Platinum Status For SARS, DSD And The Free State Province
26 October 2009
The South African Revenue Services, the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the Free State Provincial Government earned platinum Grand Prix awards as judged by the citizens of South Africa, at the inaugural Public Sector Excellence™ awards ceremony held at the Sandton Sun in Johannesburg yesterday.
SARS’ platinum award was achieved in the category “Best Reputation – State Owned Entities”, The DSD for “Best Reputation – Government Departments” and Free State for “Best Reputation – Provincial Governments”. SARS also took Gold in the “State Owned Entities: Overall Effectiveness” category, followed by Eskom with silver and Telkom with bronze. The Department of Social Development (gold), the Department of Finance (silver) and the Department of Health (bronze) were judged to be the most effective in the government departments section.
Finalists and winners were selected based on a TNS and Brand Leadership Academy independent research conducted amongst a national sample of 1 500 South African adults aged 18 years and above, covering metropolitan, smaller urban and rural areas in all provinces. The citizen survey gave South Africans the opportunity to provide feedback on the best performing public sector bodies and state owned entities.
“This initiative reflects the view of the people of South Africa,” commented Minister of Public Service and Administration, Hon. Masenyani Richard Baloyi. “It is not judged by a panel of so-called experts but by the people that our government and its various departments exist to serve. This is what makes this initiative so highly credible and worthy in terms of the feedback it provides us with.”
Thebe Ikalafeng, founder of the Brand Leadership Academy said, “being well-known does not necessarily mean having a good reputation. The results clearly show that the brands that are top of mind are those that are active in their communities and actively engaged in day-to-day issues such as transport, electricity, communication and health. These include brands such as the Department of Health, Eskom, and the South African Revenue Services (SARS).”
Public health programmes, HIV/AIDS, Health Awareness and Love Life, Department of Transport’s Arrive Alive and Abuse against Women and Children were recognized as the Top 5 Public Campaigns.
Jacob Zuma, Trevor Manual, Bheki Cele, Meshack Radebe, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Helen Zille, Sibusiso Ndebele, Tito Mboweni, Kgalema Motlanthe and Naledi Pandor were recognized as the “Top 10 Leaders in Government.”
Other award categories included “Effectiveness and Service Orientation Awards”, “Sector Excellence Awards”, covering 25 sub-categories in total.
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