In a mild tone, I will say while addressing the Department's staff at National Office during the Batho Pele Week, the Transformation Programme Office Director, Tshuba Mogashoa, mentioned that in order to get information from some of us, he had to include Top Management in his talk. We may say he had to get the information in the first place without begging. This means we had to supply the information to him without any prodding.

In my own way let me say in order to get information from us, the Transformation Programme Director had to wave a big "stick" before our eyes. Then, if a situation like this prevails in our environment, it means there is something wrong in our attitudes, seriously wrong. One can perhaps argue and say there are circumstances that forced matters to be like that. This may have been an exception for that matter. But this can be strange if that happens to the majority even though we are pigeonholed to our components.

In this exercise I was not personally involved, but I felt guilty. I have been thinking about the times when progress has to be stalled because of my failure to deliver in the Department and elsewhere. I feel like saying I am sorry. But will that erase the bad? Yes and no. The heart will be consoled, but the dark mark will be imbedded for a lifetime to my component and those I work with.

In moving forward I must confess that I remember that somewhere I was able to detect a situation like this. I noticed that in the line and chain of performance events there was no-one admitting liability for the failure. The common excuse was that "I have played my part and my hands are clean". To those who had played their part for argument's sake let me say that was good. But, the question is, will those they were servicing notice any "clean hands" among the group? NO. They will only see all "hands dripping with dirt". In simpler terms everybody in that component will be seen in the same light. A chain reaction will develop and the negative part will go to the whole institution, not sidestepping our principals and the country's political office bearers.

Does this mean that those playing their part have to suffer because of those not ready to abide by the rules of the game? No, absolutely not. I do not say I am right. But I am sure those wrong have to be exposed and be dealt with accordingly. Does this mean the "riot act" has to be read to them? The "riot act" was not meant to be a decoration or to be some document gathering dust somewhere. If a need arises for it to be read, why choose the Bible or the Koran?

In conclusion, without pretending to be the appropriate authority to say so, I think it will be honourable to put meaning by deeds to the words saying, "I am proud to serve you".

In my "Minor Mishap"(John Coltrane and Kenny Burell), the public service came up tops. Yes you are right; I am comparing it with the private sector, which got less than zero. This is no exaggeration but the truth. This indicates that the private sector is not as perfect as it always pretends to be at the expence of the public service.

In the past there was talk that the 11 of November each year would be the day celebrating our 11 official languages. Needless to say there is now less talk about that. I celebrated the day in style talking isiZulu at KwaGuqindoda in Lenjane on the other side of Vreiheid in KwaZulu-Natal. You have correctly guessed, there was a lot of meat and rivers of umqombothi (isiZulu beer).

Like I always do, Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2002.

The year 2001 has seen good progress being realised by the Department in a number of areas.

Whilst the implementation of many of the changes is still underway, there are very clear indications that we are on the right track. One example in this regard is that the restructuring process has now been virtually completed at senior management level. I am sure you will agree with me that the Department has managed to assemble a strong team of well-qualified and skilled senior managers. Also of importance in this regard is the fact that the composition of our senior management echelon, is beginning to reflect more closely the demographics of our country.

Project Mutingati, as we call our decentralisation project, is another example of good progress achieved thus far. In this regard, having overcome the expected teething problems, the Department has moved at a relatively fast pace in implementing key processes around the Mutingati Programme. A major turning point is the implementation of the pilot project in KwaZulu-Natal. One sincerely thanks all members of staff who have participated in Project Mutingati, in one way or the other, for the sterling work they have done. This is especially so when considering the fact that much of this progress has been achieved without the assistance of external consultants, but through the commitment and dedication of the staff members of the Department.

On the programme implementation front, the Department is beginning to register a steady upturn. The LRAD programme, which was launched via the handover of the large Nkomazi Project in Mpumalanga, is poised to accelerate and to play a key role in the land reform process in the country.

Marked improvement has also been realised in the areas of financial and human resource management. There are encouraging signs that the expenditure of our budget is improving. We are also experiencing better management of important matters such as staff assessment. There has been a sharp decline in the number of grievances by individual staff members, which is a clear reflection of improved human resource management, improved staff relations as well as increasing stability in our various work stations.

This year the Department formulated and implemented a real strategic plan that sets targets, time frames and measures linked to budgets. One believes that the adoption of this strategic plan is another major turning point in the Department's forward progression. This is because, for the first time, one believes, the performance of each member of the Department is linked to the general strategic thrust of the Department as a whole. This is also inextricably linked to the performance management system - especially the reporting system - which we have also put in place. However, we must also acknowledge that there is a lot of room for improvement where our performance management is concerned.

There are a number of other areas that require urgent attention, which the Department will have to focus upon in the coming year. These include the finalisation of the process of drafting policy and legislation on tenure reform. Fortunately, we are in a position to draw from the rich compendium of inputs that we received at the National Land Tenure Conference held last month. One believes this will make our task much easier, so that we should expect some improvement in the practical implementation of the tenure reform programme on the ground.

Lack of sufficient staff capacity in a number of areas remains a major problem and challenge. This is an area on which senior management and myself will have to focus more sharply during the coming year.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Chief Land Claims Commissioner, his colleagues and staff for a job well done, for yet again, the restitution programme has maintained its trend of its increased delivery.

I have also noted that an increasing number of members of staff of the Department are participating in extramural activities such as sport and departmental choirs. This must be encouraged and I would like to challenge my colleagues in senior management to do the same, for it is a terrible anomaly that we would have fit staff members and unfit senior managers. May be some kind of an award in this regard might serve as an incentive.

As we look towards the coming year, one is confident that the Department will perform better than it has done this year. From what I can see you are responding positively to the call I made last year that we must all rise to the challenge of improving our performance. For this I thank all members of the Department.

To all my Christian colleagues I wish you a Merry Christmas, a Happy Ramadaan and Eid to my Muslim colleagues, and a belated happy New Year to my Hindu colleagues who recently celebrated Diwali. I wish you all a prosperous 2002.

I would like to welcome you all to the Departmental commemoration of the International Day for Disabled persons.

Although our commemoration is belated because millions of people throughout the world commemorated the International Day for Persons with Disabilities on 3 December, it gives me great pleasure that we could still find time in our hectic schedule to hold this event.

According to the United Nations, more than 500 million people have some sensory, physical or intellectual impairment, making persons with disabilities one of the world’s largest minority groups.

The International Day for Persons with Disabilities, was declared by the United Nations to raise awareness about disability rights, and to make society conscious of the fact that people with disabilities, are an integral part of our society.

The aim of this annual occasion, is to promote the full and equal enjoyment of human rights, and participation in society by persons with disabilities. Our participation and hosting of this event, in the DLA as an annual calendar activity, intends to reaffirm the status of people with disabilities within the department.

The challenge that Top Management is putting to the Disability Forum, is to create an institutional framework that will facilitate, the comprehensive development of mechanisms, policies and guidelines to positively affirm people with disabilities through means, such as partnerships with the disability sector.

I must admit that this year, we have made limited progress in our effort to improve the working environment of people with disabilities, because of financial human resources constraints. The thrust of our Transformation Strategy in the year ahead, must be to strengthen the integrated approach we have taken in relation to all aspects of Equity. This approach will manifest in the setting-up of Provincial Equity Committees in all nine regions. A National Equity Committee comprising all Chief Directors has already been established. These committees, will be the main drivers of protecting and promoting the rights of vulnerable groups such as the disabled.

The Disability Forum, under the leadership of the Disability Manager and supported by the Transformation Office, must play a direct and interventionist role to facilitate, co-ordinate, monitor and evaluate all key programmes and plans in the organisation which can enable the mainstreaming of disability into the workplace.

The Forum needs to revisit the White Paper on the Integrated National Disability Strategy and our Departmental Disability Policy, and ensure that there is a greater level of awareness amongst the different levels of management for the integration and inclusion of disability. This awareness campaign must contribute towards the development of a corporate culture where people with disabilities are able to access the same fundamental rights as any other staff member and citizen.

The Disability Policy of the DLA is a significant landmark in demonstrating this department’s conscious practices and approach in ensuring disability inclusiveness in government. It must now be used to radically transform attitudes, perceptions and behaviour towards people with disabilities, thus creating an environment in the DLA where disability issues and the needs of people with disabilities are fully integrated as a matter of cause, not as an after thought or special favour.

Our vision must be: to become the benchmark by which other departments in government measure progress. This vision will entail improved education and training opportunities for staff with disabilities, creating employment opportunities and prospects for the disabled and greater economic empowerment through our programmes, products and projects.

For a long time now, I think, those without disabilities have made the assumption, that the disabled can’t do much for themselves and therefore need help and we must provide such help. Generally the help that is provided, came down to one thing - they need money, so give them some money. This introduced to some extent, a dependency syndrome. And once a dependency syndrome takes hold, it’s very difficult to motivate people. It’s very difficult to get people to say, but this is my life, this is about us, because you tend to wait for some handout to be given. I am personally heartened to see this slogan: Nothing about us, without us. I think it captures, very admirably, the fact that we still have a lot of work to do, but once we take a position that we need a human rights approach, we then start with the basis that you can’t defend and protect and enhance the human rights of any group of people, in the absence of them playing the leading role in defending their own human rights.

In conclusion, chairperson, I would like to state that the success of this workshop and the Disability Forum, will be determined when there are more than one person with a disability, who in their own right, can demonstrate that people with disabilities can do as well as anybody else on any of the issues that confront us in the department and in society in general. I say in their own right because often people with disabilities just defend the issues facing the disabled movement. We need to be proactive and confront these issues.

