Premier
With regard to the institutionally mandated verification of qualifications of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and the Western Cape Government’s departments failure to comply fully as only one department has verified the qualifications of all their Senior Management Service (SMS) members while other departments have not, with the Department of Education in particular not having verified any qualifications and not having provided reasons for this non-compliance:
- Why has the Western Cape Government failed to verify the qualifications of its SMS members as required by the DPSA;
- (a) what measures will he and his Department put in place to redress this non-compliance and (b) how will departments and their respective employees be held accountable for non-compliance;
- the verification process of Office of the Premier has not been completed due to the unavailability of member files, whether he is going to follow up on this non-compliance in his office; if not, why not; if so, (a) why have these files not been made available for submission to the DPSA and (b) when will they be made available?
The Western Cape Government (WCG) supports the vision of the Public Service Commission (PSC) to achieve public administration excellence in South Africa. The WCG has remained compliant with the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) mandate to verify the qualifications of Senior Management Service (SMS).
It is however the view of the WCG that the report published by the PSC, The Report on the Qualifications of Senior Managers in the Public Service – Updated (May 2024), does not accurately report the compliance of the provincial government in the verification of qualifications of WCG SMS.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) did respond at the time of the request for information from the PSC. Since then, the WCED has engaged with the Office of the Public Service Commission and contested the result with the Provincial Commissioner of the Public Service Commission.
The department advises me that:
- The Western Cape Government (WCG) has not failed to verify the qualifications of its Senior Management Service (SMS) members as required by the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and wishes to clarify that it is fully compliant with the relevant prescripts. Verification of qualifications is a compulsory part of the recruitment, selection, and appointment process, and no SMS appointment is made without the completion of this verification. It is important to note that the WCG does not verify qualifications directly with SAQA, however in line with the DPSA requirements, all required verifications are conducted using accredited services such as Management Integrity Evaluation (MIE), ICAS, and currently Dots Africa and National Verification Services.
(2)(a) There are no measures needed to redress non-compliance, as the WCG is fully
compliant with the DPSA mandates on verification of qualifications.
(b) Accountability for verification processes is already built into the WCG’s recruitment protocols, ensuring that no SMS appointment is finalised without completing the verification process. The WCG continues to adhere to these protocols across all departments.
(3) Yes, the unavailability of certain employee files, specifically those containing
older qualification verification certificates, has been noted. These records are managed in accordance with the Provincial Archives and Records Service of the Western Cape Act (Act 3 of 2005).
(a) The files have not been made available for submission to the DPSA as they have not been requested.
(b) The Western Cape Government (WCG) is committed to working with the DPSA when requested.
