Speech by the Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Hon. Lesego E. Motsumi, Committee of Supply Ministry 2010

source: Republic of Botswana (28/2/10) TAUTONA TIMES no 3 of 2010
The Electronic Press Circular of the Office of the President
“Democracy, Development, Dignity, Discipline and Delivery”


B2) 23/2/10: Speech by the Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Hon. Lesego E. Motsumi, Committee of Supply Ministry 0200


INTRODUCTION


1. Madam Chairperson, it is my pleasure to present the 2010/2011 Recurrent and Development Budget for the Ministry of State President under Head 0200. 0201 – State House, 0202 – Office of the President, 0203 – Directorate of Public Service Management, 0206 – Office of the Former President Masire, 0211 - National Aids Coordinating Agency, 0213 - Office of the Former President Mogae, 0215 – Department of Information Services, 0216 Department of Broadcasting Services, 0217 – Government Printing and Publishing Services and 0218 – Government Strategy Development Office.

2. Madam Chairperson, I would like to start by highlighting our achievements, challenges as well as structural changes that have affected the ministry during the 2009/2010 financial year.


Public Service Reforms

3. Madam Chairperson, the second Public Service Customer Satisfaction survey was concluded in May 2009. The findings of the survey have been shared with Ministries and other stakeholders. Overall, a customer satisfaction rating of 27% has been achieved, which is an improvement of 2% from the first survey in 2005. Ministries have analysed the findings of the survey, and have incorporated their strategies for implementation into their Annual Performance Plans, starting with quick wins in 2009. These strategies will continue to be implemented and closely monitored during the course of NDP 10. It is expected that their implementation will bring about the desired change to service delivery leading to customer satisfaction. Further surveys will be undertaken in the subsequent years both at micro and macro levels to determine satisfaction levels, and to further strengthen a customer centric approach service delivery.



Executive Leadership Coaching and Mentoring

4. Madam Chairperson, The Executive Leadership Coaching and Mentoring project is on-going. The program is aimed at systemically developing Permanent Secretaries and Deputy Permanent Secretaries as transformational leaders through knowledge expansion; coaching and mentoring; and performance demonstration. These leaders are coached and mentored to create measurable results in their respective Ministries, thereby building capacity for sustained performance. Progress on this project is also satisfactory.



Motshwarateu

5. Madam Chairperson, since its establishment in May 2007, the Government Implementation Coordination Office (GICO) undertook to develop a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to improve overall implementation of approved government policies, programmes and projects. To this effect, the development of a National Programme Implementation Coordination Project (commonly known as Motshwarateu Project) started in January 2009. The Project is currently being piloted at the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources and will be replicated throughout the Government Ministries/departments in the near future. In addition, GICO continues to facilitate workshops on Project Planning and Execution to improve Ministries/Departments project implementation capabilities as well as undertake on-site visits to project locations as part of its monitoring strategy.


Restructuring


6. Madam Chairperson, the recent rationalization of Government functions has resulted in the creation of the new Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security which was part of Office of the President. In addition, the Departments of Broadcasting Services, Information Services and Government Printing and Publishing Services have been transferred from the former Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology to Office of the President. In line with the restructuring, a board will be formed to deal with issues of programming and selection, procurement and general management issues. From the same Ministry, I have also welcomed Botswana Government Communications and Information Services (BGCIS) back to Office of the President where it used to be. The rationalization Exercise has also resulted in the transfer of the Food and Poverty Policy Coordination Unit from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. However, I am still working with my counterpart at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning on the manpower and budget components to be transferred to my ministry. I have also established the new office for Coordinator of People with Disabilities. Another notable development is the merging of Public Service Reforms Unit and Government Implementation Coordination Office to form The National Strategy Office.


7. Madam Chairperson, These changes have brought about their own challenges to Office of the President, the major one being shortage of office accommodation. However, I am happy to inform the house that office space has been secured at Square Mart Building at the Central Business District (CBD). At the moment, a tender for the provision of data and telecommunication network is at an advanced stage. It is my hope that by April, some of Office of the President Departments and Divisions will move to the building.


Regional and International Participation

8. Madam Chairperson, our former Presidents – His Excellency Sir Ketumile Quett Masire and His Excellency Festus Gontebanye Mogae continue to be engaged by government to participate in regional and international fora to promote Good Governance, Democracy, fight against HIV/AIDS, Climate Change and Promotion of Peace and Conflict Resolution. For example, His Excellency Festus Mogae continues to chair the National AIDS Council meetings and is the Convener of the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa. Their continued participation in these fora has impact on the limited budget allocated to their offices.