This proactive, activist style of confrontation will lead to some clashes. Chairperson, in any organisation that seeks to bring together different interest groups, that seeks to be as wide as possible in terms of the groups that should participate, there are bound to be personality clashes. When these personality clashes arise, then everybody throws up their hands in horror as if we are not human beings. I am saying this because, let’s not be afraid, let’s not wring our hands in horror, but let’s accept that as part and parcel of what happens in structures of this kind. To recognise these kinds of issues from the beginning is the first step to successfully resolving problems. So I just think that if we’re honest with ourselves, and amongst ourselves, it becomes easier to deal with these kinds of questions.

By T K Sonjica

Even though I was not around the Mpumalanga Land Reform Office when the death of its late director, Alwyn Johan van der Merwe was announced on the 17 October I was able to detect a state of sombreness in the e-mail messages from all DLA offices. Some of the people I spoke to over the phone from his office had cool and dignified voices. In some of the voices tears of sorrow and anger could be heard.

I may have bumped into Alwyn before, but the first encounter with him that I remember clearly was when the Communications Directorate was rendering services at the launch of the Masizakhe Redistribution Project in White River on Valentine's Day in 1999. Even though on that day the focus was not on him, but the project, I had noticed that he was a talkative fellow.

Thereafter we have interacted together on a number of occasions. To cut a long story short, I will say we were together in August at Wakkerstroom and Nkomazi. I listened him attentively on the Sunday preceding the launch of LRAD while responding patiently to countless questions from journalists.

At that time I had heard that he had made some visits to the hospital and I did not have a clue as to the seriousness of his health condition. He was driving long distances on his own and nothing registered then. Even when I had heard that he was in the ICU, I believed that he would come back. But I must be honest I had noticed that his hand was a little shaky at Nkomazi.

Remember the transformation workshops on affirmative action and other programmes at the African Window Museum? I was present in one of the workshops he was facilitating. That is where he mentioned something on PPMS Week at Mpumalanga.

When I met him on the banks of the Olifants River in Witbank early in the year, we made a date so that he could impart to me some ideas about the PPMS Week. Unfortunately that evening was very cold and the two of us did not fulfill the appointment and we never spoke about it again. How I wish I had made a follow up for I am the one who wanted to understand it better.

After his funeral I went around and spoke to those who had attended. I was told that he matriculated at Greytown High School in 1968 and later completed his post graduate studies in Geography at the University of Free State in 1973.

Like any other manager there were comments that were made to me about his management style. In all the sayings I sensed the great respect the man commanded for the knowledge of his work.

Rinaldi Bester, the Director at Executive Services told me that at Alwyn's funeral, his office choir rendered musical items that touched everybody. I am looking forward to listening to it some day.

Because of his position Alwyn was a member of the Department's Executive Committee. I was told that like the academic that he was, he opened his mouth whenever a need arose and was an eloquent debater in EXCO meetings, ready to agree or disagree.

As a lecturer, he taught geography at the universities of Free State and Pretoria between 1978 and 1987. He taught from first to fourth year students. Before that he had been a manager in Tulbagh.

There are a number of papers he presented in seminars and conferences as a lecturer and Land Reform Practitioner. Earlier this year he presented a paper on LRAD at a conference in Upington entitled : Managing partnerships towards a successful land distribution for agricultural development, (Read LandInfo Volume 8 N0 1).

Alwyn entered the Public Service at the beginning of January 1987 as an Assistant Director and rose through the ranks until his appointment as the Provincial Director for the Mpumalanga Land Reform Office in 1995.

Alwyn in his marriage with his wife Danie is blessed with 3 daughters.

The key responsibilities attached to Alwyn's office are:

• To distribute land to rural communities in terms of applicable legislation
• To facilitate the protection of rights of and acquisition of land for farm dwellers and to prevent evictions
• To facilitate the protection of informal land rights on communal and land through prevention of evictions and the facilitation of community resolutions where land is to be disposed of and/or in cases of land use change because of development initiatives
• To facilitate tenure reform in the former Bantustan areas
• To support the Land Claims Commissioner with land restitution, on request

Peace be upon your soul Alwyn.

Top

The Department of Land Affairs joins the van der Merwe family in mourning the untimely passing of Alwyn. We have lost one of our most talented, dedicated and effective managers and leaders. When a person of such high calibre passes on, it is natural that we must shed tears. But we must also remember and honour the fact that Alwyn’s has been a highly productive and positive life. That is why we thank God for having given us the privilege and opportunity of knowing Alwyn as a colleague and a friend.

Alwyn’s untimely death has cut short an illustrious career in the public service and in land reform that has spanned many years. He joined the public service in 1987 after working as a lecturer at the universities of the Free State and Pretoria. He started at the then Department of Development Aid and in April 1992 he joined the then Department of Regional and Land Affairs, which became the Department of Land Affairs (DLA) after 27 April 1994. He was promoted to the position of Director of the Mpumalanga Provincial Land Reform Office (PLRO) on 1 May 1995.

Alwyn was a hard worker. He worked tirelessly on building the Mpumalanga PRLO to what it is today – one of the strongest and high-performing functional components of the DLA. He built a formidable and efficient team which he managed and led with humility, dignity, and honesty, but also with the firm hand of an uncompromising task master who would accept nothing less than the highest standards of performance. He was also tireless in his quest to ensure that his office was adequately provided with the necessary resources to enable it to perform its tasks effectively.

Alwyn has added a lot of value to land reform policy and practice over many years, and not only within the Mpumalanga PLRO that he led so ably, but also in the whole Department. He was a consistent, energetic, vigorous and positive contributor to the many critical debates among senior managers in our Executive Committeee and other fora. This more than anything else demonstrated his commitment, something that was appreciated by both his peers and subordinates. He will be sorely missed.

We will also always remember Alwyn for his dynamic sense of humour. He had the rare gift of being able to break a tense situation by making people laugh and relax. He also had an easy-going and informal manner of relating to his colleagues, which in turn made him easy to work with. I am told that the members of staff in his office found him to be an approachable and straight-talking boss who never left them in any doubt as to what he expected of them. He would be equally generous in rewarding those who did their work according to expectations, and firm on those who were indolent and lazy.

I personally came to know Alwyn from May 2000 onwards after taking up my current post as the Director General of the Department. He struck me as having an intense determination to see land reform succeeding in this country - hence he was one of the pioneers of the implementation of the new strategies that have been developed by the Department, aimed at speeding up the process of delivery and improving the quality of our projects. I still remember him vividly when we drove together in his car from Nelspruit to the official ceremony of the handover of the Nkomazi Project by our minister, Ms Thoko Didiza. He was bubbling with confidence and shared with me his dreams of a transformed Mpumalanga Province and how his office would make its contribution through land reform. Such was his commitment, I wonder whether he ever spoke as much of anything else. I suspect his wife Dannie would agree with us on this one.

The Nkomazi Project is now occupying a special place in the history of land reform in the country, and the name of Alwyn van der Merwe occupies a central place in this history. That is why the beneficiaries of this project are represented here today. The communities that Alwyn served so diligently feel the pain of his loss as much as we all do.

To the van der Merwe family, especially Alwyn’s wife and three daughters, we say as DLA: we share in your grief, but have faith in God, for it is through Him that your broken hearts will be healed. We also wish to thank you for the great job that you have done, of being the pillars of strength of such a great human being.

May God bless Alwyn’s soul and may his soul rest in peace.

Hamba kahle mhlobo. Siyohlala sikukhumbula. You have done us proud.

Thank You.

SP: Briefly tell us about your background - where you were born, grew up and your educational background.

LL : I was born in Soweto in Dobsonville although I attended school in Lehurutshe in a village called Gopane, where I was staying with my grandmother. I did my primary and secondary schooling in that village. I matriculated in 1992. In 1993 I was recruited by my high school principal to teach at that school, Jangjo High School.A year after that I went to further my studies at the University of North West (formerly UNIBO).

In 1997 I was awarded my degree of B.A.Communication while at the same time I was doing a voluntary job as a news reporter at a local newspaper in Mafikeng in the North West. I obtained my honours degree in Psychology in 1999 from the University of North West while at the same time I was working as a news reporter for SABC during the 1999 general elections.

SP : Where did you work before coming to the DLA and why did you to make the change?

LL : When I was appointed in DLA as PCO I was working for SABC as Motsweding Current Affairs producer. It was a very interesting and challenging job. Being a producer of a current affairs programme means you have to think on your feet at all times to ensure that you have enough items to fill the one hour slot. It sharpened my skills with regard to handling pressure and meeting deadlines.

However I believe I managed to handle that kind of a situation because of the team that I worked with. They were very nice and supportive people and I will miss them very dearly. I have always wanted to do developmental communication. Joining DLA to me was a dream come true. The communities need to know how this department can help them solve their land problems.

SP : What does your work entail as Principal Communication Officer in the province?

LL : My job as communication officer entails organising workshops and meetings with different stakeholders, including our communities. It is also very crucial to ensure that communities are up to date about the latest developments in DLA. The ways and means of disseminating information to the community will include the use of local and national media, posters, banners, exhibitions, etc.

SP : What do you see as the biggest challenge in your new position?

LL : The biggest challenge in my position is to ensure that our people understand the Land Reform in South Africa as this will stop things illegal land invasions. It is also important to empower our communities by giving them information related to different policies in this department.

We experience unfair evictions throughout our country and the occupiers do not know their rights in terms of to protect themselves from that. The other issue involves women empowerment. Our mothers and sisters need to know that they can also have the land of their own. It would really make me proud one day to see my fellow citizens having their own land and knowing that I was part of the team that brought those changes, will a great achievement.

