Durban - The government has spent about R4 billion on training public officials without seeing any positive results.
Public Service and Administration Minister Lindiwe Sisulu revealed this on Thursday during a media briefing in Cape Town.
She said the fruitless training was the reason the government had decided to start the National School of Government, which is set to open next year.
The school was launched by President Jacob Zuma last month.
“The government has spent in the region of R4bn on training. We are unable to create (the type of) public servant we want (embracing) our ethics and culture… All our training will now go through the school of government,” she said.
The school will replace the Public Administration Leadership Management Academy. According to its website, the academy had been focusing on training 10 000 senior managers and 250 000 junior managers, but left out ordinary employees.
Sisulu said her department had discovered that the academy was not an answer to the government’s efforts for school development in the public service.
She said they hoped the answer now lay in the National School of Government. Unlike the academy, the National School of Government will provide training for the entire public service, including junior and senior managers in the various departments.
Sisulu said the school would also deal with absenteeism and corruption because it would also teach ethics and integrity.
She added that universities would continue to provide the requisite training, but that her department would create the modules and curriculum. Retired or former directors-general and academics would provide training.
The highest level of training would produce a degree qualification. She said efforts were being made to recruit the auditor-general into the teaching staff.
Sisulu said the lack of skills among public servants was one of the reasons why government departments owed municipalities R4.2bn, while residents owed R86.9bn in rates and other services.
The Mercury