Public Services & Government

The Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency (BGCMA) changed its name to the Breede-Olifants Catchment Management Agency (BOCMA). This change was formalised through an extension of the agency's boundary and area of operation, as detailed in the National Water Act. The mission of the Breede-Olifants Catchment Management Agency is to manage water resources responsibly, through continuous engagement with all stakeholders, and to devolve decision-making to the lowest level for the benefit of all water users in the Breede-Olifants Catchment, including the environment. The Agency's strategic priorities are to: ensure quality water for all people and the environment; address water allocation reform; ensure good administration of registration and licensing; inspire change in attitudes towards the environment; and promote economic growth in a sustainable way. These priorities are carried out in order to: address the developmental needs of the people and contribute to the eradication of poverty; ensure fair, equitable and well-controlled water allocation, while maintaining the integrity of the natural resource; manage the ecosystem in a sustainable manner; and allow all stakeholders a voice in how it manages our water resources.

The vision of Broadband Infraco SOC Ltd is to provide communication services to enable a connected and transformed society. The Company's critical success factors are to: have access to funding; be customer-centric; have a resilient network; have participation in WACS; have high-speed broadband connectivity for all provinces, districts and municipalities in South Africa; continue the delivery of the SA Connect Project; add redundant links to all six neighbouring countries of South Africa; and have good relationships with Transnet, Eskom and the provinces. The mission of Broadband Infraco is to strive to: expand the availability and affordability of access to communication services, including, but not limited to, underdeveloped and underserviced areas; and enable the acceleration of the State's digital transformation through broadband connectivity.

The Castle Control Board, a Schedule 3A Public Entity, is responsible for the overall management, maintenance and promotion of the Castle of Good Hope as a heritage site and tourist attraction. In terms of this legislative mandate the organisation is expected to provide a range of public services and goods on behalf of the Department of Defence and Military Veterans to local community members, tourists, learners, students, conservation agencies, exhibitors, performers, cultural organisations, traditional authorities, filming companies, event organisers, military institutions and the like. The Board's mission is to be a service-orientated public entity, striving to create an environment where national pride serves to build an internationally known and recognised cultural and heritage brand for Ubuntu, dialogue, nation-building and human rights recognition; guarantee the development of a smooth functioning, self-sustaining, 'must-see' iconic visitor and learner destination; optimise its tourism potential and accessibility to the public; and preserve and protect its cultural and military heritage by elevating it to UNESCO World Heritage status. The Board's vision is to be a globally significant, truly accessible centre that showcases South Africa's shared heritage. In its management of the Castle of Good Hope, the Castle Control Board has committed to infuse its programmatic and other corporate activities with the following core values: service quality and excellence; operate with honesty and dignity; respect for the diversity in military, cultural and social history; genuine partnerships and collaborative relationships; community engagement and inclusivity; and fiscal responsibility, accountability, transparency and sustainability.

The Central Energy Fund (CEF) is a Schedule 2 state-owned diversified energy company reporting to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR). The mandate of the CEF is derived from the CEF Act 38 of 1977 and the ministerial directives issued thereafter. Its mandate is to contribute to the security of the energy supply of South Africa and the region through exploration, acquisition, development, marketing and strategic partnership. Established in the 1950s, the CEF has played a central role in ensuring South Africa's energy security supply and making a significant contribution to the South African economy by contributing to the security of energy supply by providing affordable, reliable, diverse use of primary energy resources, and contributing to economic development; being a strategic partner to the DMPR by providing insights in support of policy development and regulation; aligning with government's broad objectives (NDP); and acting as a vehicle for economic growth, poverty alleviation and economic transformation. The mission of the CEF is to provide and enable sustainable energy security solutions for South Africa in order to contribute to economic development and alleviate poverty in an environmentally responsible manner. The vision of the CEF is to secure reliable and affordable diversified energy security solutions for the South African economy by 2030. Overall, the CEF is responsible for the following five subsidiaries, which operate across the entire energy sector value chain, making up the CEF Group of Companies: AEMFC, which mines coal in Mpumalanga for supply to Eskom, iGAS which is a shareholder in the Mozambique-to-South Africa gas pipeline and is involved in the development of other gas delivery projects; PASA, which is the national petroleum and gas promotion and licensing agency; PetroSA, which is the largest subsidiary in the Group, operates a gas-to-liquids refinery that uses indigenous gas as feedstock, and is also a partner in a producing oil field in Ghana; and SFF, which manages strategic crude oil infrastructure, strategic crude oil stocks, and provides oil pollution control services in Saldanha Bay. Renewable energy activities of the holding company are managed through the Energy Projects Division. These include the identification of new joint venture investments in renewable and clean energy projects, and the management of existing joint ventures with other parties. CEF also manages the Equalisation Fund on behalf of government.

The Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) is mandated to develop innovative, sustainable and responsive models for improved service delivery. The work of the CPSI is guided by an understanding of innovation in a public sector context as 'the creation and implementation of new and service delivery solutions (systems, processes, methods, models, products and services) resulting in significant improvements in outcomes, efficiency, effectiveness and quality'. The CPSI facilitates unearthing, development and implementation of innovative ideas within and throughout the public service. It achieves this by facilitating pilot projects aimed at demonstrating the value of innovative solutions, and through activities that create an enabling environment within the public sector to support and sustain innovation. The CPSI's cross-sector reach makes it a resource for the whole of government, thus bridging institutional boundaries. Through active research and knowledge sharing platforms and products, the CPSI identifies and shares lessons and information on innovation trends nationally, across Africa and internationally. The CPSI partners with a range of individuals and institutions in government, business and the community in exciting and mutually beneficial ways. This partnership model allows us to leverage financial and/or intellectual capital in support of government priorities.

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) is a statutory body established in terms of Section 112 of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 [as amended] (LRA) and draws its legislative mandate principally from Section 23 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) and the LRA. The CCMA, as a national public entity in terms of Schedule 3A of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), is an independent body that neither belongs nor is affiliated with any political party, trade union or business. The CCMA derives its mandate from the purpose of the LRA, which is to advance economic development, social justice, labour peace and the democratisation of the workplace.

The Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) was established in terms of the Community Schemes Service Act 9 of 2011 to regulate the conduct of parties within community schemes and to ensure their good governance. Community Schemes are defined in the CSOS Act as "living arrangements where there is shared use of and responsibility for land/buildings such as sectional title, homeowners' associations, retirement housing schemes, share block companies and housing cooperatives”. The mandate of the CSOS is to: regulate, monitor and quality assure scheme governance documentation; develop and provide a dispute resolution service; provide training for conciliators, adjudicators and other employees of the CSOS; and take custody of, preserve and provide public access electronically or by other means to scheme governance documentation.

Since its inception in May 2011, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has been undergoing a sustained and rapid transformation in order to improve its service delivery and to contribute meaningfully to South Africa's developmental and economic needs. CIPC has come a long way from being an administrative organisation with little or no regulatory focus; an almost exclusively manual, paper-based process, resulting in capturing errors and lost documents; and plagued by outdated and unrealiable ICT infrastructure and ICT governance. Great strides have been made with the mordernisation of the organisation through the upgrading of its ICT infrastructure and the introduction of new and improved online services for company registration, name reservations, annual returns, director and member changes, financial year-end changes, address changes, and trademark, patent, design and copyright in film applications. CIPC plans to digitise all its business processes to ensure ease, speed of transacting and availability anywhere in the world, 24/7. Self-service terminals (SSTs) were introduced in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town, offering an opportunity for service delivery as they provide automated services that are linked to biometric verification of transacting parties. In 2014, an office providing a dedicated service to listed companies was established. CIPC has continued collaboration efforts with major banks such as FNB, ABSA and STD bank, key partners such as SARS, TRANSNET and DHA, to provide more integrated services and an increase in the choice of channels for improving the ease of doing business. CIPC is also honoured to host a One-Stop-Investment Centre for foreign nationals as a collaboration partner of InvestSA.

The mission of the Companies Tribunal is to adjudicate applications made in terms of Section 195 of the Companies Act (2008) and make orders in respect of such applications, and to facilitate the resolution of companies disputes through conciliation, mediation and arbitration. The Tribunal's mandate is to: adjudicate in relation to any application that may be made to it in terms of the Act and make any order provided for in the Act in respect of any such application; assist in the resolution of disputes; and perform any other function assigned to it by or in terms of the Act.

The mission of the Compensation Fund is to provide efficient, quality, client-centric and accessible Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases (COID) services; sustain financial viability; and be an organisation that takes care of the needs of its staff to ensure effective service delivery. The Fund's strategic objectives are to provide effective and efficient client-orientated support services; and faster, reliable and accessible COID services by 2020.

