.
Corruption
The service delivery protests were also connected with the prevalence of corruption in the public sector, PSA said.
"As corrupt public servants squander state resources through tenders and other multifarious ways, the biggest casualty is service delivery," said PSA.
Because of corruption and maladministration, roads were not maintained properly, houses meant for the poor were constructed shoddily and clinics ran out of medical supplies.
The PSA commended government for fighting corruption but said more needed to be done.
Differences addressed
Speaking during the official opening, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize said: "This conference will ensure that differences are addressed before there are tensions between the employer and the employees."
He said delegates would come up with mechanisms to speed up delivery, saying people were waiting eagerly for efficient service.
Remuneration and managing salary negotiations would also be discussed.
Randall Howard, adviser to Public Service and Administration Minister Richard Baloyi, said wage talks needed to be properly managed.
In light of the crippling public servant strike in 2007, delegates were hopeful salary negotiations and conditions of employment would be resolved amicably during the 2010/11 wage round.
- SAPA