Assessment and Development Centres (AC/DC)

9. Madam Chairperson, the Directorate of Public Service Management continues to implement initiatives aimed at improving service delivery in Government. One such initiative is the establishment of Assessment and Development Centres in Ministries the purpose of which is to ensure that skilled and competent officers are recruited and retained in the Public Service. In this regard, Ministries are being clustered to form these centres in order to facilitate recruitment and development of the right people with the right skills and competencies especially at leadership level. DPSM will continue to build capacity for the management of Assessors and Administrators for the Centres as well as to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the overall initiative.


Vacancy Situation

10. Madam Chairperson, the number of vacancies in December 2009 was three thousand five hundred and seven (3507) posts or 5.25% of the manpower establishment compared to 3228 posts 5.2% of the manpower establishment in December 2008. This represents a 0.05% increase from the previous year rate. This is despite DPSM’s continuous effort to engage and consult with Ministries such as, in the management of vacancies, the implementation of Graduate Registration and Employment with particular focus on the C-band, as well as the engagement of external recruitment agencies for positions which cannot easily attract candidates locally.


Human Resource Management

11. Madam Chairperson, the new Public Service Act No. 30 of 2008 which was enacted by Parliament on the 11 December 2008 has merged all Acts governing employment in the Public Service. The Act has established a single Public Service Bargaining Structure i.e., the Public Service Bargaining Council to be operational during the course of the financial year 2010/2011. The establishment of the Public service Bargaining Council requires the restructuring of the Public Service Commission and work is in progress to this effect.


12. Madam Chairperson, in order to improve public service performance, progression of Public Officers will be based on competencies rather than on the number of years in service. In this regard, job effectiveness descriptions and competency based career paths are currently being developed by DPSM to facilitate ministries/departments to recruit and promote officers with the relevant skills and competencies required by the jobs. Having the right people performing the right jobs will improve service delivery and thus contribute meaningfully toward economic development.


13. Madam Chairperson, the transformation of the Botswana Institute of Administration and Commerce (BIAC) into the Botswana Public Service College (BPSC) is on-going and new training programmes are already running. In partnership with the Government of Singapore through the Singapore Civil Service College, substantial progress has been made.

14. Madam Chairperson, DPSM is continuing with the reengineering of Public Service business processes and the setting of performance standards to improve service delivery. DPSM is also streamlining the processes that have been reengineered in preparation for e- government.



RECURRENT BUDGET

15. Madam Chairperson, the recurrent budget for the Ministry of State President is Four Hundred and Sixty-Two Million Two Hundred and Seventy-Four Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty Pula (P462,274,250) and increase of One Hundred and Twenty Nine Million Six Hundred and Three Thousand One Hundred and Sixty (P129,603,160) or 39% from the original budget solely due to the increase in number of new departments and units transferred to Office of the President. I have provided a table below to show how the Recurrent budget for the Ministry of State President Departments except NACA and National Strategy Office are affected by a negative growth for the coming 2010/2011 financial year as a result of global recession. The growth figures on the table compare the proposed 2010/2011 budget with the revised one after the 7% budget cuts that were approved by this Parliament during the November 2009 session.

Table1: Comparative Recurrent Estimates for 2009/10 and 2010/11

DEPARTMENT	2009/2010 Original Budget	2009/2010	Revised	Growth (%)
State House	8,198,860	7,624,940	6,298,470	-17%
Office of the President*	138,660,500	127,566,340	102 410 740	-20%
DPSM	148,600,620	139,586,450	125,791,730	-10%
Office of Former President Masire	3,339,070	3,105,340	2,682,430	-14%
NACA	15,741,810	14,639,880	15,535,850	6%
Office of the Former President Mogae	4,513,020	4,197,110	3,670,420	-13%
Information Services	67,543,710	62,815,650	60,348,240	-4%
Broadcasting Services	123,921,110	115,246,630	114,307,700	-1%
Govt. Printing and Publishing Services	51,685,740	48,067,740	46,755,460	-3%
Government Strategy Development Office	13,617,210	12,664,000	13,189,200	4%

* Please note that for the coming 2010/2011, the budget for Office of the President (OP) was split to create the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security Headquarters (MDJS – HQ).

16. Madam Chairperson, may I propose that I should not go into the details of the Recurrent Budget proposals Department by Department as they are contained in the Estimates of Expenditure Book which members already have.



