Strategic Plan: 2008/09 – 2010/11
Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Home
Affairs
13 May 2008
Aims and Functions
• In terms of Section 190 of the Constitution of the
Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996), the Electoral
Commission must
– manage elections of national, provincial and
municipal legislative bodies in accordance with
national legislation;
– ensure that those elections are free and fair; and
– declare the results of those elections within a period
that must be prescribed by national legislation and
that is as short as reasonably possible.
Aims and Functions (cont.)
•
The duties and functions of the Electoral Commission are defined in
section 5 of the Electoral Commission Act, 1996. These include –
– compile and maintain a voters' roll by means of a system of registering
eligible voters by utilising data available from government sources and
information furnished by voters;
– compile and maintain a register of parties;
– undertake and promote research into electoral matters;
– develop and promote the development of electoral expertise and
technology in all spheres of government;
– continuously review electoral legislation and proposed electoral
legislation, and to make recommendations in connection therewith;
– promote voter education;
– declare the results of elections for national, provincial and municipal
legislative bodies within seven days after such elections;
– appoint appropriate public administrations in any sphere of
government to conduct elections when necessary.
Vision and Mission
• Vision
– To strengthen constitutional democracy through the
delivery of free and fair elections in which every voter
is able to record his or her informed choice.
• Mission
– The Electoral Commission is a permanent body
created by the Constitution to promote and
safeguard democracy in South Africa. Although
publicly funded and accountable to parliament, the
Commission is independent of the government. Its
immediate task is the impartial management of free
and fair elections at all levels of government.
Organisational Values
•
To enable us to serve the needs of stakeholders, including the
electorate, political parties, the media and our own permanent and
temporary staff, we subscribe to the following organizational values:
– Following best practices
• Stopping all forms of waste
• Driving for results and success
• Planning and working so as to maximise the use of all
inputs
– Being sensitive to race, culture, language, religion,
disability and gender issues
– Taking note of diversity in experience and ability
– Caring and showing respect for others
Organisational Values (cont.)
•
•
Being ethical, honest and truthful
– Communicating in an open and honest way
– Carrying out our work independently and impartially
– Acting with integrity and opposing corruption
– Promoting the image and credibility of the Commission
Improving continuously
– Maximising training and development opportunities
– Supporting and inspiring each other
– Fostering collaboration between teams and team members
– Fostering achievement of common goals
Strategic Plan (Background)
• Developed after consultative process
• Covers period of three years
• Includes objectives, expected outcomes, and
measurable indicators and targets
• Includes budget in respect of strategic objectives
• Includes details of proposed acquisitions of assets
• Will form the basis for the annual report
Strategic Objectives
1. To project the Commission as the global leader in electoral
democracy
2. To develop and maintain organisational policies and strategy for
the effective and efficient functioning of the Commission
3. To provide independent, objective assurance and consulting
activities designed to add value and improve the operations of the
Commission
4. To maintain an optimal network of voting districts and voting
stations for elections, which will ensure reasonable access by
voters and lead an accurate and up-to-date national voters’ roll
5. To implement and promote effective electoral processes that will
facilitate the participation of political parties and independent ward
candidates in the management and delivery of free and fair
elections
Strategic Objectives
6. To provide and maintain an effective electoral logistics infrastructure for the
efficient warehousing and distribution of materials and equipment for all
electoral events
7. To inform civil society with a view to maximising citizen participation in
democracy and electoral processes
8. To develop and maintain an effective and integrated communication policy
and strategy that enables the Commission to engage its stakeholders
utilising various media platforms
9. To develop and maintain effective business processes (in respect of legal
services, human resources management, support services, financial
management, and information and communication technology services) in
order to ensure the effective functioning of the Commission
10. To offer continuous structured training to officials to facilitate the effective
functioning of the organisation, including a fluent and effective registration
of voters’ campaigns as well as the delivery of a successful free and fair
election
Strategic Objective 1
•
To project the Commission as the global leader in electoral
democracy
– Entrench the Commission as an effective, independent and
impartial custodian of electoral democracy nationally
• Review of legislation
• Management of elections of other institutions
– Engage in Local Liaison
• Strategic liaison with government departments, other
Chapter 9 institutions, NGOs, and other relevant
stakeholders
• Human Rights and Democracy Awards
Strategic Objective 1 (cont.)
– Engage in International Liaison
• Strengthened observer missions and provision of
technical expertise
• Liaison with electoral management bodies
(EMBs) on the African continent and other parts
of the world through structured exchange
programmes and study tours
• Strengthened participation in international and
regional institutions that enhance democracy
(SADC ECF, International IDEA, the AAEA, the
AU and the Commonwealth)
Strategic Objective 1 (cont.)