SP : What are your hobbies?

LL : I like reading, travelling and watching TV. At the moment I'm busy familiarizing myself with different policies of DLA.

Indicators that the Shared Services Centres in the DLA are real became apparent here at the National Office when the pioneers of the programme for the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Pilot Project got their training. The group was trained on Human Resource Management (HRM) issues.

According to Lizelle Strydom at HRM the trainees were first given the theoretical part of HRM. She said many of the Public Service Manuals on HRM were availed to them.

"On the practical side they had to do things themselves and ask questions when they encountered problems", Lizelle said.

She said training was on:

• Appointments
• Advertisements
• Establishment
• Translation in rank
• Recognition of higher qualification
• Secondment
• Evaluation
• Service benefits which include:
• Overtime
• Drivers' licences
• Relocation expenditure
• Senior management service
• Medical aid
• State guarantees
• Home owner's allowance
• Injury on duty
• Leave
• Emolument
• Attachment
• Maintenance orders
• Income tax

According to a communiqué issued by Internal Communications, Strategic Co-ordinators Duma Goniwe and Jeff Sebape will be managing the KZN Pilot Project for the next few months. Infrastructure for the project is in place.

In our interview with Joseph Ndzinde, one of the trainees, told Journal that they are a group of six coming from the different components of the DLA in KZN. At the time of the interview he was coming from the Personnel Section of the Surveyor-General.

"The training is aligned to the work that I have been doing. But it is more advanced. This means that at the SSC I will be shouldering more responsibility than in the past", he said.

Joseph said he found the training to be useful in that it was clearing some misconceptions in his work. He said the trainers were always eager to share information with them.

"We are all enthusiastic and looking forward to implement what we have been taught here. All of us are having a positive attitude and I believe this will bear the desired fruits", he said.

"The reason for the training is to make Mutingati a success. This means that the success of Mutingati depends on us", he concluded.

Rita Mahesh, originally from the KZN Regional Land Claims Commissioner told Journal that at the SSC she will be doing finance and HRM. She said she will also be supervising Administration and Support Services.

"The training is very slow. We did the theory part in the first week. In the second week we were supposed to be doing the practical part on persal. The main frustration has been the system itself which has been hanging for the major part of the time. This is the main cause of the slowness of the training", she said.

Rita said HRM officials specialise in certain fields and know their tasks. She however added that at the SSC they will have to be multi-skilled to manage all the HRM functions that are being decentralised.

"We are looking forward to going to start the SSC with enthusiasm and we wish to make a success of the pilot project and serve the four directorates of the DLA in KZN to the best of our abilities. We have to provide an efficient service in the spirit of Batho Pele", she made her final remark.

The Human Resource Management (HRM) Directorate officially opened during the Public Service Week a Call Centre wherein all enquiries related to HRM will be handled. The reasoning behind its establishment is the amount of enquiries that are made at the Directorate, which result in HRM staff concentrating on enquiries rather than completing tasks at hand.

In officially opening the Centre, the Chief Director Corporate Services, Mr Sam Mathikhi said he was happy that the opening was happening during the Public Service Week. The focus of the Public Service Week was the revival of Batho Pele.

He said people will agree that the HRM area has lots of problems. He said some of them are out of our own making.

Mr Mathikhi said he is sure that the Centre will help the Department tremendously. He also commended the HRM for the initiative.

The HRM Director, Mr Anton van Staden said all enquiries made at the Centre are urgent. He said the Centre will be dealing with:

• All HRM policy related matters
• Progress made with requests received by HRM
• The manner to address HRM issues of reliance
• Leaving a message for a member of HRM that is not available

Mr van Staden said the Centre has adopted a rule that all its clients must get a response before the end of the day of the enquiry. "The Centre has been operational now for a month. I encourage all staff to use it and if the service is not good, please contact me or the Chief Director", he said.

Mr van Staden also mentioned that detailed records of the enquiries received are kept to track patterns and institute corrective action. He said the staff at HRM is manning the Cetre on a rotational basis.

Through the assistance of Ms Mano Reddy, the writer was able to look through the registers of the Call Centre and noticed that among others, the Centre had enquiries on:

• Medical Aid
• Overtime
• Merit Assessment
• Rank Progression

Ms Reddy told Journal that because of the new leave policy, enquiries on leave were the highest and mentioned that during the merit assessment time they were expecting a flood of questions around the subject. She said housing subsidy was the second highest.

The Centre can be reached at the following extensions:

8897

8320

9192

9615

The Centre's e-mail address is: HRMCallCentre.

In the previous edition of the Journal, the Department's Director-General, Dr Gilingwe Mayende paid tribute to some of the staff members the Department for being outstanding in their work performance. In this article we profile them and expose how they came to be declared unsung heroes in the Department.

She was appointed on 1 March 1998

Promoted on 1 March 2000 to Cleaner Grade II

Merit Award = A in April 2001

 Ms Mia is very friendly, hardworking, loyal and reliable. Since the day she started, she stood out head and shoulders above her peers. She uses her own initiative and would help out in the case of absent colleagues. This she would do on her own initiative without her supervisor requesting her to do so.

This officer is a shining example of the spirit of the Administrative service delivery campaign and the Batho Pele on which it is based.

Ms Mia delivers sterling work, not only in her own sections but also in her colleagues work areas which shows that she takes great pride in her work and subsequently strives towards service excellence.

Regional Land Claims Commissioner, Eastern Cape

Tel : (043) 743 3824

Cell: 083 659 8051

 Since his engagement in July 1999, he has distinguished himself as a creative thinker, who is able to knit together a number of strands and produce something of a kaleidoscope, which appears simple as a finished product, yet it was complex. This he showed in the packaging of the Chatha restitution claim. This betterment claim was packaged in such a way as to have some development thrust in it, and also set a pattern, which could be replicated, in similar cases involving betterment schemes, wherever these were found.

This rare ability of creativity and linking it with sustainability was again shown in the settlement of the Dwesa – Cwebe claim where effectively the Departments of Water affairs and Forestry, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Agriculture and Land Affairs made history in making co-operative governance a reality, in a project which transferred title to the land from the state to the seven communities of Dwesa-Dwebe,

The project also involved a joint management agreement between the competent authority on the one hand and the community on the other hand, for the protection of conservation land for the public good, whilst ensuring that dispossessed communities will derive income for their development needs until eternity.

Project Officer : RLCC: Mpumalanga

Tel: 312-9409

Cell: 083 388 8605

This candidate has been in the Public Service since 2 November 1997.

He has been operating in a difficult province in Mpumalanga where there has been little or no delivery for four years. From the middle of 2000 he operated on the principle of moving from the simple to the complex. He started attacking restitution claims, one after another, showing that it was possible to settle claims.

He single-handedly conducted negotiations, relying on the advice of the head of the programme and produced the settlement of five major claims, thus averting threats of land invasions and assisting us, in upholding the principle of land reform in a constitutional democracy, buttressed by the rule of law. He is deserving of recognition in a special way. He was the brain behind the settlement pre-eminently of the Boomplaats case, which hit national and international headlines in 2001. Most importantly, he communicated so effectively with the community, thus retaining their trust and confidence in the integrity of the restitution process.

Richard Lebelo started working in Pretoria Deeds office on 3 March 1982. Despite having a matric certificate, he was employed as a messenger as was the practice in those days. Richard quickly proved himself to be a hardworking person who learnt fast and was able to progress through the different sections in the office. He was awarded a merit in 1984 for sustained above average work. Richard was requested to help the office with the checking of general plans of each of the leasehold deeds, when the leasehold system was implemented in 1985. During this process some of the senior examiners attempted to train him in the examination of leasehold deeds. However, this was met with resistance on the part of Management and the Department at the time. He nevertheless persisted in gaining knowledge and learnt the procedures required to become an examiner.

As a result of this his rank was converted to that of a Deeds Controller in 1990. During the same year Richard enrolled for the National diploma in Registration of Deeds which he completed in 1994. As a result of him obtaining the National Diploma and his previous experience, he was promoted to the rank of Chief Deeds Controller in 1996, and subsequently to the rank of Assistant Registrar of Deeds in 2000. He was and still is one of the most conscientious and hardworking officers in the Pretoria Deeds office.

Richard presented training to junior officials during 1996 in the complicated areas such as expropriations and mineral rights. During the year 2000 Richard was requested to act as Training Officer for the entire office, a task he fulfilled with flying colours. Richard is also a member of the TTT, and is actively promoting transformation in the Deeds Office. His dedication to his work and his excellent track record and experience make him a role model for the younger officials who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Younger staff members often turn to Richard for guidance in work related matters and also often ask for his assistance to resolve disputes which they may have among themselves, and in this way Richard is a shining example to his colleagues and subordinates.

He has close on 40 years service in the public sector, is a Deputy Registrar of Deeds at the office of the Chief Registrar of Deeds in Pretoria. Johann is truly a remarkable and unique person All who know him will testify to his extraordinary and single-minded dedication to his work, the Department, and its clients.

Testimony of Johann’s extraordinary human qualities was once again highlighted when Mr Chris Brink, the former Registrar of Deeds Bloemfontein who retired recently, at his farewell function singled out one person amongst close to a thousand employees in the Chief Directorate: Deeds Registration, to thank for his cooperation and support through the years. That person was Johann Douwes.

Johann is the type of person who will fix broken toilets, move furniture, and basically perform all those unenviable tasks that we all shy away from. Nothing is too much trouble for Johann. He is the person everybody in the office runs to immediately if a chair is broken, a PC won’t boot up, the telephone does not work, etc. Johann is at work in the morning before any of colleagues and leaves after all of them have left for home. If Johann has any failure as a human being, it is his willingness to help others, often way beyond the scope of his normal duties.

