Opening the way through information -

Vulindlela and HR information

Portfolio Committee on Public Administration (National Parliament)

15 March 2001

Issues to address

• History and description of Vulindlela

• Vulindlela and HR information

• Supporting projects– National Minimum Information Requirements– Prescribed formats for annual reports

• Evaluation of the HR information available

Vulindlela - a short history

• Initiative of the National Treasury

• April 1997 - need for management statistics on personnel costs

• Production of monthly expenditure trends - evolution of the Early Warning System

• November 1997 - Minister of Finance requests the establishment of a central repository of financial and other information

History (continued)

• February 1998 - need for a public expenditure database to compile and analyse government finance statistics

• Vulindlela designed as the preferred central database that would meet the needs of the Treasury and other stakeholders– combine with the establishment of an

Information Strategy Working Group (ISWG)

Description

• Data warehouse enveloping internal and external operational data systems

• Primary purpose is to provide management, policy and planning information

• Data extracted into the warehouse and transformed into meaningful information for decision-making

Description (continued)

• Extremely complex process– require high degree of specialist technical

and business expertise – Need to address differences in operational

systems, lack of standardisation and technology issues

Vulindlela Data Warehouse(currently on SAS software)

PERSAL FMS BASOther

systems

Integration of data-sets (extraction and scrubbing)

Vulindlela supports:-

• Total re-classification of government expenditure to GFS standards

• In-year monitoring of expenditure against budgets

• Historical trend analysis (up to 5 years in some instances)

• Improved HR and personnel expenditure information

1

2

SAS-MIS Proofof Concept &Development

SAS Systemrenamed toVulindlela

4

IntegratedDPSA/Vulindlela

Database

11 1

Implementation ofPrototype in 7

Provincial Treasuries

7

Established ClientManagement

Established GFSClassification

System

17 1

Initiated DataQuality function

7 1

Number of Personnel

Number of Government Personnel

Journey Map

Vulindlela

‘97 ‘98 ’99 ‘00

16 1

21 1

32 2

30 2 25

1

36 2

33 2

Started Roll-Out inProvincial Departments

Report on 8General

Ledgers atPosting Level

Web Site Presencefor DSE, IPFA, FPF

In-YearMonitoring

EnterpriseUNIX Server

VULINDLELAWeb Presence

Vulindlela placedon Budget

Trained & Implemented 55Clients in Finance & DSE Roll out to

OtherNational

Departments

PERSALScope

ExtensionApproved(Dec 97)

TenderAwarded(Jun 98)

46

Key Statistics Benefits Realised Future Vision

• integrated 8 general ledger systems

• subject areas delivered :• personnel statistics• core• logistical information• micro loans• expenditure• duplicate id’s• unions• PMG balances

• GFS Classif ication capture system

• 525 clients trained since May 1999

• 378 information requests registeredsince April 1999

• GFS support to ClassificationCommittee (SARB, STATS SA & DoF)

• provided Gauteng Province with GFSkey file to produce 2000/01 Budget inGFS format

• provided GFS inputs for NES 2000/01

• ghost ID analyses

• PSCBC stat ist ics

• in-year monitoring system for Nat ionalDepartments

• SNA expenditure information forNational Health Account

• enhanced data availability, accessibilityand integration

• promoted establishment of ISWG

• direct ion for standardisation

• enable measurement of expenditureratios

• enable monitoring of Web applicat ions

• implementation of budget ing tool

• fiscal consolidation of expenditure

• enable effect ive monitoring on :• conditional grants• revenue• cash flow• government spending programs• NRF & PRF’s• donor funds

• create Vulindlela awareness

• performance measurement on KPI’s

• support PFMA reporting

• human resource information to supportDPSA

Vulindlela (contd.)

Vulindlela and HR Information

• Large volume of data (actual and potential) in PERSAL and financial systems

• Problems with operational systems:-– GIGO effect– Information is generated for operational

reasons (e.g. temporary teachers)– People not using fields where there is no

salary implication– Dramatic changes in HR policy from 1994

Other problems

• Limited value added to information– percentages, ratio’s and indices

• Lack of consolidation of information in multiple ways– development of the sector concept a key

innovation

• Limited assessment of the story behind the number– limited benchmarking information

Other problems (2)

• Presentation of information not in a user-friendly format

• No consistency in presentation and methods of cleaning the data

• Finally, limited customisation of information products to different stakeholder or target groups– level of detail– look and feel

Products and target groups

• PERSAL system - HR practitioners

• Vulindlela HR report - Ministers and Heads of Department

• Vulindlela HR Bulletin - central policy departments

• Vulindlela system - power users

• Prescribed formats in annual reports - legislatures, media, and the public

Managerial Review & Oversight

• Public Service Regulations, 1999– Unclear what was required– Difficulties in designing appropriate formats– Onerous requirements– Not aligned to other processes– not aligned to NMIR– legislative provisions did not facilitate easy

modification based on changing needs

Towards prescribed formats

• Public Service Regulations, 2001– Minister will issue prescribed formats at the

start of the reporting period– Vulindlela system enables the generation of

significant amounts of the information in the required format

– Certainty, standardisation and greater transparency

– better alignment with the budget documentation

Status Quo

• 2000/ 02 annual report– in terms of PSR, 1999

• 2001/ 02 annual report– prescribed formats as a stand-alone chapter

to annual report– linked to Estimates of Expenditures– requesting feedback from producers and

users of information

NMIR

• Public Service Regulations, 1999– Part VII, H defines minimum information to be

kept on each employee

• Need identified to:-– Refine, clarify and extend employee

information required– Define minimum information for posts– Align Part Vii (H) with reporting requirements– Introduce a time-table for compliance

NMIR (2)

• Public Service Regulations, 2001– Replaced list with a provision that the Minister

will issue national Minimum Information Requirements

– Include employees and posts

• Circular 4 of 2001– specific and includes data standards– corrective step for the future– time-table for compliance (30 June 2001)

Empowerment through information

See draft prescribed formats for details of the information to be covered in the

oversight report

Reference documents

• DPSA circular - restoring the integrity of the appointments process

• Circular 4 of 2001 - National Minimum Information Requirements

• Prescribed formats for annual reports