Transcript Continuing Actions - Amazon Web Services

Presentation to the
Portfolio Committee of
Finance
Information can change lives
Feedback on
Annual Report of
Stats SA
Pali Lehohla
15 March 2006
Contents
1. Statistical products
- Quality of statistics
- Labour market statistics
- Measurement of the economy
- Community Survey
- Support to Municipalities
2. Governance
- Management
- Spending
- Capacity building
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Purpose
Purpose of the meeting –
To provide feedback to the Portfolio Committee on issues
raised during the tabling of Stats SA’s annual report in 2005
To outline continuing actions to be undertaken by Stats SA
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Statistical
Products
Information can change lives
Quality of statistics
Portfolio Committee –
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Reporting on quality of statistics
Stats SA’s response – Dimensions of quality
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Relevance
Accuracy
Timeliness
Accessibility
Interpretability
Methodological soundness
Integrity
Coherence
Continuing Actions: Stats SA is standardising reporting on these
dimensions in statistical releases
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Labour market statistics
Portfolio Committee –
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Presentation and definition of unemployment
Stats SA’s response –
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Labour force survey (LFS) is the vehicle to provide current labour
market indicators
Stats SA provides the official unemployment rate
We will continue to provide information on other labour market data
Continuing Actions: Stats SA is re-engineering the LFS in terms of
measurement and frequency of reporting
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Measuring the economy
Portfolio Committee –
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Reporting on the informal sector in the GDP
Stats SA’s response –
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Coverage of the economy is improving
Business register based on tax information is improving
Measurement of the informal sector continues to be a challenge –
currently addressed through a household based survey (Survey of
Employers and Self Employed)
Current contribution of the informal sector is estimated at 4%
Continuing Actions: Enhancing monthly and quarterly economic
surveys
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Community Survey
Portfolio Committee –
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Uncertainties surrounding the Community Survey
Stats SA’s response –
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Agreement with Council in September 2005
Pilot survey conducted in February 2006
Processing pilot data – learnings
Main survey will be conducted in February 2007
Results will be released in November 2007
Continuing Actions: Building capacity towards Census 2011
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Support to Municipalities
Portfolio Committee –
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Support to rural municipalities in the use of statistics
Stats SA’s response –
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Mandate of Stats SA is to collect, analyse and disseminate statistics
All products placed on the website and printed reports are distributed
free of charge
Provincial offices provide support to the provinces and local
government
Continuing Actions: Where resources allow, Stats SA will provide
statistical support to Municipalities
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Governance
Information can change lives
Management
Portfolio Committee –
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Management of the department
Stats SA’s response –
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Management strengthened
Minister chaired interviewing panel – recommendations to Cabinet
DDGs and CFO appointed
Continuing Actions: Building a coherent senior management team
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Spending
Portfolio Committee –
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Financial management of the department
Stats SA’s response –
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Previous underspending at 30%
Management initiated several processes to bring underspending
under control
Expectation is that under expenditure will improve to 7%
Community Survey still experiencing underspending problem – delay
in decision
Continuing Actions: Improving integrative planning and budgeting
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Capacity Building
Portfolio Committee –
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Lack of skills
Stats SA’s response –
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Head hunted 10 highly qualified professionals
Internship programme – retained 13 of 15 interns – appointed
permanently
Second cohort of 17 interns undergoing training
Continuing Actions: Internship programme yielding approximately
135 qualified professionals by 2009
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Capacity Building
Portfolio Committee –
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Lack of skills
Stats SA’s response –
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Towards a numerate society:
- Partnerships with Universities
- Statistical Training Institute
- Teacher training and International Committee on the Teaching of
Statistics (ICOTS)
- Harmonising training initiatives within SADC
- Building capacity towards 2010 Census round in Africa
Continuing Actions: Internship programme yielding approximately
135 qualified professionals by 2009
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Concluding remarks
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Purpose of the meeting
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Constructive feedback from Committee members
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Presented work programme to Statistics Council
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Will be presenting the work programme to Minister later today
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Will be presenting the strategic plan to Parliament in May 2006
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Thank you
Information can change lives