One of the more admirable of Johann’s many qualities is the fact that he does not expect any recognition or compensation for whatever work done. He thinks nothing of going back to the office over weekends to do work that he feels has to be done and for which he cannot find time during office hours. Invariably he tells nobody about this – the work simply gets done.

Johann is any manager’s dream, always at his post, dedicated beyond belief and reliable to a fault. He has but one agenda – to to his job and serve his clients, both within the Department and outside.

If there was to be a template for the ideal civil servant, Johann Douwes would be it. He sets examples with regard to loyalty, dedication and service that, unfortunately, very few of us will ever equal, let along improve upon. To coin a cliché, when Johann was made, the mould was broken.

Mr A van der Ross was appointed on 11 March 1996 in this office as a Deeds Controller. Since obtaining the Diploma at the end of 1999 Mr van der Ross, who is a Principle Deeds Conrtoller is doing senior examination of Deeds. This task is done with great success and with pride. He is utilising his knowledge to carry out his duties very effectively and is also able to provide training to other officials. This official is able to perform all the supervisory tasks with regard to the higher post.

He was prepared to perform the task of a Chief Deeds controller without expecting to be compensated for the work he is doing on the higher level. When necessary he is always prepared to willingly work overtime without being compensated for it.

He is always friendly, helpful and loyal in his daily consultations, with the legal fraternity, public fellow officials and management.

He is able to assist other employees and conveyancers on a daily basis with problems relating to the drafting of deeds. For this conveyancers have a high opinion of his knowledge. When asked to perform a certain task for the day, he will never argue. He just do it to the best of his ability even if it will result in doing much more than is expected from him. This attitude of him has the effect that this office is always up to date which is to the benefit of our clients.

This official obtained his National Diploma in Registration of Deeds under very difficult circumstances. He stayed in a "shanti" without the basic services such as electricity. During this time his wife was also very sick. She had a heart problem and was transferred to Bloemfontein to undergo a operation. While preparing for the examinations he came to study in the office during the evenings and studied in the public library during the day. During these difficult circumstances he persevered and obtained his Diploma in three years.

Ali was nominated by management because he proved that he complies with all the criteria that is expected. It can also be mentioned that he was within 2½ years in his present rank promoted to the rank of Chief Deeds Controller in the Bloemfontein Deeds Office.

Mr Mahlaba’s performance at Information Section/Enquiries is outstanding. He attends to the public promptly and efficiently, and regularly gets compliments from external clients. He treats clients courteously and respectably. The officer has a very good attendance record and he is a loyal worker. He can work well without supervision.

Mr Mahlaba works voluntary overtime by working through his lunch hours. Mr Mahlaba is a well-respected and well-liked person by external and internal clients. He is a reliable and hardworking person.

Mahlaba received a B-category merit award in the year 2000. He assists fellow colleagues on a regular basis. He also received a compliment from Mr Gary Cooking, who approached Mr Mahlaba’s supervisor, whereby Gary conveyed his appreciation for the help Mr Mahlaba gave him. He said that Mr Mahlaba was like a breath of fresh air and that his customer service was excellent .

On 18 April 2001, Mr Mahlaba attended to a query for Erf 166 Shakas Rock by Mr Murray. It was a very complicated enquiry and Mr Mahlaba was busy from 11h00 to 14h50. He worked through his lunch hour and tea-time without any remuneration.

On 12 April 2001. Mr Mahlaba attended to a land claim search by Mr Mohideen. Mr Mahlaba was busy from 11h30 until 14h00.

Mr Mahlaba has pleasant nature and is always friendly.

This office nominates Mr A A Van Jaarsveldt as an "Unsung hero" for the following reasons:

He played a major role in upgrading the Umtata Deeds Registry from a poorly functional office into an office that can now be compared with anyone of the other eight offices in the country.

He instituted the training programme for the staff of this office to equip them for better service delivery for our clients:

Service delivery to our clients has improved dramatically. The Registrar of this office is often complimented by members of the public;

He perservered in his efforts often under difficult circumstances and with limited resources. He however, worked hard and unselfishly and by that made a huge difference.

He was nominated to represent the Johannesburg Deeds Office for the following reasons:

He has through his service delivery proved his commitment towards the Department by means of just, efficient, effective and professional service delivery.

The official performs IT duty in-house although not part of his workplan and without additional compensation or rewards of high quality. The official has undertaken and passed computer training by means of his own finance, which he utilizes in the performance of his duties.

His commitment in the office and outside is evidence of a positive and objective official with the proven ability to make a success of every project he embarks upon.

This directorate is very fortunate to have someone like Sire in our service. Her attendance record is excellent and we can therefore always rely on her. Her sick record is not even to be mentioned. She is the silent type, has a pleasant nature and is always friendly and helpful. She does not waste time by chatting with colleagues. She is always on duty in her office and therefore available should something urgent pop up. She never asks time off from work and is very loyal and conscientious. Sire is a role model in many aspects and fosters great respect from her colleagues.

She is always willing to accept duties that are not stipulated on her work plan. She started off as a typist in the sub-directorate Deeds Training Support. She did duties other than typing during a time when there was a shortage of staff. She was barely utilised as a typist and usually helped out with administration. The duties that have been assigned to her were on a much higher level than that of a typist. She accepted it willingly, without complaining or asking whether she would receive compensation for extra duties performed. (She was translated to an administration clerk as a typist was no longer needed in this section.)

She is not bound to office hours and is willing to work unpaid overtime. She used to act as secretary on PPMS meeting that continued until 17h00 or later (normal working hours until 15h45). She gladly stays until the meeting is adjourned. She will not hesitate to work unpaid overtime when asked to do so.

Her pride in her work is reflected by her work that is always neatly done and organized. She does not take anything for granted and make sure of facts before she makes a decision. She will go through great lengths to get the correct facts, although it will take some time. Her work is therefore so correctly and neatly done, it cannot even be described what a pleasure it is to receive work done by her. There is no wasting of time by taking incorrect work back to her to rectify.

Sire had to work through difficult circumstances during the time of shortage of staff. She worked very hard and no backlogs were encountered during this period, nor was there deterioration in the quality of her work. She sometimes had to work without a supervisor and coped quite well with her duties.

Students are our greatest clients. They have due dates in which they have to register and their accounts have to be paid in time, as well as letters that have to reach them in time for registration. She is sometimes under great pressure due to this and still the student will walk away as a satisfied customer. When students have enquiries about the payment of accounts, she will go through great lengths to find out whether it has been paid and if not, make sure that it will be dealt with urgently by the finance section and reply to the student. She understands and practices the Batho Pele concept excellently.

Mrs Suz Lorio

It is our firm belief that Mrs Lorio through her actions in the workplace embodies the Batho Pele principles. She is always prepared to assist officials and cleints of the Directorate in resolving/addressing any problems or obstacles they might encounter. No task is too large or complex for her to tackle head on. Through her firm commitment to excellence, she inspires her co-workers to strive towards improving their own work ethics. Mrs Lorio is always prepared to extend a helping hand to clients and co-workers to achieve set objectives within the prescribed time frames.

Some of the activities that drew special attention during the Batho Pele Focus Week at DLA National Office were the washing of cars and the meet and greet sessions at the Old Building lapa. Both events were organised by the Financial Management Branch.

In between the activities Journal spoke to Conny van Tonder and Corne van Huyssteen who were members of the organising committee of the activities and they told Journal that when car washing was initiated everybody accepted it as a great idea. In unison they said it was the same with the meet and greet sessions.

The meet and greet sessions were meant to have each and every component of the Financial Management Branch during the lunch hour explaining its programmes to its clients. The sessions were also meant to listen to problems and perceptions of clients about the components.

"In the meet and greet sessions we also invited Imperial, Rennies and Wesbank who are our clients", Conny said.

The ladies told Journal that the reasoning behind the car wash was to provide a better service to their clients. In the past they had received many complaints about dirty departmental cars.

They explained that the car wash campaign never increased the departmental expenditure. This is because in the campaign material from MASS was used.

"In the exercise we wanted our staff to do it, thus portraying that we want to please our clients. We were also surprised to see so many people volunteering to wash the cars", Conny said.

"After the exercise it was good to see people shaking hands admitting that they had enjoyed themselves. People agreed that they would be washing the cars regularly. I have not checked them on that, but I think will be on the look out soon", Conny said.

Corne added that "At that time there was a new spirit that is not always there. Other people just participated spontaneously. There is a belief that the car wash improved our image. In a way this can be described as a teambuilding session".

Conny and Corne agreed that in the meet and greet sessions there were sub-directorates that did not make an extra effort to be involved. Some of the sub-directorates brought to the lapa their posters, brochures and manuals.

"This was our first experience and our planning may have been at short notice. In future we will be arranging everything in advance", Conny promised.

They both mentioned that in the meet and greet sessions some of their clients just came in and had their cool drinks and left. Because of that, they had to offer cool drinks only to people asking questions.

The Chief Financial Officer Sarah Choane visited one of the sessions and chatted with people. She also assisted in answering their questions.

"We met in the sessions people we have never met before" Corne said.

Conny added that, "Many of the Department's staff attended the sessions. It was good to see cleaners too attending, because we are their clients in the first place".

They told Journal that the sessions were videotaped and Conny said people can be seen in the video just sitting down, eating and just chatting to each other rather than participating. They said next year there is a strategy they have up their sleeve to prevent that.

"Please if you use a government car use and care for it as if it is your own", Conny pulled her last shot.

