Public Service and Administration Deputy Minister Ayanda Dlodlo urged public servants to continue going the extra mile.
Johann Barnard
No financial figure could or should be placed on recognising individuals and organisations that strive to deliver the best possible public service. This was the word from Public Service and Administration Deputy Minister Ayanda Dlodlo at the Centre for Public Sector Innovation (CPSI) Awards held on November 2.
Addressing the packed venue at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, the deputy minister stressed that events such as this go a long way toward instilling a sense of greater public service in government officials, who often work under extremely difficult conditions.
"Let me state here that, as government, we view the cost of acknowledging and recognising them very negligible. Think in terms of the benefits we have seen over the past 10 years flowing from these award-winning projects, which also lead to significant cost savings," she said.
"Let me be clear, we are not awarding innovation tonight, we are rewarding the restoration of human dignity, the provision of world-class education, we are celebrating that unborn babies are protected from contracting HIV, we are appreciating those who are protecting our natural resources for future generations, those who are innovatively rehabilitating prisoners."
Addressing the question of what qualifies as innovation in the public sector, she said that the country was recognised for its excellent policies and strategies, but that the lack of progress on efficient service delivery in certain areas necessitated a new approach to problem-solving.
"Innovation thus includes those extraordinary efforts that officials embark on to address challenges," she said. She pointed to the growing stature and participation in the awards, which have increased from 12 entrants in the inaugural awards scheme in 2003, to more than 10 times that number more recently. This growth in entries demonstrated the value the public sector had attached to the programme.
"I would like to challenge the CPSI not to rest, but to continue to encourage public servants to enter this programme in their droves. I would like to pledge my support to the CPSI and the entire public sector and promise that I will personally launch the 2013 programme in the first quarter of the year."
One of the successes of the programme to recognise efforts beyond the call of duty, Dlodlo said, was in the manner that the solutions were subsequently rolled out into other geographical regions or into other spheres of government to take advantage of these innovations. One of the consequences of this ongoing initiative was a boost in the morale of people who work in the public sector.
"Clearly, people want to be recognised for going the extra, unusual, mile to impact on the lives of the people they provide services to and on the broader society. This in turn implies that they are generally people who deal directly with the recipient communities and are therefore able to see the direct day-to-day impact of their work.
"The environment in which innovation thrives is an important aspect in this regard. Innovation is greatly dependent on the attitude of the leadership and it is thus important that our leaders create this enabling environment in their organisations."
She acknowledged the many sponsors and donors who have supported the CPSI Innovation Awards over the past decade who have made the event possible.
"I encourage our public servants to continuously challenge themselves on how they serve the citizens. The backbone of a successful state is an efficient, effective and innovative public sector machinery. As the public sector we must learn to live by our enthusiasm to make the lives of our citizens better, and this we owe to our people," Dlodlo said.