Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity CURRENT STATUS REPORT FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE MEETING JUNE 2013 1.

Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity

CURRENT STATUS REPORT FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERSPORTFOLIO COMMITTEE MEETINGJUNE 2013

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CONTENTS• Introduction• Mandate of the Programme• Context within which community development workers are operating• Programme Focus• Budget allocation• Programme coordination and location• Legal framework• Highlights of achievement for the period • Impact of community development workers programme• Key lessons from the implementation of the programme• Challenges• Recommendations

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INTRODUCTION• Community Development Workers Programme(CDWP) was introduced by

government in 2003.• They were introduced as part of the mechanisms to support Government’s

objective of Access Strategy.• The programme was meant to supplement existing government programmes

focused on redressing imbalances and inequalities in order to encourage development.

• The CDWP is implemented in all provinces, by and large, by the provincial departments of Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs/Human Settlement. However in the Free State Province , the programme is located in the Office of the Premier since 2012.

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INTRODUCTION

• Community Development Workers(CDWs) were created within the programme as

a new category of public servants. Their purpose was to work with government

departments and other stakeholders, to link government and community, and

strengthen integration and co-ordination between services provided by government

and access to these services by communities.

• The current total number of CDWs as at June 2013 is 3233. There are 4277 wards

and there should be at least one CDW per ward. The ideal situation is to have a

norm and standard based on citizen segmentation according to geographic

accessibility to address the allocation of CDWs.

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MANDATE

• The Mandate of CDWs is to work and support government departments to facilitate

access to, and accelerate services rendered by Government.

• In this context they;

Make it possible that integrated services should be delivered at community

level

Report back to government on how citizens are experiencing government

services and alert departments of any service delivery bottlenecks and any

challenges that may result in the reduction of standards in service delivery that

may slow and delay service delivery.

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MANDATE Link citizens to resources

Bring Government close to citizens through citizen engagement that ensures that

citizens are involved in decision making

Assist communities to identify, articulate and understand their needs, and empower

citizens to develop alternatives ways of dealing with development challenges

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CONTEXT

• The working environment is complex and dynamic;

• It is characterised by increasing service delivery protests;

• The environment is highly political, because CDWs work closely with councillors,

ward committees, civic society and therefore tensions for turf are common;

• CDWs work in a space where there are other officials or field workers from

government departments and civil society, and CDWs are expected to coordinate

activities at community level;

• The environment sometimes render them vulnerable.

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PROGRAMME FOCUS• Poverty alleviation

Social Protection e.g. facilitate applications for social grants and indigent grants Food Security- linking citizens with government programmes focusing on food

security, and food gardens Support War on Poverty Programme initiatives, through household profiling and

monitoring interventions Early Childhood Development by facilitating creation of centers and registration

of the centers with the Department of Social Development HIV and AIDS campaign by among other things, mobilise citizens to participate

in the Campaign initiated by the Department of Health on HIV and AIDS testing • Local Economic Development

Job Creation Facilitating formation of cooperatives in collaboration with other stakeholders

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PROGRAMME FOCUS• Deepening democracy

Mobilization of citizens to participate in and assist in Integrated Development Planning

Know your Service Rights and ResponsibilitiesAfrican Peer Review MechanismOpen Government PartnershipOther government campaigns e.g. voter education

• Planning and development Conduct ward and community profilesEarly warningCommunity development

• Youth supportSkills developmentLink youth to projects and resources

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Budget Allocation for 2013/2014• THE BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR EACH PROVINCE IS REFLECTED IN THE

FOLLOWING TABLE;

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Province Budget

Eastern Cape R122 415 000.00

Free State R61 365 000.00

Gauteng R110 000 000.00

Kwa-Zulu Natal R87 300 000.00

Limpopo R917 845 854.00

Mpumalanga R834 350 000.00

Northern Cape R37 280 000.00

North West R71 537 000.00

Western Cape R48 356 501.00


PROGRAMME COORDINATION AND LOCATION

NATIONAL

• Nationally, the Programme is coordination by the Department of Public Service and

Administration, in consultation with the Department of Cooperative Governance

• The DPSA is responsible for creating and enabling environment; creation of a legal

frameworks, policy guidelines, benchmarked job descriptions and compliance and

enforcement

• Training of community development workers is provided by the LGSeta through the

Learnership Programme

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PROVINCIAL• The CDWP is coordinated, by and large, by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.• The responsibilities of provinces are;

Coordination of the programme at provincial and local level. Funding and provision of other resources. Employment and management of CDWs. Development, implementation and Management of plans for effective and

efficient functioning of the programme. Setting up systems and provision of required enabling tools for effective

functioning of the programme. Entering into collaboration and cooperation with government departments,

municipalities and other stakeholders in the implementation of the programme.

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MUNICIPALITIES• In municipalities the programme is located in the Office of the Municipal Manager.

In some Provinces it is located in the Office of the Speaker

• Provinces enter into agreements and sign memorandum of understanding with

municipalities on the type of support and collaboration required in the

implementation of the programme at this level

• The support from Municipalities are mainly on provision of work space, assistance

with transport, access to landline telephone and stationery. They also provide

mentors in the provinces where there are no supervisors employed.