The commemoration at the DLA National Office recently of the partnership against HIV/AIDS saw the Department adding four more commitments to the previous ones. The commitments announced by the Department's Director-General, Dr Gilingwe Mayende, are the following:

• To establish linkages between implementation of land reform projects for beneficiaries and the HIV/AIDS programme
• To develop a support programme for infected and affected staff members
• To sustain the involvement of a Person Living with HIV/AIDS (PWA) in order to strengthen the DLA HIV/AIDS programme
• To establish community outreach programmes with national and provincial HIV/Aids Service Organisations

Representatives of the Department of Mineral and Energy led by Ms Bongiwe Sipenga handed over the Commitment Scroll and the HIV/AIDS Candle of Hope to Dr Mayende. Members of the Inter-Departmental HIV/AIDS Committee were present and gave moral support to the proceedings.

In outlining the past year's progress on the HIV/AIDS programme in the Department, Dr Mayende reminded the audience about the previous year's commitments attaching a rating on their accomplishments. The commitments and the ratings are as follows:

• To develop monitoring and evaluation tools to assess the impact of the DLA HIV/AIDS programme. The rating is a nine out of 10.
• To create an administrative support structure to strengthen the HIV/AIDS programme. The rating is a five out of 10.
• To ensure that educational programmes on HIV/AIDS will be conducted for all levels of staff. The rating is a nine out of 10.

Dr Mayende mentioned that due to restructuring in the Department the process of creating administrative support to the Department's HIV/AIDS programme has been put on hold. But he also mentioned that posts like this one must not be held at ransom because of restructuring and at that moment gave approval for the filling of the post.

Dr Mayende gave credit to Ms Colly Carey, the DLA's HIV/AIDS co-ordinator for her work in the Department. He said educational programmes are continuing in the Department and plans are in place to conduct a workshop with managers regarding the impact of HIV/AIDS at the workplace.

He continued and said officials of the Department have to commit and rededicate themselves in the war against HIV/AIDS. He said no-one is exempt from the disease.

"I extend a word of gratitude to men and women of the Department and the government as a whole for having taken the fight against HIV/AIDS forward", he concluded.

Ms Villas Tyeku, a person living with HIV/AIDS in the Department said the year 2001 is her tenth year that she has been living positive. She said people living with HIV/AIDS are no different from others.

She said such people only know about their status once they are tested. In a parable on xenophobia she illustrated how they may have discriminated against those positive.

Ms Tyeku said she is strong because of the support she gets from her colleagues in the Department. She encouraged DLA workers to take their attitude to their communities and support those who have been diagnosed for HIV/AIDS.

Thereafter the Department's workers led by their choir gracefully began a procession that ended down the street at the Department of Justice where they handed over the Commitment Scroll and the Candle of Hope. The Deputy Director-General for the Justice Department Ms Jacqui Ngeva received it.

During the Public Service Week, the DLA's ABET programme highlighted its activities at National Office in a celebratory mood of songs, speeches, dramma and an exhibition. ABET beneficiaries took the lead in all the activities.

Ms Jenny Jacobs, the Director at Organisational Development, described ABET as a lifelong exercise. She said in the programme learners must develop and the programme must not have the same faces year after year.

"When an opportunity arises in the Department, those qualifying must apply and be placed in better positions. People must upgrade themselves and work as Administrative Clerks or other professional categories in the Department or anywhere else", she said.

"We must be duty conscious. We must be proud of our work", she said.

Mr Johnny Pietersen, a training officer at Organisational Development asked the learners not to abandon their communities when they have qualified as professionals. He asked them to respect everybody.

The exhibition that was there included books currently used by learners. This prompted Mr Pietersen to remark that the standard of education received by the learners is high.

Ms Nozipho Makeke, the Department's ABET facilitator, said adults are in an environment that is dominated by the written word. She said this results in them being challenged by the written word in many ways and cited the following as examples:

• They have to read written signs in public places
• They have to read instructions on goods they buy
• They have to read newspapers, understand and interpret them

She said Adult Literacy programmes are important because their goal "…is to ensure that adult education is effectively integrated into the working environment so that a positive impact is experienced on the job".

She added that the studies they offer are aligned with :

• The Independent Examination Board
• The output required for the National Qualifications Framework and the quality measurement control
• Elementary Technisa Studies

Ms Makeke mentioned that their levels of ABET go as far as level 3. "There is still an opportunity for those who are still illiterate to come forward", she advised.

Ms Jacobeth Sefike, an ABET learner told everybody there that she is proud to be involved in the AET programme. She said when she came to the DLA she was an illiterate person, but now she feels she is a better person.

"The ABET programme is very important because through it, there is a chance to be literate. It has helped us acquire skills. It gives us proper reading and writing skills. The education we received is competitive because after we have finished we can go further with our education and training", Ms Sefike said.

She also extended her gratitude to the Department for giving them a second chance. She expressed her respect to Ms Makeke for her patience with them.

The dramma and songs provided by the ABET choir revolved around ABET. "Avulekile amasango e-ABET(The doors of ABET are open)" could be described as the song of the day and it attracted a lot of attention and everybody joined and danced with the choir when it was sung.

During the Public Service Week Northern Cape public servants signed a pledge committing themselves to better service delivery. One of the aims of the week was to build a greater sense of morale in the Public Service by revitalising the "Batho Pele " principles and this was clearly achieved.

Different provincial and national departments took part in various activities to celebrate the Public Service Week. The theme of this leg was ‘I m proud to serve you". This became evident at the two-day exhibitions which were held at Kimberley City Hall. The exhibitions attracted the community at large, including learners from different schools. The institutions of higher learning like the University of Free State, Technikon South Africa, University of South Africa, Rand Afrikaanse University, etc were also there to see what various departments can offer them.

 The Provincial Land Reform Office also took part in the exhibitions. Other national departments which participated includes Water Affairs, Home Affairs, Mineral and Energy, Public Works and Justice.

People who came to the city hall flocked at our stalls. This sent a message that people out there are thirsty for the information regarding land issues. They got the opportunity to ask questions while at the same time our department got the chance to market itself. Booklets and pamphlets were given out to the communities. People kept coming to seek clarity on what they read in the booklets.

The week ended with various sporting activities. There was a fun run before the games started at Diskobolos. The games included soccer, ladies soccer, tennis, volleyball, netball, tug of war and pool/snooker. The Land Affairs teams were supposed to take on the GCIS teams but the team was crippled. Most of the players attended a day-long course.

Some of the greatest challenges of the Northern Cape Provincial Office are poverty, unemployment and landlessness. The diversity of the four regions ( i.e. Frances Baard, Karoo, Namaqualand and Benede Oranje) in terms of climate and topography, makes land reform difficult. But because of the commitment of delivering land to the landless communities, the planners of this office take these challenges head-on. They travel very long distances with the objective of uplifting the lives of the communities they serve.

Recently the Provincial Director Obed Mvula, Deputy-Director responsible for the Karoo District, Timmy Cloete and the senior planner, Felicity van Heerden, attended a meeting in the Karoo area. The meeting was organised by the PRLO with the intention of familiarising the stakeholders with programmes like LRAD and ESTA. It was held in De Aar which is approximately 310 km from Kimberley. Most of the people in that area are farm workers hence the visit to the area. The officials from the Department of Agriculture as well as representatives from different municipalities attended the meeting.

The District Manager Zamani Saul welcomed the move made by the department to empower them with information. He told the gathering that they, as the municipality, want to shift from the perception that they only provide services like water and electricity. Saul made it very clear that it is imperative for them to get involved in projects that will help alleviate poverty in their area. His greatest concerns in that area include unemployment, poverty, crime and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Saul explained that crime ( which is rife in that area) is perpetuated by unemployment and poverty. These factors lead to alcohol and substance abuse among the youth who find themselves having nothing to do after matriculation.

There is a great potential for agricultural development in the Karoo. Emerging farmers need access to land so that they can get grazing land for their livestock. Although the PLRO finalsed last year a project wherein land was bought to extend the municipal commonage. There is still a dire need for land and a potential for commercial farming in that area.

Mr Cloete explained how LRAD can be of help to the emerging farmers. He also mentioned that LRAD seeks to help disavantaged people in rural areas to improve their living standards. The attendants were impressed by the fact that LRAD provides even for women to become landowners and farmers in their own right.

As Cloete continued to explain the conditions of LRAD, people became interested in the R5000 contribution. They did not understand where the emerging farmers would get that amount. It was explained to them that the input may be in the form of cash, labour or livestock and other agricultural assets that the applicant possesses and which he/she will use on the farm.

Representatives of various municipalities got to know about the relationship between Land Affairs and Agricultural departments. The Agricultural officials explained their role in LRAD. Maybe both the departments need to look into the how the Land Bank can assist emerging farmers to access loans from that institution.

Since most of the people in that area are farm workers it was also necessary to inform them about the Extension of Security of Tenure Act. Mr Mvula explained the rights of both the occupiers and the owners. This meeting is an example of the concerted efforts of the PLRO to uplift the lives of the communities they serve.

Good afternoon chairperson, international guests, colleagues in government, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen.

After having reviewed the talk I’m about to present to you today, one thing struck me about the type of organisation the Department of Land Affairs is. Since its formation, the DLA has been truly fortunate to have the type of management that has taken ownership and demonstrated commitment to shaping the public service environment to serve better the citizens of South Africa. As I lead you through this talk, you will note that employees were permitted to have a great deal of say in re-engineering their work. This relationship between leadership, different components and diverse groups of people was built on the foundation of effective partnering, where agents of change and resistors, who previously had no working relationship, grouped together to achieve a common purpose. Spanning across the different organisational units, they gained a better grasp and understanding of business issues and collectively designed the framework for transformation.

