Public Services & Government

The mission of the Free State Department of Education is to provide an education system that is free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children of the Free State Province. The Department's strategic objectives are: promotion of sound corporate governance through sustainable use of resources to provide overall management to the Department, support and related services to educational institutions, and subsidy to independent schools in line with norms and standards; provision of effective and accessible quality basic education to provide effective teaching and learning to all children/learners from Grade 1 to Grade 12, access to quality education for learners with special needs, and expansion and universalisation of Grade R; and provision of relevant and accessible Further Education and Training (FET) programmes to develop skills for economic growth and development, and quality education for adults and out-of-school youth.

The vision of the Free State Department of Health is to increase life expectancy through health system effectiveness, drive system change, and ensure sustainable quality services. The Department's mission is to create a value-driven institution that inculcates operational efficiency and accountability in delivering desired outcomes effectively. The key determinants of relationships within the Department are accountability, responsiveness, Batho Pele principles, commitments and integrity. Its key enablers are: a team approach based on strong intercluster collaboration; intersectoral collaboration; an outcomes- and/or evidence-based approach; and timely corrective actions.

The mission of the Free State Department of Human Settlements is to develop cohesive, sustainable and integrated human settlements in the Free State. The Department is committed to meeting the following specific objectives: accelerating the delivery of housing as a key strategy for poverty alleviation; utilising provision of housing as a major job creation strategy; ensuring that property can be accessed by all as an asset for wealth creation and empowerment; leveraging growth in the economy; combating crime, promoting social cohesion and improving quality of life for the poor; supporting the functioning of the entire single residential property market to reduce duality within the sector; breaking the barriers between the first economy residential property boom and the second economy slump; and utilising housing as an instrument for the development of sustainable human settlements, in support of spatial restructuring.

The vision of the Free State Department of Treasury is to be an innovative and resilient partner in prudent fiscal management, socio-economic growth and service delivery. The mission of the Department is to promote socio-economic inclusiveness for shared growth through innovative fiscal management, sustainable resource management, and good governance. The actions of every Provincial Treasury employee will be guided by the following values and principles: accountability - they will honour their commitments, take responsibility and act in a transparent manner; assertiveness - they will be honest, firm and decisive in their interaction with stakeholders; collaboration - they will be considerate in working with their stakeholders to realise shared goals; they will be devoted, dedicated and involved; professionalism - they will continuously develop their knowledge, skills and competency, and will deliver high quality work and behave politely; integrity - they will conduct themselves with uncompromising standards and principles as individuals, as teams and as a department.

The mission of the Free State Department of Public Works and Infrastructure is the coordination, provision and promotion of infrastructure, and the sound management of assets. The Department's core functions are the design, construction and maintenance of social and economic infrastructure; management of provincial government owned property; facilitation of rented property; provision of provincial government office accommodation; coordination, implementation and monitoring of the Expanded Public Works Programme; and security for interdepartmental buildings. The Department's key functional areas include the construction, maintenance and upgrading of a sustainable social and economic infrastructure; development and sustaining of small and emerging contractors; empowerment of the targeted groups; demand for integrated accommodation for all provincial government departments; attainment of government's broad socio-economic objectives (property incubator programme); need for norms and standards for spatial allocation/utilisation of office space; need for increased revenue generation; and administration of rental payments.

The mission of the Free State Department of Social Development is to transform our society by building conscious and capable citizens through the provision of integrated social development services. The Department's objectives are: human dignity, which is a fundamental human right that must be protected in terms of the Constitution of South Africa, and facilitates freedoms, justice and peace; respect, which is showing regard for one another and the people we serve, and is a fundamental value for the realisation of development goals; integrity, which is about ensuring that we are consistent with our values, principles, actions, and measures and, thus, generates trustworthiness among ourselves and with our stakeholders; fairness, which expresses our commitment to providing services to all South Africans without prejudice based on race, gender, religion or creed; and equality, which we seek to ensure equal access to services, participation of citizens in the decisions that affect their lives, and the pursuit of equity imperatives where imbalances exist.

The vision of the Free State Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation is championing social transformation. The mission of the Department is the creation of an enabling environment for social cohesion and nation building through civil society structures and corporate governance; as well as promoting inclusive sport, arts, culture and recreation programmes that enhance excellence and talent towards a healthy lifestyle.

The mission of the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is to radically modernise and transform agri-food value chain, ensure sustainable environment and development of urban and rural communities by ensuring sustainable environment management; providing access to and inclusive participation in commercial agri-food value chain and agro-processing; promoting food security; promoting/contributing/stimulating integrated rural and urban development; and promoting the One Health System.

The mission of the Gauteng Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs is to coordinate the effective functioning of local government, promote integrated development planning, and deepen participatory democracy in order to accelerate service delivery. The Department has adopted a set of values that are informed by the Batho Pele (People First) principles of the South African public service, and as an organisation its specific focus is on respect, integrity, responsibility, accountability and fairness.

