Q&A’s, 2007
Question 1265 – Mr CM Lowe (DA) to ask Minister re Consultant Use in DPE
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Question for Written Reply
IQP: 25-2007
Question 1265
Mr C M Lowe (DA) to ask the Minister for Public Enterprises:
(a) What was the total cost to the State of consultants used by his department in the (i) 2005-06 and (ii) 2006-07 financial years, (b) what are their names, (c) for what purpose were they used and (d) what was the reason for preferring to use consultants instead of hiring persons with the necessary skills? NW1751E
Reply
The classification of Consultants in the Standard Chart of Accounts (SCOA) from National Treasury is very broad, hence the disclosure of all items reflected under consultants in the department’s total annual expenditure. To this end, the department has defined the categories within this classification as follows:
Consultants: A Consultant is contracted through a company or directly for a defined period related to a specific project. They are not solely contracted to DPE and will often undertake short projects, wherein specialized skills and extensive experience are essential which would normally not be required on a continuous basis in the department.
The Service Providers within this category deliver various diverse services to the department some of which are on annual contracts, such as the Internal Audit co-source and others may have been on a once off basis.
Contractors: A Contractor, for all intents and purposes, is viewed and treated as an employee in the department. Contractors are employed directly to DPE in their personal capacity or through a company. They are based at the department on a full-time basis for a fixed period ranging from one to three years. These individuals are specialists with extensive experience in their area of operation. They are expected to comply with normal working hours as per the Basic Conditions of Employment and are vetted in a similar fashion to Public Service Employees.
(a) (i) 2005/06 R 6 502 480 (See breakdown on Annexure A) (ii) 2006/07 R23 248 426 (See breakdown on Annexure B)
(b) & (c )
2005/06 Annexure A
2006/07 Annexure B
(d) In the instance when a specialist skill is required on a fulltime basis, we would contract the person for either one or two years. These skills are procured through a contracting mechanism which enables the department to attract these skills. In all cases a permanent staff member is partnered with these experts in order to facilitate skills transfer, which is also addressed in the contracts entered into with the Contractors. This is to ensure that there is effective skills transfer and that the institutional knowledge is retained.
ANNEXURE A
|
CONSULTANTS 2005/06 |
SERVICE
|
TOTAL |
|
B: CONSULTANTS - |
SERVICE
|
TOTAL |
|
CONSULTANTS 2006/07 |
SERVICE
JPF Co-ordinator |
TOTAL |