The journey of the DLA can be likened to that of a moving train.

The Department of Land Affairs (DLA) was established as a new structure of government in 1994. The new department drew staff from a number of different tributaries.

• From the Department of Public Works and Land Affairs, the new department inherited the Chief Directorate: Surveys and Mapping, the Chief Directorate: Cadastral Surveys, the Chief Registrar of Deeds and the Secretariat of the Advisory Commission on Land Allocation;
• From the former Department of Planning, Provincial Affairs and National Housing, the functions of the Chief Directorate: Urbanisation and the Chief Directorate Physical Planning were transferred to the new department.

New members of staff also joined after the country’s first democratic elections, in order to deal with the issues of land reform and restitution, resulting in staff emanating from a wide variety of political, operational and cultural backgrounds, as well as different work styles and orientations. The challenge for the new department was to build a new and shared organisational culture.

As a new structure of government, the DLA was charged with taking forward the programme of reforming ownership patterns, land use and management of land in South Africa. To enable it to fulfil this mandate, the department had to immediately begin a programme of re-assessing and changing its structures and practices.

1996 – The train enters the tunnel

By 1996, the Executive Committee (EXCO) of the department agreed to a programme of speeding up the implementation of government’s commitment to building a new public service. Transformation was seen as a crucial part of institutional development in the DLA. Every section of the DLA was faced with the constant challenge of improving the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of service of their operations, as well as the need to continuously re-orient staff skills to meet those challenges. For the DLA, chairperson, these transformation priorities meant the following:

• Developing new land reform programmes and policies;
• Establishing an institutional structure that would effectively implement land reform;
• Rightsizing of the DLA in line with the stated policy of the public service;
• The establishment of programmes to implement the department’s new policies;
• Streamlining its activities through the clarification and rationalisation of the roles of different units within the organisation such as the offices of Deeds, the Surveyors-General and Land Reform;
• The filling of posts with people knowledgeable and skilled in the areas of land reform, surveying, deeds registration and spatial planning;
• A focus on acquiring staff with appropriate management and leadership skills; and
• The development and implementation of a policy on Employment Equity and Affirmative Action.

These priorities resulted in the delivery of a number of disparate initiatives to transform the Department. Several reports were written and recommendations made. However, an overstreched senior management team meant that they were unable to dedicate the necessary time to co-ordinate a concerted change initiative. This led to much confusion and frustration in the organisation.

1997 – Inside the tunnel

After two strategic planning workshops with the Minister in 1997, senior managers agreed that there was an urgent need to articulate and co-ordinate the various change processes within a common framework. To ensure a more systematic and co-ordinated implementation of change processes, a team of four senior managers was nominated to dedicate six months full-time to co-ordinating and driving the process of transforming and restructuring the department. This team became known as the Change Management Team (CMT). Three broad processes emerged from a grouping of the initiatives leading-up to the workshops with the Minister:

1. Transformation,
2. Re-engineering, and
3. Decentralisation.

The Change Management Team was mandated to use the six-month period to give direction and decision-making support to the department’s Executive Committee on these three broad processes. The key elements of change identified by the CMT in the three priority areas may be summarised as follows:

1. Transformation

• The implementation of an affirmative action and employment equity policy,
• Development of employment equity practices,
• Implementation of administrative transformation,
• Identifying initial transformation projects that would result in irreversible and sustainable transformation taking place,
• Developing a program and project management mechanism to ensure that individual project efforts are co-ordinated, and
• Cultivating an organisational culture that is characterised by people development, respect for diversity, equity, workplace democracy and service excellence.

1. Re-engineering

• Financial management systems,
• Communication and information systems,
• Procurement and provisioning administration,
• Land reform programme and project management,
• The Monitoring and evaluation system, and
• Legal services.

1. Decentralisation

This strategy resulted in the initiation of 22 projects which were co-ordinated and managed by a sub-committee of EXCO, constituted by nominated managers and leaders of change in the DLA, known as the Change Management Committee (CMC). These included:

• Land Reform Re-engineering which focused on giving clarity on what is the core business and products of the department, and redesigning business processes to achieve dramatic performance improvement;
• Support Service Decentralisation, focusing on achieving effectiveness and efficiency in corporate and financial management by delegating authority, functions, processes and resources to Provincial components of the department;
• Cultural transformation that is characterised by people development, respect for diversity, workplace democracy and service excellence;
• Personnel Performance Management System (PPMS) aimed at developing a performance management system that would assist in achieving irreversible, integrated and fundamental change, linked to the organisations strategic goals and core business processes;
• Employment Equity to support the implementation of Employment Equity and Affirmative Action in the department, in order to achieve representivity;
• Catalytic Projects. These were a series of projects in different offices to jumpstart transformation with high impact and fast delivery of change interventions.

Other projects were Land Reform Training, Access to Information Technology, Information Technology Strategy, Financial Management, Policy Formulation, Provisioning and Procurement, Legal Services Re-engineering, Critical Project Database, Transformation Communication, District Level Delivery and Transformation Measurement.

Arguably the most important of these projects was the Employment Equity and Organisational Culture Change Project, and I would like to spend some time on it. This project involved two phases:

• Phase 1 was the alignment and training of all 70 senior managers around a vision for institutional transformation and training in the skills necessary to lead the change. Phase 1 took place over six months and required enormous time commitment from senior managers.
• Phase 2 was the training of all 750 middle managers in the DLA, both from national office and all nine regional offices. Training was held each month in five central venues and managers were trained on the content and implementation of the Employment Equity Act, change management skills and on the transformation of organisational culture. This phase also lasted six months.

Both phases of the project included comprehensive communication strategies, which were managed and implemented by a communications expert seconded to the TPO from the Directorate: Communication Services. A newsletter was established which let the organisation know what was happening. Furthermore, the intranet was fully utilised to inform staff of the progress and successes of the TPO. This was another crucial factor in the success of the work of the TPO, as poor or inconsistent communication is a common shortfall of change programmes.

The Equity and Culture Change project was managed by a project team, that included key managers from the DLA and the consulting team drawn in the assist them. In particular, there was a close relationship between the project manager from the consulting team and from the Department and this facilitated the delivery of a tailor-made training programme that was responsive to the needs of the DLA.

The logistics for the project were enormous. Another critical factor for success was the close and effective collaboration between the consulting team’s logistics manager and the TPO administrative staff. The TPO staff worked long and irregular hours to ensure that deadlines were kept and the training events were seamlessly run. This kind of professionalism added credibility to the project and its objectives.

The involvement of the Director General, particularly in the first phase of the project was an important symbol for the organisation. He made himself available for all training events and participated like any other manager. Managers and staff in any organisation pay particular attention to the behaviour of top managers in order to judge the value of a new initiative. If top managers are not supportive of an initiative, and consistently so, staff will not behave in a way that supports change.

The outcomes of phase 1 of the project were the equipping of senior managers to lead change and the development of a sound understanding of the dynamics of organisational culture. The alignment of senior managers was unfortunately only partially achieved, as some managers did not actively support the aims of transformation. An attempt was made to rectify this through the inclusion of transformation KPIs in all performance contracts. However, these were not always as specific and measurable as would have been desired. Many of them were too generic, as they were written by the managers themselves. The Director General also threw his support behind the need to align all senior managers around transformation issues and engaged with specific managers where necessary. This was an important lever for change.

The outcomes for phase 2 were the development of a sound knowledge and skills base for middle managers in Employment Equity, on the contents and implications of the Act and the development and monitoring of an Employment Equity Plan. They were also equipped with change management skills and an understanding of what creates an organisational culture.

Whilst the strength of phase 2 was a sound EEA base, this created a problem for senior managers, who had not received this training in phase 1. Senior managers were requested to attend phase 2 training workshops with their management teams. However, less than half did so. As a result, many of the senior managers knew far less about employment equity than the managers who reported to them. This dynamic could be traced back to a lack of alignment by some senior managers who were less than supportive of transformation. The importance of leadership alignment cannot be underestimated and needs to involve both a workshop process that explains the aims of the change process and seeks support based on a business case for change and a systems intervention that requires managers to change the way they behave to be in line with the objectives of change.

This phase of the Transformation Programme raised expectations, which if not met, would jeopardise the change effort. It was therefore critical that the Programme maintained effective communication and demonstrated that transformation is taking place. Communication was seen as a transformation programme function, and regarded very similar to marketing. External strategic advice was sought, and the Programme secured the services of a dedicated communications manager on secondment from the Directorate: Communication in the DLA. This enabled the Programme to meet the promise of regular communication through mediums such as newsletters, site visits, promotional material and an interactive web-page on the DLA’s Intranet. Effective communication also ensured that the entire process was transparent and honest and that no false assurances were given or false expectations raised.

2000 – The moving train stops to refuel after reaching its first milestone

By February 2000, all 22 projects had concluded and close-out reports were tabled to the DG and EXCO with recommendations and proposals on how to implement and sustain change in the department’s operating environment. However, turnover of staff at top management level broke the momentum of the change continuum. The new Director-General took office in May 2000 and was charged with urgently filling vacancies in the top structure of the department. An EXCO meeting also resolved that the new Director-General takes the lead in consolidating the Re-engineering and Decentralisation processes. He was mandated to appoint a Task Team that would assist him in planning and designing the functions, activities and processes that would best support decentralisation.

Effective decentralisation has long been regarded in the DLA as a necessary prerequisite to resolving issues of priority, scale and implementation approaches in delivering land reform.

