International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola says his department, which is facing a critical staff shortage, must do more with less due to resource constraints.
A critical challenge faced by the department, Lamola explained, is managing exchange rate volatility, which affects 60% of expenditures allocated to missions abroad.
The Minister was speaking during his Budget Vote Speech for the 2024/25 financial year, where he announced that the department had been allocated R6.57 billion, which dropped by 5% compared to the previous year.
"Strategic cost management in this area is essential to safeguarding our financial stability. Equally vital is addressing employee compensation, where the current ceiling set by the National Treasury requires careful consideration to maintain workforce morale and operational efficiency."
According to the Minister, the department could only fill critical vacancies identified at the head office to remain within the baseline for employee compensation, which resulted in a "very high vacancy rate".
He said that this hurts the department's operations and service delivery.
"However, several line function posts were filled at the Assistant Director, Deputy Director and Director levels, mainly through internal promotions to address the lack of upward mobility," he added.
The Minister also announced that the department cannot fill all the critical vacancies with the available funds, and operations continue to be negatively affected.
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"The June 2024 mission posts placement process was also deferred due to the shortfall in the compensation of employees' budget. Additional funding is thus required to cover the shortfall and fill other critical vacancies at the head office and missions abroad."
This financial year, he stated that the department will improve its information and technology and property infrastructure portfolio to optimise resources.
"This strategic initiative aims to release more lease funds and redirect them towards operational needs. While these budget adjustments pose challenges, they also present opportunities for efficiency gains and prioritisation of essential expenditures."
He informed Parliament that the department will soon be advertising a cadet programme and a youth development initiative, which he deems crucial to the national youth development imperative and the department's future capacity requirements.
The department is also finalising its organisational structure review process to streamline the business units and processes and optimise scarce resources to leverage global economic opportunities in advancing the country's national interest, he added.
"Our commitment to delivering quality services and fostering economic growth remains unwavering. This budget signifies our determination to balance fiscal prudence with the imperative to support our citizens and invest in our nation's future."
