The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) plans to enhance its IT and property infrastructure portfolio to optimise resources.
This, as the department must juggle doing more with less due to resource constraints, said minister Ronald Lamola, delivering his department’s budget vote for the 2024/25 financial year.
Lamola did not go into detail about his department’s IT plans, only stating: “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.”
DIRCO serves as the foreign ministry of the South African government. It is responsible for SA’s relationships with foreign countries and international organisations, and runs the country’s diplomatic missions.
Lamola, who was appointed to the role earlier this month, said his department’s budget has decreased from R6.9 billion in 2023/24 to R6.57 billion in 2024/25, reflecting a 5% reduction.
“These figures encompass earmarked funds, with the compensation of employees ceiling set at R3.17 billion for 2024/25, down from R3.3 billion in 2023/24, reflecting a 4% reduction.”
Lamola noted his department is facing a critical staff shortage.
He further explained that another challenge for the department is managing exchange rate volatility, which affects 60% of expenditures allocated to missions abroad.
“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 noted 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.
“The June 2024 mission posts placement process was also deferred due to the shortfall in the employee compensation budget. Additional funding is thus required to cover the shortfall and fill other critical vacancies at the head office and missions abroad.”
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