The Competition Commission is empowered by the Competition Act to investigate, control and evaluate restrictive business practices, abuse of dominant positions and mergers in order to achieve equity and efficiency in the South African economy. Its purpose is to promote and maintain competition in South Africa in order to: promote the efficiency, adaptability and development of the economy; provide consumers with competitive prices and product choices; promote employment and advance the social and economic welfare of South Africans; expand opportunities for South African participation in world markets and recognise the role of foreign competition in the country; ensure that small- and medium-sized enterprises have an equitable opportunity to participate in the economy; and promote a greater spread of ownership, in particular to increase the ownership stakes of historically disadvantaged persons. To achieve its purpose, the Commission's core functions are the following: implement measures to increase market transparency; implement measures to develop public awareness of the provisions of the Act; investigate and evaluate alleged anti-competitive conduct; conduct formal inquiry in respect of the general state of competition in a market; grant or refuse applications for exemption from the application of the Act; authorise, with or without conditions, prohibit or refer mergers of which it receives notice; negotiate and conclude consent orders; refer matters to the Competition Tribunal of South Africa (the Tribunal) and appear before the Tribunal when required; negotiate agreements with any regulatory authority to coordinate and harmonise the exercise of jurisdiction over competition matters within the relevant industry or sector, and ensure the consistent application of the principles of the Act; participate in the proceedings of any regulatory authority; advise and receive advice from any regulatory authority; review legislation and public regulations, and report to the Minister concerning any provision that permits uncompetitive behaviour; and deal with any other matter referred to it by the Tribunal.

The Competition Tribunal adjudicates competition matters, in accordance with the Act, and has jurisdiction throughout South Africa. It is independent and subject to the Constitution and the law. It must be impartial and perform its functions without fear, favour or prejudice. When a matter is referred to it in terms of the Act, the tribunal must: adjudicate complaints of prohibited conduct (restrictive practice and abuse of dominance); impose a remedy; award costs; grant an order for interim relief; authorise or prohibit a large merger; and adjudicate appeals from the Commission's decisions on intermediate mergers and exemptions.

The mission of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) is to drive enhanced delivery management, capacity improvement and contractor development in the construction industry through strategic interventions and partnerships. The Board's mandate is to: establish a national register of contractors and construction projects to systematically regulate, monitor and promote the performance of the industry for sustainable growth, delivery and empowerment; promote improved delivery management capacity and the uniform application of procurement policy throughout all spheres of government; promote improved performance and best practice of public and private sector clients, contractors and other participants in the construction delivery process; promote sustainable participation of the emerging sector; provide strategic direction and develop effective partnerships for growth, reform and improvement of the construction sector.

The objectives underlying the establishment of the Council for Geoscience (CGS) are to develop and publish world-class geoscience knowledge products and to render geoscience-related services to the South African public and industry. The mandate of the CGS includes: the systematic reconnaissance and documentation of the geology of the earth's surface and continental crust, including all offshore areas within the territorial boundaries of South Africa; the compilation of all geoscience data and information, particularly the geological, geophysical, geochemical and engineering-geological data in the form of maps and documents, which are placed in the public domain; basic geoscience research into the nature and origin of rocks, ores, minerals, formations, the history and evolution of life, and the formation of the Earth, with a view to understanding the geological processes of both the past and present, and to compile and publish such research findings nationally and internationally to contribute to the understanding of the Earth, its evolution and its resources; and the collection and curation of all geoscience data and knowledge about South Africa in the National Geoscience Repository. This repository houses a large and growing collection of geoscience information on all the countries of the African continent. This information also includes data that was received from mining companies, universities and research institutions worldwide. Public access to all geoscience information is subject to: existing legislation, arranged through the mandate of the CGS; rendering of geoscience knowledge services and advice to the state to enable informed and scientifically-based decisions about the use of the Earth's surface and the Earth's resources, within the territory of South Africa; and management of a number of national geoscience facilities on behalf of the country. These include the National Seismograph Network, National Borehole-Core Repository, National Geoscience Heritage Collections (Geoscience Museum), and National Geoscience Library. As part of its seismological monitoring function, the CGS contributes to the verification of global compliance to the ban on underground, underwater and upper atmospheric nuclear explosions in terms of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), by making data available from stations located on South African territory; and rendering commercial geoscience services and products to national and international clients. The Council for Geoscience is one of the national science council in the country. It is the custodian of all geoscientific information in South Africa.

The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) regulates the medical schemes industry governed by the Medical Schemes Act 131 of 1998. A state entity reporting to the Minister of Health, CMS' mandate is to protect the interests of the beneficiaries at all times as well as control and coordinate the functioning of medical schemes in a manner that is complementary with national health policy. The CMS makes recommendations to the Minister on criteria for the measurement of quality and outcomes of the relevant health services provided for by the medical schemes, and such other services as the Council may from time to time determine. The Council investigates complaints and settles disputes in relation to the affairs of medical schemes as provided for in this Act, as well as collects and disseminates information about private healthcare. The CMS makes rules, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, for the purpose of the performance of its functions and exercise of its powers. The Council advises the Minister on any matter concerning medical schemes and performs any other functions conferred on the Council by the Minister or by this Act.