DEVELOPMENT BUDGET

17. Madam Chairperson, I request the sum of Three Hundred and Thirty One Million and Twelve Thousand Pula (P331,012,000) for the Ministry of State President. Of the Three Hundred and Thirty One Million and Twelve Thousand Pula (P331,012,000) requested, the National Aids Coordinating Agency (NACA) takes Three Hundred Million Pula (P300,000,000) which is 90.6% of the allocated budget. The remaining 9.4% of the budget is shared among the rest of the Departments in the Ministry and these are Office of the President, Directorate of Public Service Management, Botswana Government Printing and Publishing Services and Broadcasting Services as well as Office of the Auditor General. The budget for NACA represents a decrease of Nine Hundred and Ninety Seven Million, Two Hundred and Forty One Thousand, Two Hundred and Five Pula (P997,241,205) from the revised 2009/10 allocation due to the transfer of items of recurrent nature to the Recurrent Budget.


18. Madam Chairperson, it is worth noting that most of the projects/programmes earmarked for implementation during the 2010/2011 financial year under my Ministry had to be deferred due to the financial constraints arising from the Economic Recession. These have been listed under Annexure I.


19. Madam Chairperson, the budget requested will cover the following projects and programmes:-



DEPARTMENT 0202- OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Project 09121- Improvements to State House-Five Million, and Seventy Five Thousand Pula (P5,075,000)



20. Madam Chairperson, for this project, I request Five Million, and Seventy Five Thousand Pula (P5,075,000). Out of the P5,075,000 requested, P100,000 will be used for the settlement of the final account for the Upgrading of the State House project which was completed in August, 2009. The remaining balance will be used for the Conversion of the Old Serious Crime Squad Offices to provide accommodation for the BDF officers at the State House. This project should have been awarded for construction during the current financial year but due to the delays experienced, construction will only start in the 2010/2011 financial year.



Project 09122 –OP Computerisation- One Million, Five Hundred Thousand Pula (P1,500,000)



21. Madam Chairperson, the development of the Appeals Management System which commenced in April, 2008 was completed in September, 2009. The system is currently up and running and all the old files are being scanned into system. The new appeals are now being processed electronically. The development of the Disaster Management System which was planned for implementation during the 2009/2010 financial year has been deferred due to inadequacy of funding.



22. Madam Chairperson, for the 2010/2011 financial year, I request an amount of One Million, Five Hundred Thousand Pula (P1,500,000) for the procurement of computers for the new members of staff in the Office of the President and that of the Auditor General.



Project 09124- OP Consultancies-Three Million, Nine Hundred and Seventy Nine Thousand Pula (P 3,979,000)



23. Madam Chairperson, an amount of Three Million, Nine Hundred and Seventy Nine Thousand Pula

(P 3,979,000) is requested under this project to continue initiatives that are meant to improve productivity in the Civil Service. Among the projects to be continued, is the Learning Organization (Systems Thinking) and Executive Leadership Coaching and Mentoring.



24. Madam Chairperson, as already indicated earlier, the Customer Satisfaction Survey which was planned for 2009/2010 financial year has been completed and the results have been communicated to the stakeholders. Regarding, the Restructuring of the Office of the Auditor General, a decision has been taken to do the project in-house and the Directorate of Public Service Management has been tasked to undertake the exercise.



DEPARTMENT 0203-DIRECTORATE OF PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGEMENT



Project 09127- Botswana Civil Service College (BCSC)- One Million, Five Hundred Thousand Pula (P1,500,000)



25. Madam Chairperson, The construction of the hostel, Kitchen and Dining Hall at the Botswana Institute of Administration and Commerce has been completed. However, the final account cannot be concluded during the 2009/2010 financial year because the certificate of making good defects cannot be issued due to some outstanding defects such as roof leakages. The contractor is still attending to the defects.



26. Madam Chairperson, the construction of the Auditorium, on the other hand, is now on-going after notice of termination was issued to the contractor by the implementing agency. The new contractor commenced the works in January, 2010 and is expected to complete the project by April, 2010. The procurement of furniture for the hostels has been completed.



27. Madam Chairperson, One Million, Five Hundred Thousand Pula (P1,500,000) is required to conclude the final account for the Auditorium and Hostel, Kitchen and Dining Hall.



Project 09138 -Development of DPSM- Four Million, Five Hundred and Fifty Thousand Pula (P4,550,000)



28. Madam Chairperson, I request Four Million, Five Hundred and Fifty Thousand Pula (P4,550,000) to continue the implementation of projects/programmes that are currently on-going. These projects include; the Establishment of Assessment and Development Centres (Succession Planning), Research and Labour Market Survey and the Part Time Employment Policy.



DEPARTMENT 0211: NATIONAL AIDS COORDINATING AGENCY



Project 09134-HIV/AIDS Programme- Three Hundred Million Pula (P300,000,000)



29. Madam Chairperson, efforts to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic are continuing. The ARV Roll Out programme continues to make significant positive contributions to mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS. While every effort is being made to continue improving on the successes made within the ART and PMTCT programmes among others, other challenges continue to emerge.