– Facilitate Observation of Elections in South Africa
• Accreditation and briefing of high calibre
delegations of international and domestic
observers
Strategic Objective 2
• To develop and maintain organizational policies and
strategy for the effective and efficient functioning of the
Commission
– Develop and adopt Strategic Plan for the
organisation
– Develop and implement regular reporting
mechanisms for the organisation
– Develop and maintain organizational policies
– Monitor compliance with policies, legislation and
regulations
Strategic Objective 3
• To provide independent, objective assurance and
consulting activities designed to add value and improve
the operations of the Commission
– Audit Committee meets at least three times a year to
deliver on their mandate
– Internal audit plan is aligned with strategic objectives
of organisation
– Establishment internal risk management committee
– Quarterly reporting on performance against strategic
objectives to the Commission, Audit Committee and
National Treasury
Strategic Objective 4
• To maintain an optimal network of voting districts and
voting stations for elections, which will ensure
reasonable access by voters and lead to an accurate
and up-to-date national voters roll
– Undertake targeted registration in specific
geographic areas and population sectors exhibiting
lower registration patterns (e.g., the youth)
• Make registration facilities available to 60% of
high schools and 100% of tertiary institutions
across SA
• 22 million registered voters on certified copy of
the voters’ roll for Elections 2009
Strategic Objective 4 (cont.)
– Improve access to voting stations for voters
• 100% of Voting Stations reviewed and signed off by
Municipal Party Liaison Committees (MPLC)
– Improve stability of voting station network
• 80% of venues used in 2009 elections are the same venues
used in 2006 elections
– Additional 20 schools per province (180) used as Voting
Stations for the 2009 elections, bringing the total to 11 868 in a
bid to assist schools in obtaining the basic facilities such as
water, electricity and sanitation
– Reduce the current temporary voting station network to a total
of 828 and the mobile voting station network to a total of 41
Strategic Objective 5
• To implement and promote effective electoral processes
that will facilitate the participation of political parties and
independent ward candidates in the management and
delivery of free and fair elections
– 1 482 Party Liaison Committees held at National,
Provincial and Municipal spheres
– Status of current registered parties reviewed
continuously as required by legislation
– Manage the Represented Political Party Fund
Strategic Objective 5 (cont.)
– Review voting, counting and results processes
• Results processes 100% accurate and auditable
• 65% voter turnout achieved in Elections 2009
• Publication of results within 7 days of the
elections being held
• Mediators deployed to manage election conflicts
Strategic Objective 6
• To provide and maintain an effective electoral logistics
infrastructure for the efficient warehousing and
distribution of materials and equipment for all electoral
events
– Up to 20 000 voting stations secured and
functionally equipped per registration and election
event
– Infrastructure Task Team to be active in each
province
– 100% provisioning of materials and equipment using
appropriate economies of scale procurement
methods
Strategic Objective 7
•
To inform civil society with a view to maximising citizen participation
in democracy and electoral processes
– 238 051 civic education interventions, nationally and in
provinces
– Civic Education (CE) institutionalised in General Education and
Training (GET) and Further Education and Training (FET)
bands through MOUs with national Department of Education
and provincial departments
– Conduct Advocacy, Public Awareness campaigns, Community
Outreach and other educational interventions
• 10 campaigns per province and 4 campaigns nationally
• 3 new popular publications developed
Strategic Objective 7 (cont.)
– Conduct 3 research projects in regard to electoral
democracy
– Conduct 6 stakeholder engagements per province
and nationally
– Develop comprehensive and integrated quality
assurance (QA) and management system
Strategic Objective 8
• To develop and maintain an effective and integrated
communication policy and strategy that enables the
Commission to engage its stakeholders utilising various
media platforms.
– Sub-Objective 8.1: To develop an integrated, multifaceted employee engagement strategy that aligns
current culture to business priorities
– Sub-Objective 8.2: To promote the corporate image
and identity of the Commission through effective
external communication
Strategic Objective 8 (cont.)
– Quarterly staff briefing sessions (Siyathetha)
– Enhanced internal communication through 8 issues
of newsletter per year and other means
– Updated Corporate Identity Manual
– 10 national media training workshops; 1 000
electoral information manuals distributed to
journalists; 10 media briefings; 10 media releases
– 4 issues of external newsletter per year
– 9 provincial events, 1 elections launch, 1 Results
Centre launch
Strategic Objective 8 (cont.)
– Establishment of an efficient Call Centre
• 80% of all calls made to contact centre to be
answered in less than 20 seconds
• 90% of all queries resolved by front-line agents
without having to escalate the query to a
supervisor
• Escalated queries resolved within a turnaround
time of less than 60 minutes
• Dropped call rate to be less than 3% of all calls to
contact centre
Strategic Objective 8 (cont.)
