Ronald Lamola, the new Minister in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), says his department 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 Dirco 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 this hurts the department’s operations and service delivery as they are faced with a critical staff shortage.
Lamola also pointed out that Dirco cannot fill all the critical vacancies with the available funds, and operations continue to be negatively affected.
Furthermore, he noted that the department will improve its information and technology and property infrastructure portfolio to optimise resources.
READ MORE: Dirco dismisses reports of strained SA-EU diplomatic relations.