To address these imperatives, senior managers of the DLA attended a National Strategic Planning Workshop in September 2000, to conceptualise and configure a framework for decentralisation. The workshop emerged with two complimentary and synergistic components of decentralisation, District Level Delivery and Shared Services.

District Level Delivery entails the establishment of District Offices to ensure that the DLA operates at points physically and geographically closest to program beneficiaries.

Shared Services entails the setting-up of a transaction centre, known as a Shared Service Centre (SSC), where corporate, administrative and financial services of the DLA are clustered together into one business unit to serve the line function needs of DLA components within a specific region. An SSC would render services such as procurement, accounting and budgeting, administrative work related to human resources, information services or IT, etcetera.

In February 2001 the Decentralisation Task Team adopted the name MUTINGATI for the Decentralisation Project. Mutingati is a Venda word associated with ‘sharing’ and ‘pulling together’. The project has henceforth become known as Project Mutingati, and has a pay-off line (or slogan) "making effective delivery a shared responsibility". A logo or identifiable symbol for Project Mutingati was also developed and is used in the Newsletter and other promotion material associated with this project.

Chairperson, the Framework Document approved by the Minister, explains the rationale of the DLA going the SSC route as follows:

• It will establish a shared vision for administrative support work,
• It will allow for a standardisation of common procedures,
• It will encourage benchmarking and a maintenance of standards,
• It will promote efficiency techniques - including accuracy and consistency,
• Promote professionalism and the developing of best practice,
• It encourages networking, empowerment and ongoing training,
• There will be data system cohension, improved access to help and systematic re-engineeering,
• Specialised expertise will develop,
• There will be cost savings through the realisation of economies of scale and integration of DLA components, and most importantly
• It will transform support services from score-keeper to business partner.

The rationale for the District Level Delivery approach is best captured in President Mbeki’s Unity in Action for Change Speech delivered in February of this year. In it he talked a lot about government working together as a collective to enhance (amongst others) the development capacity of local government to fight poverty and underdevelopment. He called on all spheres of government to act together through co-ordinated programmes. There is optimism and confidence in the department that the District Level Delivery model will ensure the delivery of land reform and other DLA services through the framework of Integrated Development Planning and will contribute to local economic development, in line with the vision of our President.

The roll-out of SSC’s and the District Level Delivery process is being tested through a Pilot Project in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. A phased approach through a 14 month period from January 2001 to April 2002 is being used to assess how best to implement SSC’s with minimum disruption to workflow. Chairperson, the approach to Piloting has the following advantages:

• Lowers the risks associated with implementing decentralisation,
• Improves costs, time and quality,
• Standardisation of approach, and
• Will reduce scepticism and fear in the organisation.

Project Mutingati is currently concluding the Detailed Design phase and entering the Implementation phase. The envisaged phases are:

Firstly - Configuration phase, secondly – Detailed Design phase, thirdly – Implementation phase, Fourthly – Roll-out phase, Fifthly – Post Implementation, and sixth – Enhancement phase.

From the beginning of the Detailed Design phase, a number of small teams, known as Workstreams, have been set-up to strategise, consult and configure the Pilot in KZN. The seven Workstreams are:

• Business Processes,
• Budget and Finance,
• Human Resources,
• IT and Information Systems,
• Stakeholder Liaison,
• Location and Infrastructure, and
• Communication

Workstreams have begun by collecting data, generating process maps and understanding work volumes and costs. Through their endeavours, there is currently a blue-print for implementing the Pilot SSC and DLD structures, including cost, organisational design, personnel required, competencies and skill profiles desired and infrastructure and technology requirements.

Today – Realisation that the only constant is change

Finally, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to reflect on the internal environment in the DLA as we continue to journey on the moving train called transformation. I believe that there is a positive change core in the organisation with a deeply felt purpose and dedication to reach communities and beneficiaries with our services and products. There are people, across different levels, carrying lots of responsibility to make this happen. With some it is even a passion. There is a strong belief that we have the power to transform and it emerges in the form of reflection, debate, enquiry and action. I believe that this commitment to a deeply felt purpose will sustain us as we strive to succeed in making real what is best for us all.

Thank you.

The Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology Dr Ben Ngubane recently said South Africans should be made aware of the nature of their rights in regard to language. He was speaking at the Language Policy and Language Rights Awareness-Raising Conference organised by the Pan-South African Language Board (PANSALB) at the CSIR Conference Centre.

The commissions of the conference were tasked to look at the following topics:

• Language policy, practice and implementation
• Channeling language rights complaints to PANSALB
• Translation and interpreting service in South Africa

"…people should know their rights, people should be educated to appreciate their language rights, people should be aware of the practical instruments available to them to make these rights a reality in their everyday lives", Dr Ngubane said.

He added that, "It is imperative that the situation where people do not use their languages in public places be reversed; it is imperative that a situation where people view their languages as inferior be reversed, it is imperative that all the voices and tongues be heard in our country".

Dr Ngubane said the soon to be implemented Language Policy and Plan for South Africa will play a key role in putting the country's Bill of Rights to work. He said the policy embraces as a firm principle "support of democracy through the entrenchment of language equity and language rights".

Mention may as well be made that the primary goal of the policy is "to facilitate individual empowerment and national development by promoting the equitable use of the official languages and thus ensuring that all South Africans have the freedom to exercise their language rights by using official languages of their choice in a range of contexts".

He said the language policy has targeted the Public Service as one of the most important delivery agents to give concrete effect to the policy of multi-lingualism. He said the results of a survey conducted by the National Language Service of his department established that in addition to the National Language Service, a third of national government departments and seven of the nine provinces already have language units in place.

Costing of the National Language Policy and Plan was done. Dr Ngubane had the following to say on the results, "An important point of departure of the costing study was the understanding that there were non-financial and non-material benefits to implementing a multi-lingual policy".

Professor Henry Thipa, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Port Elizabeth extracting from the Language Policy and Plan said its purpose is to serve as "an enabling framework for promoting South Africa's linguistic diversity and encouraging respect for language rights within the policy framework of building and consolidating a united democratic South African nation".

He argued that language rights are human rights. He explained that language rights have to be looked at in two ways and said, "On the one hand, language rights are right to language(s) and on the other hand, a right of language(s)".

In explaining the difference between the two views he said, "The right to language(s) is an individual right and is the right to use a language(s) in which one is most proficient. It also includes the right of access to a language(s) of empowerment and socio-economic advancement".

For the second view he said, "The right of language(s) to develop … is a collective right. It is the right of each and every language in a multilingual society to exist. It also involves the equality of opportunity for a language(s) to develop relevant terms and to progress or advance".

"There is a link between the right of language(s) and the right to language(s) in that any violation of the collective right of a particular to exist necessarily encroaches on the individual's right of access to that language. Furthermore, there is a link between language rights as indicated above, and some other kinds of rights for example, political and economic. The other rights can be dependent on promoting certain language rights".

He was emphatic that, " … respect for language preferences of individuals flows from a fundamental human right".

Before the speeches, a drama on multi-lingualism was performed by a Johannesburg group. More or less all South African official languages can be heard from the play.

One of the actors constantly referred to Tsotsitaal as the 12^th official language. The writer may have not properly heard, but there was no mention of Fanakalo, which is used, in South African mines and the Khoi and San languages.

There are a number of lessons that can be learnt from the play and they include the following:

• The inability to communicate in a language understood by the receiver of a message is a disadvantage to both the sender and the receiver
• Employers tend to be impatient with workseekers who cannot communicate in the language of the employer
• The use of high class English for people who do not understand it, is as good as no communiaction
• Along the way the play encourages people to improve the quality of life in their neighbourhoods, rather emigrating to the suburbs

It was really happening on Saturday, 15 September 2001. You'd wish you were there. Soccer started with game Bloemfontein Deeds vs Pietersburg PLRO. Bloemfontein emerged victors with 4 - 0. The second game was National Office A vs Johannesburg Deeds. National Office A walloped Jo'burg Deeds 2 - 0. The third game was Pretoria SG & Deeds vs National Office B. Pretoria SG & Deeds won this one 2 - 1.

Then it was into the semi-finals. The best losers were National Office 2, therefore they had to go to the semi-finals in order to have 4 teams. National Office B played in the first semi-final, against Bloemfontein. Bloemfontein were again victors with a 3 -2 margin. The second semi-final was Pta SG & Deeds against National Office A. National Office were knocked out 5 - 4 via a penalty shootout.

The finals of the soccer were between Bloemfontein and Pta SG & Deeds. Bloemfontein were the true fighters and overall winners. They became champions by thrashing SG & Deeds 4 - 0.

Throughout the years as the Business Challenge Relay Race participants, the DLA Runners Club seems to be content in being the shadows of the teams that bring honours for their clubs in the form of gold medals. In all these years it has never received any gold medals, but silver and bronze.

In this year's race the club was at position 25, which is respectable if the total number of runners, who were more than 100, can be considered. Under the government departments category, it was number 3 after the Airforce and the Correctional Services.

In the past years the Club has constantly been second to the Airforce. Hopefully, its third position this year does not mean that this is the beginning of the end for the club.

There are a number of factors that may be described as indicators that the club could not have got a gold medal. The following come to mind:

• Before the race, there was no certainty about the number of teams the Club would register in the race
• Some runners of the club did not participate in the race
• Others preferred to leave their posts and cruised along with the writer in his errands as a scribe. Unknown to the writer some were still going to run
• One runner decided not to run at the spur of a moment and let another runner who had already run to take on his leg
• Other teams had a handful number of supporters who cheered them to runner harder. The Club did not have a single supporter

The race began at Rietondale park at 06: 00 and zigzagged towards the Union Buildings, Pretoria Oos Laerskool in Lynwood, the South African Military Intelligence College, the South African Bureau of Standards Club and back to finish at Rietondale via the same

Union Buildings. These places also served as changeover places.

