The function of the Office of the Premier is not to usurp line-function responsibilities of departments but rather to coordinate the functioning of the entire Provincial Government. In a nutshell, the Office plays a leading role in bringing government closer to the people.

It is important to state that the programme structure of the Office of the Premier has been reconfigured in line with National Treasury directive to all Offices of the Premiers in all provinces.
The new structure has three programmes which are:

• Administration
• Institutional development
• Policy and governance

Programmes 1 and 2 were explained in the June issue of TradeInvestSA. Programme 3 follows here:

Programme 3: Policy and Governance
The purpose of this Programme is to initiate, develop and monitor implementation of strategies and policy, to achieve a coordinated approach towards sustainable provincial growth and development. Its objectives are:

• To facilitate the implementation of Premier’s Priority Programmes
• To co-ordinate and promote a human rights culture
• To promote and manage inter-governmental relations
• To monitor and evaluate policy development and implementation

The Premier’s Priority Programmes cover a wide range of government’s responsibilities, but in a specific manner. For example, in commemorating the province’s heritage, KZN acknowledged in 2006 the 1906 Bhambatha Uprising and Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha and, in 2007, the same for Inkosi Albert Luthuli and Izintombi Zengcugce. Also, emphasis is being placed on the Museum Services sub-programme to enable the conservation, research, documentation and exhibition of the province’s multi-cultural heritage.

Another of the Premier’s specific initiatives is the Provincial Soccer Development Programme for the promotion of a human rights culture encompassing gender, youth, children, women, older persons and HIV/Aids co-ordination.In our drive to inculcate a culture of human rights in KwaZulu-Natal, the Office of the Premier has developed the KwaZulu-Natal Human Rights Framework, which will assist in monitoring the realisation of human rights for the people of KwaZulu-Natal. At the same time the province will continue to drive Human Rights Education and Awareness Campaigns until such time as our people are in a position to claim their rights and report human rights violations to the relevant authorities.

The Office on the Rights of the Child, the Office on the Status of Disabled Persons, the KwaZulu-Natal Senior Citizens Forum and the Office on the Status of Women are all active in the province to ensure that education and awareness campaigns, service delivery and active development is taking place on a consistent basis. These structures continue to build on the good work already done in the province. For example, a provincial framework has been developed to manage the employment opportunities of people with disabilities, including the running of an audit on compliance with the province’s Employment Equity Act. Also, a Plan of Action has been implemented to create an enabling and supportive environment for the province’s senior citizens, with community-based care and support services, residential care facilities and protection services.

The province’s HIV/Aids Strategy is a comprehensive, co-ordinated and integrated tool in response to HIV/Aids in KwaZulu-Natal. The province has, to date, established 636 public health facilities and 60 non-public health facilities for voluntary counselling and testing; the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission programme has been expanded to 495 facilities; and a total of 300 clinics are involved in the provision of antiretroviral medication and treatment. Another area of focus concerning HIV/Aids is the Provincial Employee Wellness Programme which is in place to address the health and wellness of employees throughout the province, because healthy employees are valuable assets to the provincial administration.

The Inter-governmental Relations (IGR) sub-Programme is tasked with achieving the following strategic objectives:

• To promote and strengthen inter-governmental relationships between the various spheres of government
• To promote integrated planning and implementation of strategic programmes across provincial departments and other spheres of government
• To strengthen inter-departmental coordination in the province through MexCo
• To coordinate provincial international relations

As the official liaison point for international relations, the IGR Unit plays a fundamental role in co-ordinating international relations through the development of policies, interaction with Foreign Affairs, coordination of visits to and from the province, marketing the province in conjunction with key stakeholders such as Trade and Investment KZN and Tourism KZN and in facilitating Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with partnership countries.

The main thrust of the Monitoring and Evaluation sub-programme is to measure the impact of performance and progress on Provincial Government’s objectives within the democratic order. This is a vital aspect of government’s overall focus as self-examination and evaluation will keep standards up across the board, in line with what is expected of the provincial administration by the people that it holds itself accountable to.

Conclusion
These programmes, and their associated sub-programmes, form the basis upon which the Office of the Premier builds its relationship with the people of KwaZulu-Natal. By maintaining open channels of communication with the various provincial departments, the Office is able to ensure that everybody is working towards the same goals, all of which lead to the one true objective of the province: to provide a better way of life for all the people of the province.

Contact details:

KZN Office of the Premier
Tel: +27 33 341 3342
Fax: +27 33 345 8490
Email: damanezp@premier.kzntl.gov.za