30. Madam Chairperson, the number of lives that can be saved by the ART programme in future depends on current prevention efforts and the effect of such interventions on new infections. It is estimated that the number of new entrants into the ART programme will continue to increase for sometime before they begin to decline by 2016. The total number of those newly in need of ART in 2010 is estimated at 176 200 which is projected to increase to 220 500 by 2016. Additional resources will therefore be required to sustain current enrolees and new entrants. Given this scenario and the current global economic situation, the need to identify alternative and more sustainable sources of financing is now more urgent than ever before. We need to ensure that we utilize what we currently have optimally before looking to outside sources.

31. Madam Chairperson, it is in this connection that the Second Botswana National Strategic Framework For HIV and AIDS 2010-2016, which was launched on the 17th February 2010, identifies prevention of new HIV infections as top priority for the NDP 10 period. It is through prevention that the tap of new infections can eventually be closed off. The effects will, however, not be immediate meaning that the resource requirements will continue to increase for sometime before we register a decline. We need to maximize on cost efficiencies of all programmes. I therefore call upon the leadership at all levels to support prevention scale up to assist in turning the epidemic around.



32. Madam Chairperson, development funds will continue to be used for implementation of various national response programmes like home based care, orphan care, condom supplies, provision of Anti Retroviral Therapy, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission. Particular emphasis will be placed on scaling up prevention interventions to curb new infections. Issues of sustainability, allocative and technical efficiency of the various programmes will also be addressed.

33. Madam Chairperson, I therefore, request an amount of Three Hundred Million Pula (P300,000,000) to perform the above activities.



DEPARTMENT 0216- BROADCASTING SERVICES



Project 09642- Development of Department of Information and Broadcasting (DIB) - Fourteen Million, Three hundred Thousand Pula (P14,300,000)



34. Madam Chairperson, the Radio and Television terrestrial transmitter Expansion project is running far behind schedule. The delay was mainly attributed to completion of transmitter buildings and access roads to the sites that are on hill tops.



35. Madam Chairperson, to date, nine stations each consisting of Radio transmitters for RBI and RBII, and television transmitters have been installed and commissioned and are on air. These transmitters are in Mabule, Oliphant’s Drift, Sojwe, Sesung, Gantsi, Tsootsha,



Ncojane, Werda, and Maun. However, Maun and Gantsi were upgraded to cover much wider areas.

36. Madam Chairperson, the installation at the remaining transmitter stations is in progress and it is planned that eighteen (18) transmitter sites will be operational by the end of this financial year. The overall project completion is about 91%. However, electrical power is expected to be available in New Xade and Matsitama through Rural Electrification project in May and June 2010 respectively and the two stations will only be switched on then.



37. Madam Chairperson, when completed, this project is expected to cover 95% of the population by both radio and television. In order to keep the transmitters On-Air all the time, new regional offices were established and engineers and technicians were posted to Tsabong, Gantsi, Maun, Kasane and Serowe. These were established to maintain the transmitters and ensure continuous service to the audience.



38. Madam Chairperson, I therefore request Fourteen Million, Three Hundred Thousand Pula (P14,300,000) to

continue this project. Part of these funds will be used for procurement of furniture and equipment for the Lerala District Office which belongs to the Department of Broadcasting and Information Services.



DEPARTMENT 0217 - GOVERNMENT PRINTING AND PUBLISHING SERVICES



Project 09461-Printing Development - One Hundred and Eight Thousand Pula (P108,000)



39. Madam Chairperson, during the 2009/2010 financial year, the department of Government Printing and Publishing Services commissioned a Daily News Printing machine. The Department started printing 15 000 copies on the 1st April 2009. In July 2009, the number of copies printed was increased to 80 000.



40. Madam Chairperson, for the 2010/2011 financial year, I request One Hundred and Eight Thousand Pula (P108,000) to pay for the consultant who is on the ground training officers on the operation of the Daily News Printing Machine.

41. Madam Chairperson, this concludes my budget proposal for Head 0200 - State President. I therefore request that the sum of Four Hundred and Sixty-Two Million Two Hundred and Seventy-Four Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty Pula (P462,274,250) for the Recurrent Budget and Three Hundred and Thirty One Million, and Twelve Thousand Pula (P331,012,000) for the Development budget be approved and stand part of the estimates for the 2010/2011 financial year. I move accordingly. Thank you.



