National Departments in Pretoria

The vision of the Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE) is to be a leader in the transformation of South Africa through economic growth and sustainable development in the energy sector. Its mission is to regulate, transform and promote the energy sector, providing sustainable and affordable energy for growth and development.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) was renamed on 1 April 2021, from the previous Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF). In June 2019 the DFFE had been established by incorporating the forestry and fisheries functions from the previous Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries into the Department of Environmental Affairs. The DFFE mandated to give effect to the right of citizens to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being, and to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations. To this end, the Department provides leadership in environmental management, conservation and protection towards sustainability for the benefit of South Africans and the global community. The Department's strategic objectives are to: provide leadership, strategic, centralised administration, executive support, corporate services, and facilitate effective cooperative governance, international relations, and environmental education and awareness; promote the development and implementation of an enabling legal regime and licensing/authorisation system to ensure enforcement and compliance with environmental law; promote, manage and provide strategic leadership on oceans and coastal conservation; improve air and atmospheric quality, lead and support, inform, monitor and report efficient and effective international, national and significant provincial and local responses to climate change; ensure the regulation and management of all biodiversity, heritage and conservation matters in a manner that facilitates sustainable economic growth and development; implement expanded public works and green economy projects in the environmental sector; and manage and ensure that chemicals and waste management policies and legislation are implemented and enforced in compliance with chemicals and waste management authorisations, directives and agreements.

The Department of Human Settlements (DHS) has a mandate that is integral to the effort of the government to change the lives of South Africans for the better. This includes transforming the apartheid spatial and land and development patterns of social and racial exclusion. During the previous administrative term, we stayed true to the mandate by continuing to build and augment the work already done in creating sustainable human settlements and improving the quality of life for all households.

The mission of Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) is to lead and partner in statistical production systems for evidence-based decisions. Stats SA's key goals involve: broadening the role and reach of official statistics - information should enable citizens, the government and businesses to understand and change society, and the important role that numbers play in this context emphasises the importance of relevance and use of official statistics; growth through coordination - the Organisation is moving away from producing statistical series as isolated products to an approach of a production system focusing on integration and analysis that cuts across series, products and organisations; enhanced quality - setting standards for statistical products, providing statistical advice and designating statistics as official of all organs of state within a statistics system are important deliverables for the strategy, and will contribute to improving and assessing the quality of statistical information; sustained capacity - developing and sustaining skills and infrastructure within Stats SA and amongst organs of state that produce statistics, within a systems framework; and doing more with less - being innovative, the use of technology, and a motivated and productive workforce are key enablers to deliver the strategy in an efficient and effective way.

The mandate of the State Security Agency (SSA) is to provide the government with intelligence on domestic and foreign threats or potential threats to national stability, the constitutional order, and the safety and well-being of our people. This allows the government to implement policies to deal with potential threats and better understand existing threats, and, thus, improve their policies. Among the areas of focus of the SSA are the following matters of national interest: terrorism, which refers to deliberate and premeditated attempts to create terror through symbolic acts involving the use or threat of lethal force for creating psychological effects that will influence a target group or individual and translate into political or material results; sabotage, which refers to activities or purposeful omissions conducted or planned for the purpose of endangering the safety, security or defence of vital public or private property, such as installations, structures, equipment or systems; subversion, which includes activities directed towards undermining by covert unlawful acts, or directed towards, or intended ultimately to lead to the destruction or overthrow by violence of, the constitutionally established systems of government in South Africa; espionage, which refers to unlawful or unauthorised activities conducted for acquiring information or assets relating to sensitive social, political, economic, scientific or military matters in South Africa, or for their unauthorised communication to a foreign state; and organised crime, which includes analysis of the origins and reasons behind organised crime, the identification of key role-players, the nature and extent, as well as the modus operandi, of organised crime syndicates.

The mission of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is to be an effective, independent and impartial investigating and oversight body that is committed to justice and acting in the public interest, while maintaining the highest standards of integrity and excellence. The aim of the Department is to ensure independent oversight over the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Municipal Police Services (MPS), and to conduct independent and impartial investigations of identified criminal offences allegedly committed by members of the SAPS and the MPS, and make appropriate recommendations.