– Promote critical information on the Commission
• 700 Billboards; 300 000 posters X 2 registration
weekends; 3 Million flyers X 2 registration
weekends; 3 million flyers for elections; 1 Million
flyers for special votes; 3 Ads for TV -registration
weekend; 3 Ads for Elections; 2 Ads for 11
languages – SABC Radio; 90 Ads on Community
Radio; 13 Ads for Commercial Radio
Strategic Objective 9
•
To develop and maintain effective business processes (in respect of
legal services, human resources management, support services,
financial management, and information and communication
technology services) in order to ensure the effective functioning of
the Commission
– Sub-objective 9.1: Legal Services
– Sub-objective 9.2: Human Resources
– Sub-objective 9.3: Support Services
– Sub-objective 9.4: Financial Administration
– Sub-objective 9.5: Financial Management
– Sub-objective 9.6: Procurement and Asset Management
– Sub-objective 9.7: Information and Communication
Technology
Strategic Objective 9 (cont.)
• Revise legislation and draft proposed amendments
• Ensure that staff vacancies are filled in time
• Monitor the implementation of the approved
Employment Equity (EE) plan
– Vacancies filled as per the numerical targets
– Submission of annual EE report to Department of
Labour
• Review 11 key policies in the Employee Policy Manual
and develop 9 new policies in support of best HR
practices and benchmarking
Strategic Objective 9 (cont.)
• Implement performance management for the
organisation
– Goals set and 800 performance agreements entered
into and signed by the end of April 2008
– 80% supervisors / line managers trained and
coached by the end of May 2008
• Implement SAP ERP successfully and maintain
administrative processes
• Establish an effective training plan for national,
provincial and local staff concerning procurement policy
and processes post SAP implementation
Strategic Objective 9 (cont.)
•
•
•
•
Employee Assistance Programme in place in support of all
Commission employees
– Free, confidential, voluntary, professional support to employees
via telephone service, face-to-face contact sessions and
website access Review of Disciplinary Code and Procedures
completed, adopted and communicated by end of June 2008
Training arranged on HR policies and practices for 18 new
provincial HR unit employees by the end of June 2008
Installation of back-up power supply / generators where needed to
be done by 31 March 2009
National Operations Centre (NOC) for General Elections
established
Strategic Objective 9 (cont.)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Established and functional electronic records management system
Compliance with National Treasury Regulations and provisions of
the PFMA
Compilation of MTEF budgets for approved projects in line with the
strategic objectives of the organisation
Compliance with the RPPF Act
Prepare tender plans
Submit monthly reports on contracts issued to National Treasury
Business systems converted to .Net framework and ready for
National and Provincial Elections 2009
Strategic Objective 9 (cont.)
• Upgraded website able to work on different web
browsers
• Produce 21 000 A3 Target Communication Registration
(TCR) maps by July 2008
• Produce 80 000 A3 voting district maps and 600 A0/1
municipal maps for registration weekend 1 by 6 January
2009
• Upgraded IT infrastructure
• Formal approved IT policies that address concerns
raised by the Office of the Auditor General by 30 June
2008
Strategic Objective 10
• To offer continuous structured training to officials to
facilitate the effective functioning of the organization,
including a fluent and effective registration of voters’
campaigns as well as the delivery of a successful free
and fair election
– Sub-objective 10.1: Training and Skills
Development
– Sub-objective 10.2: Election Training
Strategic Objective 10 (cont.)
• Conduct training and development needs analysis of
60% of staff members by end of September 2008
• Administer bursary grants and studying qualifications of
choice by end of April 2008 and end of September 2008
• Administer training needs stemming from Performance
Management gap analysis as well as Employment
Equity Plan targets at least 20 days after the formal
performance assessment sessions in September 2008
and March 2009
• Develop policy career succession policy by end of
September 2008
Strategic Objective 10 (cont.)
• Work Place Skills plan developed in compliance with the
Skills Development legislation
• Administer the appointment of interns within two weeks
after request from line managers
• Coordinate and administer internal BRIDGE facilitator
training event
• Revise the Registration Guide by end of May 2008 and
Election Guide by the end of November 2008
• 95% of Lead Trainers (i.e. between 50 – 60 based on
approximately 6 per province) trained on facilitation skills
and Registration content material by the end of June
2008
Strategic Objective 10 (cont.)
