Operating Licence Unit Most Productive in Western Cape

September is Public Service Month in South Africa and the Provincial Regulatory Entity (PRE) of the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works has been awarded Productivity SA’s Most Productive Public Entity Award.

The PRE won the award for its Project Backlog at a recent event in Cape Town. Project Backlog saw the clearing of more than 21 000 transport operating licences in three months. The backlog accumulated from 2003 until 2008. It took the PRE team three months in 2008 to clear the backlog.

The team worked overtime without compensation. They clustered applications per region and service types while competing among themselves. The team adopted the motto, “Service delivery is an on-going journey with no destination”.

The Productivity SA awards are issued in the following categories:

• Co-operatives
• Micro, small and medium businesses
• Corporate sector
• Public sector

Adjudication is done by an adjudication committee comprising representatives from government, labour and business. 

Entries are shortlisted according to a rating system. A productivity assessor then visits the entrant to obtain evidence of the initiative’s success. Recommendations are made after these visits.

Mr Johan Fourie, Head of Department of Transport and Public Works, said officials in the department must be commended for their commitment to continuously improve their service delivery.

The department was recently awarded a clean audit by the Auditor-General. A few months ago the Department of Transport and Public Works placed in the top six national and provincial departments for its Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT) for 2012.

MPAT is a tool, developed by the Department of Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency to identify ways and areas not only within provincial departments but all government to improve service delivery.

During Public Service Month public servants are encouraged to roll up their sleeves and spring clean their service delivery points. They are also encouraged to visit schools, hospitals, police stations and courts, talk to citizens, mediate the delivery of services and get things done. Public servants are encouraged to recommit themselves to care and serve the people.