The mandate of the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities is to lead on socio-economic transformation and implementation of the empowerment and participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities through mainstreaming, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation. The vision of the Department is of a transformed, inclusive society free from all forms of discrimination and capable of self-actualisation. Its mission is to provide strategic leadership, advocacy and coordination to government departments and the country on mainstreaming socio-economic empowerment of women, youth and persons with disabilities. The Department's values are tolerance and respect in the workplace, professionalism, continuous learning, integrity, caring, accountability, inclusivity and empowerment.

The mandate of the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities is to lead on socio-economic transformation and implementation of the empowerment and participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities through mainstreaming, advocacy, monitoring and evaluation. The vision of the Department is of a transformed, inclusive society free from all forms of discrimination and capable of self-actualisation. Its mission is to provide strategic leadership, advocacy and coordination to government departments and the country on mainstreaming socio-economic empowerment of women, youth and persons with disabilities. The Department's values are tolerance and respect in the workplace, professionalism, continuous learning, integrity, caring, accountability, inclusivity and empowerment.

The mission of the Department of Water and Sanitation is to serve the people of South Africa by: making a positive impact on the country and its people as custodians of its water and sanitation resources, and as innovative and committed partners in the drive for sustainable development; being service- and delivery-orientated; leading its sector and enabling partners with the knowledge and capacity to ensure that all water services are delivered; being committed to innovation and using cutting-edge technology as a catalyst for positive change, connecting its people and enabling them to work anywhere, anytime; and having a heart that values its investment in its people. The Department provides them with a caring and trusting environment that encourages personal development and is a breeding ground for talent. The Department's strategic goals are: to be an efficient, effective and development-orientated sector leader; equitable and sustainable provision of raw water; provision of equitable and sustainable water services of acceptable quantity and quality; and protection of freshwater ecosystems.

The mission of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), is to provide an enabling environment for the sport, arts and culture (SAC) sector to foster an active, creative, winning and socially cohesive nation.

The mission of the Department of Social Development is to enable the poor, the vulnerable and the excluded within South African society to secure a better life for themselves, in partnership with them and with all those who are committed to building a caring society. The Department has the following primary core functions: management and oversight over social security, encompassing social assistance and social insurance policies, which aim to prevent and alleviate poverty in the event of life cycle risks such as loss of income due to unemployment, disability, old age or death occurring; and developmental social welfare services, which provide support to reduce poverty, vulnerability and the impact of HIV/AIDS through sustainable development programmes, in partnership with implementing agents such as State-Funded Institutions, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and Faith-Based Organisations (FBOs).

The vision of the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) is to be a leader in the transformation of South Africa through economic growth and sustainable development in the mining sector. Its mission is to regulate, transform and promote the minerals sector, ensuring that all South Africans derive sustainable benefit from the country's mineral wealth.

The mission of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation is to facilitate, influence and support effective planning, monitoring and evaluation of government programmes aimed at improving service delivery, outcomes and the impact on society. The focus of the Department is on the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 using the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) as an implementation and monitoring tool. The MTSF identifies the important actions required to implement the aspects of the NDP for which government is responsible over the medium to long term. Critical government programmes are periodically evaluated to determine the efficiency and effectiveness, as well as their impact, on society.

The mission of the South African Police Service (SAPS), now known as the Department of Police, is to prevent and combat anything that may threaten the safety and security of any community, investigate any crimes that threaten the safety and security of any community, ensure offenders are brought to justice, and participate in efforts to address the causes of crime. The Department's strategic outcome-orientated goals are to: provide police services that will ensure safer communities by reducing the number of serious crimes, contact crimes and trio crimes; increase activities to prevent and combat border crime; increase the percentage of trial-ready case dockets for serious crime, contact crime and trio crime; increase the detection rate for serious crime, contact crime and trio crime, including organised crime and crimes against women and children; increase the conviction rates for serious crime, contact crime and trio crime; enhance African Agenda and sustainable development by deploying members as per Cabinet decision (external deployments); and improve the levels of service delivery and accessibility to services by bringing SAPS service points closer to the communities.