B3) 22/2/10: Remarks by Minister, with further background, on today's seminar on Digital TV



Please find below the opening Remarks by the Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, the Hon. Lesego Motsumi, which were delivered on her behalf by the (Permanent) Secretary for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Ms. Tick Pule, at today's seminar on Digital TV (as the Minister was required in Cabinet this morning)



The one day seminar has been co-sponsored by the Department of Broadcasting Services (DBS) and the Embassies of Japan and the Federative Republic of Brazil.



In addition to the Brazilian and Japanese Ambassadors, special guests who spoke at today's seminar included:



Mr. Mokgweetsi Masisi, Assistant Minister in the Office of the President, who in his remarks stressed the need for further global partnership in promoting research, development and technology transfer;



Mr. Shigeo Tani, Director-General of International Affairs in the Japanese Ministry of Internal affairs and Communications, who gave an overview of the advantages of Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB-T) system adopted by Japan and Brazil;



Mr. Yshio Tachioka, Deputy Director General NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), who spoke on the technical features of ISDB-T;



Mr. Francelino Grando, the Secretary for Innovation, Brazilian Ministry of Development and Trade on Brazil's experience with ISDB-T; and



Mr. Ramaroka, Director of Department of ICT and media Services, Ministry of Education and Skills Development, who outlined the potential of digital television in enhancing interactive educational TV in the classroom.



The seminar was also attended by stakeholders drawn from the public and private sectors including BOCCIM, the National Broadcasting Board and Digital Migration Task Force, Botswana Telecommunications Authority, Office of the President and various Ministries as well as delegates from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia and South African.



[Start of Minister's Remarks]



[Salutations]...Ladies and Gentlemen,



1. This gathering has been convened as a timely opportunity to explore possible modalities to prepare our country for the advent of global digital broadcasting.



2. The move to digital broadcasting has been described as its biggest transformation since the introduction of colour TV.



3. Digital broadcasting is the transmission of text, images, or sound via digital rather than analogue signals. This allows for much greater variety and flexibility in the forms of communication service a TV can perform.



4. Until recently watching television has been a passive experience for most consumers. But through digital technology TV can now provide such things as video on demand, interactive TV, over the air Internet access, and High Definition TV.



5. Elsewhere interactive TV already allows viewers to engage in such things as taking part in game and reality shows, ask their questions during talk or cooking shows, and call up purchase information regarding featured products.



6. Unlike analogue receivers, digital receivers can also easily operate in motion such as in a car or airplane.



7. In 1999, digital broadcast television was field tested around the world. Today many television programmes are already being created in digital format before being converted to analogue for transmission.



8. Digital broadcasting further allows between 5 and 6 television channels in the frequency spectrum space currently occupied by a single analogue channel.



9. Ladies and Gentlemen, various standards of digital broadcasting have been developed around the world. For purposes of coordination and cooperation, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) demarcated the world into three regions:



• Region One comprises Africa, Europe and the Middle East; • Region Two is made of the Western Hemisphere or Americas; and • Region Three consist of Asia and Oceania.



10. Currently digital video broadcasting standard being adopted in Region One is the Digital Video Broadcasting or “DVB” system, which has been developed through an alliance of manufacturers, broadcasters, government agencies, and research institutions, mostly in the European Union. It covers terrestrial (DVB-T), satellite (DBV-S), cable (DBV-C) and hand held (DVB-H) platforms. There are, however, other systems such as the Integrated Service Digital Broadcast System - ISDB-T - which is on this morning's agenda.



12. To ensure Botswana’s compliance with emerging digital standards Government formed a Digital Migration Task Force whose terms of reference included exploring:



• Policy direction

• Licensing framework

• Local content development, and

• the Switch on date



13. Among the Task Force findings is that Botswana Television and Radio Botswana need to move forward on an urgent basis to ensure that their infrastructure is fully digitized and up to standard.



14. Here it may be noted that SADC region has set itself the goal of achieving digital compliance by 2013, while the Region One transition period for moving from analogue to digital broadcasting is 16th June 2015.



15. The end of the transition period means that transmitters operating on analogue frequencies would not be protected from interference of any kind, either from other broadcasting stations or other services unless there is mutual agreement between the two parties. International Telecommunication Union would not be in a position to intervene on member state’s behalf.



16. It is in the context of this challenge the Government, through the Department of Broadcasting Services, has been exploring the possibility of establishing strategic partnerships to facilitate its acquisition the required infrastructure, which can be quite costly.



17. Today’s workshop is a significant product of these ongoing efforts.



18. In this respect the Government of Botswana greatly appreciates the fact that the Governments of the Federative Republic of Brazil and Japan have here offered to share with us their own perspectives and expertise.



19. Let me here conclude by thanking the organizer of the important workshop, from the attendance I am sure your deliberations will be most fruitful.