• CDWs also operate in the Thusong Service Centres

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LEGAL FRAMEWORK• The programme was introduced as part of the basket of services to support

Government, in service delivery improvement and access and therefore no legal framework was established

• In the absence of specific legal framework for CDW’s, a Handbook for CDWs and Master Plan were developed to guide the implementation of the programme.

• The programme was established to promote integrated service delivery in collaboration with the Thusong Service Centre, and achieve Government’s objective of closing the distance between services rendered and the service delivery points as set in the accessibility study on citizen segmentation.

• Furthermore, the programme was developed to support Government in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

• Public Service Act ( 1994) , Public Service Regulations(2001) and the White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service ( 1997) are some of the important legislations regulating and supporting the Programme

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HIGLIGHTS OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR 2012- 2013

REPOSITIONING OF THE CDW PROGRAMME

• Several consultations had been held with provincial stakeholders about the

repositioning of the CDWP in response to the location, reporting lines and

accountability lines to ensure effective functioning of the programme.

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HIGLIGHTS OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR 2012 2013

E-SKILLS TRAINING

• Department of Public Service and Administration has partnered with the

Department of Communications in developing an e-Skills Curriculum to equip

community development workers with the relevant knowledge, skills and tools to

use IT to improve their functioning at community level.

• This training will help CDWs to ensure efficient access to information relevant to

service delivery.

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CONSULTATIVE WORKSHOPS

• Consultative workshop which were held in each of the nine province were

conducted. The workshops were attended by about 100 participants, which

included CDWs and other officials from provincial government departments. The

aim was to identify challenges experienced by CDWs in the implementation of the

programme

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NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR CDWS

• The National Conference for Community Development Workers was attended by

over 500 participants representing national and provincial departments. The

conference was a culmination of the consultative workshops and it focused on

empowering CDWs and other participants in the following areas; priorities of

government and important projects that emerged from the State of the Nation

Address, educating participants on how to communicate these priorities to citizens.

How to link communities with resources such as National Lottery Trust that fund

community projects.

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WARD PROFILES

• A ward profile is an important tool that can assist in monitoring progress made to

achieve the Millennium Development Goals and other service delivery targets

• They can also provide progress made and information available about levels of

employment and unemployment, educational facilities, literacy rates, social

services , basic services such as water, sanitation, electricity, housing structures,

transport, security and recreational facilities at ward level.

• Ward profiles for 3 provinces were conducted using Superstar and particular focus

was on individual income, educational facilities focusing on early childhood centres.

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• RESOURCE BOOK FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Draft Resource Book for community development workers which is a tool to

assist community development workers to carry out their duties.• GRASSROOTS INNOVATION BOOKLET

Grassroots innovation, a booklet that encourages Community Development Workers to share success stories in the area of unblocking service delivery, support to youth, early childhood development and local economic development. The Booklet is also meant to advertise community development workers.

• INDIA TRAINING PROGAMME During the last financial year, 10 community development workers received

training in India through the India Technical and Economic Cooperation ( ITEC).

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IMPACT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERS

• CDWs are making impact in the following areas; Assisting in the elimination of service delivery backlogs and bureaucratic

bottlenecks Strengthening the democratic social contract and deepening citizen participation Advocating for an organised voice of the poor Strengthening government community networks Serving as a channel of communication between government and people in

communities Linking communities to resources such as food, medical and access to social

grants Ensuring that communities are aware of and participate in various advocacy

campaigns around current issues Ensuring that communities are participating in budgetary planning through

platforms such as integrated development plans

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KEY LESSONS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME

• The implementation of the programme is complex because of the following;

Community Development Workers play a combined role which involves extending

services, social planning and community development. This is different practice

compared with what is happening internationally .

Their work is interdepartmental as well as cutting across the three spheres of

government and this is a unique situation to CDWs.

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CHALLENGES• Lack of alignment and insufficient budgets which affect operations and goods and

services function in most provinces.• Absence of legal frameworks that create fragmentation in the implementation of the

programme.• Management challenges in some provinces.• Blurred reporting lines in some provinces because of the location of the program

within the municipal space.• Lack of wellness and security measures for Community Development Workers at

operational level.• Vast wards and insufficient numbers of community development workers in some

provinces.• Monitoring activities of CDWs at the ward level to assess the change they are

making at community level.• Relationship problems with other stakeholders at community level.

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RECOMMENDATIONS• Finalisation of regulations for CDWs will narrow the gap created by the lack of legal

framework.• In view of the complex environment in which community development workers are

operating and the problem of increasing service delivery protests, it is crucial to reposition the CDWP to ensure that they have clear roles and responsibilities and are located a suitable location that will enhance their functioning.

• Increasing the roles that CDWs play in Complaint Management and improve the reporting system. The Complaints and Compliments Management Framework created, will strengthen this function.

• Strengthen the capacity initiatives for community development workers and ensure that they are able to communicate governmentpriorities, projects, achievements and challenges to communities.

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THANK YOU

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Leading the Public Service to Higher Productivity CURRENT STATUS REPORT FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERS PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE MEETING JUNE 2013 1.

Documents

public service

government services

higher productivity

programme context

government close

service delivery bottlenecks

delay service delivery

support government departments