The mission of the Gauteng Department of Community Safety is to improve public safety in the province, specifically through monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of policing agencies; effective implementation and promotion of appropriate social crime prevention initiatives; providing excellent traffic management services; coordination of efforts and programmes in the criminal justice system; educating and empowering citizens on issues of public safety and coordinating community safety initiatives; improving and strengthening relations between the police and communities; and determining community policing needs and priorities in keeping with the provisions of the Constitution. The Department's strategic goals are to ensure excellent practices in order to deliver effectively on its mandate; improve service delivery through effective and efficient planning, monitoring and evaluation of organisational performance; provide good quality research and information; ensure continuous improvement in the quality of policing; strengthen community policing structures to improve relationships between communities and police; build and strengthen social movements against crime; mainstream and coordinate social crime prevention in all spheres of government; prevent violence against vulnerable groups; inform people about the work of the Department; and create a safe and secure road environment.

The key role of the Gauteng Department of e-Government is the roll-out of a network infrastructure that will connect government facilities, including schools, hospitals, offices and economic zones. It endevours to: create an enabling platform and support service; enable GCR entities to deliver e-Government Services; establish a GCR e-Government governance structure to drive priorities, policies, standards and regulations; promote the usage of e-Government services; stimulate the ICT economy through facilitating incubation and innovation; and encourage public and private partnerships for the development and roll-out of e-Government services.

The aim of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development is to lead, facilitate and manage sustainable job creation and inclusive economic growth and development in the Gauteng city region. The Department's mission is to be an activist, interventionist and developmentally-focused department contributing to an inclusive and growing economy in Gauteng by providing thought leadership to inform the economic development agenda; mobilising stakeholders to partner with for economic growth and development; creating an enabling regulatory environment and stimulating business practices that promote inclusive economic growth; enhancing the competitive advantage of key sectors of the economy; promoting and attracting trade and investment to the economy; directing investment into strategic economic infrastructure; and proactively linking communities to economic opportunities. The Department's strategic goals are to provide integrated economic and development planning; facilitate the implementation of strategic programmes that will stimulate the brand, competitiveness and social transformation of Gauteng, enhance trade and export promotion, and attract investment; promote an efficient, equitable and socially responsible business environment; act as an economic intelligence nerve centre to inform strategic decision-making and targeted sector development strategies; and promote public accountability and achieve high standards of corporate governance and efficient resource utilisation.

The vision of the Gauteng Department of Education is to ensure that all learners in Gauteng do well at school and leave their institutions with the values, knowledge, skills and qualifications that will give them the best chance of success in their adult lives. The Department's mission is to ensure that quality learning and teaching takes place in the classroom every day. Its strategic goals are to ensure that Gauteng has effective schools and learning institutions; provide relevant, coordinated and effective support; enable young people to make the transition from school to further education and/or work that provides further training opportunities; and strengthen partnerships with all stakeholders, resulting in education becoming a priority in society.

The mission of the Gauteng Department of Health is to provide excellent, integrated health services in partnership with stakeholders and contribute towards the reduction of poverty, vulnerability and the burden of disease in all communities in Gauteng. The core mandate of the Department is to improve the health status of the population, improve health services, secure better value for money, ensure effective organisation, and provide integrated services and programmes that promote and protect healthy, quality and sustainable livelihoods for poor, vulnerable and marginalised groups in society. The Department's strategic goals are improved health and well-being, with an emphasis on vulnerable groups; reduction in the rate of new HIV infections by 50% in youth, adults and babies, and reduction in the number of deaths from TB and AIDS by 20%; increased efficiency of service implementation; human capital management and development for better health outcomes; and organisational excellence.

The Gauteng Department of Human Settlements' vision, mission and values for the sixth term of administration are informed by the following principles: consistent mandate of the Department regarding integrated and sustainable human settlements; undertaking by government to improve on its successes over the past 25 years, and the previous fifth term of administration in particular; strategic paradigm shift away from sporadic and uncoordinated development to purposefully planned and developed mega projects that are completely self-sufficient in providing for the housing, social and economic needs of the community; development of human settlements that mainstream economic development, and social cohesion, consolidate inter-governmental, stakeholder collaboration and relationships; achieving the outcome of a spatially just and transformed space economy that enables equal access to social services and economic opportunities in cities, regions and rural areas. This emphasis has been based on the fact that "spatial integration, human settlements and local government” is one of the seven national priorities as mentioned in the State of the Nation Address, which also state that efforts to identify and release public land that is suitable for smart, urban settlements will be accelerated. This is in alignment with the five provincial priorities for the sixth term of administration as mentioned in the State of the Province Address, namely, "integrated mega human settlements and land release.