
=====================================================================
Launch of the BASCA Project
=====================================================================

Speeches and Media Release
 Provincial Treasury, Economic Affairs, Environment & Tourism

[top       w

EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT
 SPEECH BY  MEC GODONGWANA
 AT THE LAUNCH OF THE BASCA PROJECT
 23 FEBRUARY 2001




Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Morning

Today is a step towards the realization of the following vision:

The development of a dedicated, productive and people-centred public service staffed by public servants whose performance is maximized and 
whose potential is fully developed via the comprehensive provision of appropriate and adequate training and education at all levels".

-(White Paper on Public Service Training and Education, 1997)

The Department of Finance and Provincial Expenditure welcomes you to one of its efforts of pulling together private sector capacity and 
order to inject efficiencies in the provincial financial administration.We are here to launch a project that targets those people who are 
doing financial administration and yet have no formal accounting qualification. These are the people who administer our orders, who pay 
accounts; administer salaries and many other related functions. We are, therefore, talking of our frontline staff. Frontline staff in any 
institution is the life-blood of operations and productivity. Any investment at this level is a commitment to better productivity. Any 
investment at this level is a commitment to better productivity and improved efficiency of the system.

This project has two legs; Basic Accounting and Competency Based Education and Training. It is part of a broader programme called Financial 
Management Training, which we started in October 1999.

The objectives of the programme are;

* To develop training programmes and mechanisms for implementing the PFMA
* To establish FMT units in Bisho and 'regions'
* To facilitate the formulation of the short, medium and long-term financial management capacity building strategy
* To build in-house FMT capacity
* To facilitate and support the systems improvement process
* To network with other provinces, institutions of higher learning, the private sector and other countries
* To support the implementation of the departmental strategic plan

Now in its second year of existence it has observed the following amongst our frontline staff:

* Lack basic accounting skills
* Lack proper mentoring and support
* Very limited understanding of basic computing
* Have experience that has not been converted through the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) to specific competences

Informed by this reality then BASCA was conceptualized and networking occurred hence the partnership with Unisa and IPFA.

In Basic Accounting we have targeted the following skills:

* Computer hardware, software, databases, networks and systems including spreadsheets.
* Computerized accounting environment with a focus on application such as the general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable and 
inventories
* Financial reports, statements, principles of cost accounting, financing costs, budgeting, reporting and analyses
* Processing and recording accounting data, completion of books and prime entry, posting subsidiary journals, adjustments and closing 
transfers as well as preparation of financial statements.
* Internal control and bookkeeping.

These skills are rare in the provincial administration and we must leap into the 21st century with all of them. Them. The first group to go 
onto this programme are 71 Financial Administrators with 57 from my department. The challenge is on other departments to send their people.

I wish to congratulate these student-workers for their brevity because learning is not easy when you are working and having many other 
responsibilities. Good Luck with your work. We will monitor your performance accordingly and none of you is expected to dropout, as the 
usual penalties will be effected against the individuals. The department is currently working out a tutoring system for assisting students.

Coming to CBET there are three developmental stages that one has to undergo, details of which will be given by IPFA. However, the skills 
areas that will be focused on are:

* Recording income and receipts
* Payments
* Ledger balances and initial trial balances
* Information management
* Financial records
* Preparation of accounts
* Recording cost information
* Preparing reports and returns
* IT
* Cost management
* Planning
* Financial statements
* Management of accounting systems

The advantage of CBET is that it's a very gradual and flexible programme yet effective in imparting skills

Currently there are five students from DFPE who are participating.They are:

1.Mr C.D. Soji
 2.Ms N. Majokweni
 3.Ms N. Magadla
 4.Ms N.J. Katwe
 5.Ms T. Siyob

We call on all departments to participate in this programme, as this will benefit your personnel tremendously. Likewise these people will 
be closely monitored and supported by the Department.

Let me take this opportunity to also congratulate 118 students who have successfully completed FMS

and Tendering Procedures courses. Special mention has to be made of the following outstanding students:

We hope that these efforts will be reciprocated with more commitment and improvement in financial administration.Whereas many more people 
are still going through training, our view is that those who have already been trained must be allowed to implement these skills through a 
carefully managed job rotation process. At the moment we are experiencing job rotation that is not linked to the training people are 
getting. This is tantamount to wastage of resources because there is no point in training a person who will not do what he/she is trained 
for.

We must also urge departments to provide equipment, space and appropriate management support for the people that we continue to train, as 
these are fundamental elements for making training effective.

May all our dreams come true.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Home | About the Eastern Cape | Documents
 Economy | Structures | International Relations | Site Map
 Premier's Office | Speeches & Media Releases | Links
 Top of Page

---------------------------------------------------------------------

About the Eastern Cape

Premier's Office

Structures

Documents

Speeches & Media Releases

International Relations

Economy

Links