• 95% of Lead Trainers trained on Elections content
material by the end of November 2008
• 300 - 350 Provincial Trainers trained on Registration
content through 9 provincial “Train the Trainer”
Workshops by the end of August 2008
• 95% of 60 000 registration staff trained over 1 day for 2
for Registration Weekend 1 by the end of October 2008
• 185 000 election officials trained
• Revise E-Learning Programme for Elections to go online
to Party Agents and Security Personnel by the end of
January 2009
Budget in Respect of Strategic Objectives
•
2008/09 Financial Year:
– Strategic Objective 1:
– Strategic Objective 2:
– Strategic Objective 3:
– Strategic Objective 4:
– Strategic Objective 5:
– Strategic Objective 6:
– Strategic Objective 7:
– Strategic Objective 8:
– Strategic Objective 9:
– Strategic Objective 10:
– Provincial Administration:
R1 191 625 351.88
R5 604 060.00
R1 471 033.78
R7 405 715.00
R7 349 376.85
R22 638 378.40
R309 844 630.00
R78 815 807.20
R70 895 000.00
R634 946 936.03
R34 086 400.00
R18 568 014.62
Budget in Respect of Strategic Objectives
•
2009/10 Financial Year:
– Strategic Objective 1:
– Strategic Objective 2:
– Strategic Objective 3:
– Strategic Objective 4:
– Strategic Objective 5:
– Strategic Objective 6:
– Strategic Objective 7:
– Strategic Objective 8:
– Strategic Objective 9:
– Strategic Objective 10:
– Provincial Administration:
R878 004 000.00
R8 545 437.00
R3 436 655.00
R8 098 076.00
R11 014 182.17
R45 751 575.07
R96 120 566.67
R24 252 526.00
R42 351 700.00
R603 030 914.00
R18 757 500.00
R16 644 868.00
Budget in Respect of Strategic Objectives
•
2010/11 Financial Year:
– Strategic Objective 1:
– Strategic Objective 2:
– Strategic Objective 3:
– Strategic Objective 4:
– Strategic Objective 5:
– Strategic Objective 6:
– Strategic Objective 7:
– Strategic Objective 8:
– Strategic Objective 9:
– Strategic Objective 10:
– Provincial Administration:
R1 183 443 000.00
R5 853 499.70
R1 679 578.60
R7 556 615.38
R10 384 614.99
R47 902 102.45
R216 713 213.59
R75 060 418.72
R108 332 452.24
R651 583 983.29
R40 015 974.90
R18 360 546.15
Budget Emphases: 2008/09
• Roll-out outreach programmes of the Commission, as
espoused in the EDDE and Communication projects of
the Commission
• Procure registration and voting materials and equipment
• Procure voter registration (zip-zip) scanners
• Recruitment and Training of registration and voting staff
(approximately 350 000 for all registration and voting
activities)
Budget Emphases: 2008/09 (cont.)
• Activate the logistics network in preparation for
registration weekends
• Open all registration stations for two week-ends for voter
registration (new registrations, changes to addresses
and verification of details on the voter’s roll)
• Rollback registration materials and prepare for address
capturing.
• Activate the logistics network in preparation for elections
Budget Emphases: 2009/10
• Complete special votes locally and dispatch materials
for overseas voting
• Activate the Commission’s conflict resolution
mechanisms in preparation for elections
• Open all voting stations for voting day
• Roll-back voting materials for safekeeping in terms of
Sec 105 of the Electoral Act (Act 73 of 1998)
• Roll-out outreach programmes of the Commission
• Procure registration and voting materials and equipment
• Recruitment and Training of registration and voting staff
(approximately 350 000 people as before)
Budget Emphases: 2009/10 (cont.)
• Recruitment of expansion staff at Municipal Electoral
Offices as well as our National and Provincial Offices
(approximately 200 people)
• Activate the logistics network in preparation for
registration weekends
• Open all registration stations for two weeks for voter
registration (new registrations, changes to addresses
and verification of details on the voter’s roll)
• Rollback registration materials and prepare for address
capturing
• Activate the logistics network in preparation for the 2009
National and Provincial Elections
Proposed Asset Acquisitions: 2008/09
Envisaged Asset Acquisition
Expenditure
Voter Registration Scanners
R150 000 000.00
IT - Desktop Workstations
R14 400 000.00
IT - Laptops
R1 600 000.00
GIS - Printers
R1 200 000.00
IT - Servers
R7 300 000.00
IT - VOIP Switches
R3 200 000.00
Proposed Asset Acquisitions: 2008/09 (cont.)
Envisaged Asset Acquisition
Expenditure
Result Slip Scanners
R4 000 000.00
Office Furniture
R3 500 000.00
Office Equipment
R7 500 000.00
Security Equipment
R1 500 000.00
Vehicles
R2 500 000.00
Warehouse Equipment
R2 000 000.00
Anticipated Total Expenditure
R198 700 000.00
Note: Generators - Anticipated expenditure of R20 million but not
currently funded.
End of Presentation
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