Mention may be made that the Business Challenge Relay Race provides a relaxing and social environment in which organisations can compete outside the strenuous business environment through multiple team entries in the same or regional events. The 2001 series had seven team relay road races, which were open to full-time employees of corporations, government departments, private companies, and other places where people work.

The race provides for both runners and walkers and a company can enter unlimited number of teams. It is organised to foster company involvement and teamwork in the spirit of competition.

When the trumpets sounded

Women gave a loud shout

Alulating and blithely singing,

Youth with their charismatic faces

Beaming with childish victory.

On the rough faces of unwanted

Onlt invisible tears washing their cheeks,

Disabled people left asleep in a leaking house.

Other disabled standing there like a telephone pole.

Yes hopelessness reigns in the land

We have to weep

We have to cry with no-one to rub off the tears of the unwanted.

Yes we have to weep,

For when hope is lost

There is no vision

And people perish.

The spirit of pessimism hovers

Over the country

We talk of renaissance

And all we see is "ruinaissance".

The rainbow disability nation's

Colour seems to be fading.

The world is again seeing

The disabled dull - black and disabled

White misery.

The disabled are still getting surreptitious discrimination

From earthly men and women.

Everyday somewhere in our country disabled women are raped and abused,

No talking no noise

I say rape a woman

Mmm you will hear a lot of noise.

Living in a country where basic human rights of others are

Still abused.

In the midst of my disappointments,

Losing the world cup bid

The not-so-convincing performance by the self appointed men and women

Who came up with medical model system,

That we hate with no-one to rebuke us.

We need to look back to what kept us going as a disability nation.

Hope, hope and hope is spiritual.

We cannot divorce it from faith

No-one can hold it, or see it

Yet that hope makes us touch and see tomorrow.

Before the year the year freedom 27 April 1994

We were hoping

We saw our troubled days with the future.

Our struggle against apartheid coexisted with the anticipation of a better South Africa.

The spirit of hope affirmed our future

We believed in the future of our leaders,

Though they were imprisoned on my behlaf to do away with disability discrimination.

We sang "Nkosi sikelela" and hummed "Thula sizwe"

With the hope that God would see us through.

Yes helpless and blind with no one I see!

Blind makes life more beautiful

More precious

More wonderful

Underestimate them no more

Just in works of art

Not just in books and symphonies

But also in the careless world

In the smiles of those around us

For the longer you are a blind friend of mine

The oftener I find that all the

Lovely things I see

And you can’t see

Brings thoughts of you to my

My mind about your blindmyelitis

Yes I am a blind man

I was ferociously attacked by blindnessmyelitis

During my childhood days

Yes helpless and blind

With no one I see

Where will I go I can’t see!

Feeling helpless

Feeling eerie

Feeling the movement of my surreptitious

Blindness

Doctors says Son don’t feel eerie

Don’t feel helpless

You got blindmyelitis

You can’t see for the rest of

Your life

I felt cold tears running down my

Swollen face

Rain of disappointment penetrating inside my heart

Rain with merciless rain

Feeling eerie

Feeling aghasted

Feeling lonely

Feeling like unwanted man

Feeling like unwelcome

Face of tears explain

The woeful story

The pains caused by ignorance of

My parents

Who forced nature to steal my sight?

Let me tell you who I am

I am a man who cannot walk alone

Even if I do not fear

I am a man who cannot play hide and seek

Game.

I cannot see

I am a blindman

I am a man who has been betrayed by

Nature.

I am a man who cannot see

I am a blind man

I am a blind man with many names

Some of you call me basketmaker

Some of you call me telephone operator

Some you are impatient with me.

You do not know me more.

Let me tell you who I am.

I am a blindman who has been brutally

Pitilessly blinded by ferocious

German measles

Yes I am a blindman

No shame about my Blindmyelitis

Hide me no more

Try to put me to shame

Try to put me to underestimate my

Own dignity

No I won’t!

Because I am blind

No I have no desire

To live my life in the hidden share

The world has not forgotten that you

Had paturated a blind child

You didn’t bother yourself

In trying to parish German Measles

Yes German Measles how brutal you are

You have blinded me

I can’t see because of you

Yes sexually transmitted diseases

You have brutally blinded me

Yes you have stolen my perpetual sight

Yes you have destroyed my sight

We need to stand up

Stop this monster called

Ignorance of parents

German Measles

Sexually Transmitted Disease

And tears in my eyes

I can’t see

I am blind

Blind I am

More success I become

Untrue is the saying

In the Parliament I lead

In the DPSA I give direction

Through my mind

The battle is won

Economically, socially, and politically

In several fields or study

I appear Great

Being a professor, a scientist,

Leading practitioner

And inspiring the world

You follow me, you the light

Surreptitiously butchered at midnight

No sebata-kgomo, no thusang

No noise because she is unsung forgotten heroine

Petrol bombed at midnight

Her children orphaned at an early age

Where were the lovers on the street

Are you still talking of Romeo and Juliet?

When helpless children felt the movement of the death

Of my fallen heroine

God, God, bring no mercy to the pitiless murderers

Who took the life of our unsung disability heroine

Lord, bring up her soul from the grave

Keep it alive somewhere

The disabled, defenceless community excessively lament ausi Asnath’s Death.

Lord, punish the perpetrators with everlasting destruction

Mapule the manager of Mungana Lonene

Weep no more

Heroine is no more

Completely fallen

There is a disability strike from the graves

Strike caused by the death of Asnath

The graves refused to be turned

Because they are disability ancestors who are powerless

Unprotected disability community.

D.P.S.A rest no more

Sleep no more

Your disability brothers and sisters parish

In your presence

D.P.S.A what do you say

Do you lean on your hand and say o lokile o lokile na?

You have forfeited a precious disability gold

The pride and the joy of disability community

Rest no more, for Asnath sleeps perpetually

She is no more

It’s amen met haar

No eternal life and happiness for murderers

No tears for the death of our pride and joy

No izinyembezi, No mehloti

That is why a heroine should be buried

Yes, no mehloti, no tears

Yes, no izinyembezi

How long are going to be butchered like this?

How long are going to be discriminated like this?

We are being discriminated, abused and petrol bomped even

There are laws that protect us.

Lord, why hast thou forsaken disabled community?

Community could you please assist men of law and order to arrest

Those cold-blooded murderers.

Make sure that there is no place for a criminal to hide.

that’s how life should be.

mama you are very strong

Don’t cry when they mock me

i will be strong mama,

don’t cry mama

when they laugh at my disability,

out of that disability lies the nation’s judge of tomorrow

mama, you know,

i will be the disabled judge Thabo Mbeki’s

country has ever produced.

I will be the best judge mama

sula izinyembezi mama.

I will be limping in the high court with messengers of court carrying my gown.

You have made me a strong disabled

you taught me not to be ashamed of my disability

even if i am the talk of the village.

you have made me to acclimatized

to be proud of my disability.

Sula izinyembezi mama, isofikailanga

mama i saw you struggling to get me clothes to wear

when i was a little wee,

but isofikailanga

a person who laughs last, laughs the best mama.

Left alone in the cold?

crying oceans of tears

hurt in my soul because i am disabled

and the wolves howling on the hunting ground

We will never know why

disabled not recognised as human beings

but as objects of pity and nothing else

mama isofikailanga i will be last disabled to best.

We were chosen by nature to be disabled

we didn’t choose to be abakhuzekile

we didn’t choose to be impumputhe

sula izinyembezi mama isofikailanga

We are what we are because of the incomplete family

ignorance of human beings and poverty

my disability turned my father’s love to you into hate

all because of my disability.

I am strong enough mama

i will grin when i pass mockers by

i will hear them cursing my name

i won’t lower my eyes

i know no shame about my abakhuzekile

Trying to put to shame

because i am disabled

i have no desire to live my life in the hidden shade

i am a human being who is highly talented not to walk like you.

accept me i am a human being.

i know that these disabled arms and legs of mine could never sooth

but isofikailanga

but my disability is the thinking star of knowledge

mama you are a strong parent i’m proud of.

sula izinyembezi isofikailanga.

It is very important that we first explain what the contingency plan is and what it entails in order to achieve its objectives.

The aims of the plan can be achieved only through well-organised actions where all the available means and personnel would be used in a co-ordinated and effective way. In other words we, as employees of the department of Land Affairs, have the responsibility to voluntarily participate in this plan.

• We request volunteers who would serve in the contingency planning during emergencies such as:

New volunteers would receive training and would be obliged to serve in the plan for at least one year except in circumstances that are beyond our control e.g resignations, transfer or illness.

Volunteers may send their names, extension and office numbers and the responsibility they prefer e.g. First Aid, etc, to Mr Masemola by E-mail or physically to Room 300D Old Building x8344.

A formal written plan has been drafted and only needs final upda-ting and submission for approval by the head of the department.

Supervisors and Heads of offices are requested to release their colleagues to attend either training sessions or meetings that would be minimised to less than one hour. The security staff cannot achieve this planning alone, it is every employee’s responsibility to safe a life, protect properties or prevent injuries.

Please pass this message to those who do not have access to Electronic Mail. C J Masemola X 8344

Fear of bio-terrorism attacks have been sweeping the world in recent days. At least 13 people have been exposed to the deadly bacterium in the United States and one has died. Envelopes containing the animal disease Anthrax have been sent to media organisations as well as politicians. Confirmed incidents have so far been r