Public Service and Administration Minister Noxolo Kiviet says the mandate of the National School of Government (NSG) is to ensure that it provides education, training and development (ETD) interventions to appointed public servants and elected public representatives.
According to Kiviet, this is to ensure that they can fulfil their responsibilities.
Addressing the 10th anniversary celebration of the NSG virtually, Kiviet said the NSG continues to strengthen its partnerships domestically and internationally towards leveraging the relevant expertise.
“Through the initiatives of the National School of Government and its partners, our elected public representatives and appointed public servants continue to gain significant insights in improving public service delivery and responding to the needs of our people,” Kiviet said.
The NSG continues to grow its global footprint of partnerships playing a role in knowledge exchanges through training exchanges and influencing public sector discourse.
“It has created linkages and collaborations with like-minded institutions in the world to work closely to build the capacity of the public sector to promote good governance in public administration.
“The NSG has scored several achievements in the past 10 years. The institution has delivered training programmes reaching more than 526 000 learners, generating revenue from course fees of more than R1 billion.
“It has become a highly regarded ETD institution within the public sector, with a growing reputation as a platform for thought leadership and robust engagements and debates within government and academia.
“It continues to register good progress and impressive performance on its mandate. The school has proven to be resilient during difficult times. Through innovation and agility, it overcame the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NSG quickly developed the COVID-19 response plan, which prioritised digital and online learning interventions,” the Minister said.
Kiviet said because of this quick response, the institution saw an unprecedented number of online enrolments for eLearning courses.
Also in attendance at the anniversary celebration was DPSA former Minister Faith Muthambi, who wished the institution well on its journey to educating public servants.
The NSG turns 10 this month and a number of activities are taking place this week to mark the milestone, as well as the contribution of the school towards public sector capacity-building and performance.
The NSG came into existence through a proclamation by the President, which was gazetted on 21 October 2013, replacing the then Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy (PALAMA). The proclamation made the NSG a national government department under the portfolio of the Minister of Public Service and Administration.
The work of the NSG has also been enhanced by the decision of government to make building a capable, ethical and developmental State the number one priority among the seven priorities outlined in the 2019 - 2024 Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF).
The NSG offers training in the three spheres of government to all levels - from the cadet and foundation phase, to middle and senior management as well as executive management.
Its expanded mandate also includes Directors-General, Deputy Directors-General and political office-bearers, where the focus includes building expertise on economic governance, political oversight and accountability.
The past three years have seen Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Mayors and councillors participating in the programmes of the school as part of the concerted effort at improving State capacity at the highest level.
The NSG committed in its Strategic Plan 2019-2024 to use partnerships with public and private institutions in South Africa and the rest of the world to deliver quality education, training and development interventions to expand learning opportunities through access to international expertise and represent the NSG in the global knowledge exchange network in order to position it globally and expand its international footprint and recognition as a thought leader.
The school works with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and other Management Development Institutes in South Africa, Africa and around the world.
Also in attendance was the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission (PSC) Professor Somadoda Fikeni, as Deputy Chairperson of the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The Public Service Commission derives its mandate from Sections 195 and 196 of the Constitution. The Commission is tasked and empowered to investigate, monitor and evaluate the organisation and administration of the public service.
The Commission also has an obligation to promote measures that will ensure effective and efficient performance with the public service and to promote values and principles of public administration, as set out in the Constitution, throughout the public service. – SAnews.gov.za
