Public Service Month: ‘Political interference hindering important efforts’

With Public Service Month about to kick off, President Cyril Ramaphosa has admitted that South Africa’s public service is littered with shortcomings, and said that in for it to administer it’s function of building a capable state, political interference needs to be done away with. 

He said that the civil service is the cornerstone of any country’s pursuit of success and acts as a direct conduit between government and its people, but much must change before it can efficiently operate in such a way in South Africa.

Public service ‘crucial to construction of capable state’

In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa said that the public service is crucial to ensuring that the state operates efficiently, but that there are currently serious spanners jamming up the works. 

“Public servants are the first interface between government and citizens,” he wrote. “Their encounters, whether positive or negative, are crucial in how the state is perceived by the wider population.”

“Our key priority is to build a capable state. If we are to build a more capable state we have to seriously and urgently address the shortcomings in the organisation and the capacity of the public service.”

He also said that the view that the public service is bloated is misplaced.

“Public servants include officials and administrators, but they also include doctors, nurses, police men and women and teachers who play an invaluable role in keeping the wheels of our country turning.”

‘Politics interfere with public service’

Ramaphosa said that civil service organisations and structures are being hindered by politics, with the appointment of senior officials often made with an agenda from higher up in mind rather than with consideration of who is best suited to do the job. 

He believes that the “lines of accountability at the most senior levels of the state have become blurred”, and that the “political-administrative” interface needs to be better monitored to allow public servants to get on with their work. He said that political office bearers such as Ministers, MECs and Mayors “often veer towards getting involved in administrative matters that should be the responsibility of professional public servants”.

“While the public service is required to implement the electoral mandate of the governing party and to account to the Executive, they need to be able to do this work without undue political interference.”

“Public service managers must be given the space, the means and the resources to manage.”

Nepotism, croneyism rife in civil service

Pointing to some of the issues that exist not only in the civil service, but – as he has recently posited – are rife within the ruling party’s executive structures, he said that there is no place for croneyism and nepotism when it comes to appointing the right person for the job. 

“As much as the ranks of our civil service comprise individuals committed to driving government’s programme of action, it has also over the years been associated with patronage,” he wrote. 

“This is manifested through the appointment of people into senior positions based on considerations other than their capability to execute the tasks of the office they are appointed to.”

“Senior appointments are sometimes made on political considerations rather than expertise. This severely limits the capacity and effective functioning of the state.”

Back to school?  

In order to amend some of these problems, he suggested that going back to school might be a means to training and up-skilling, which “is critical to professionalising the civil service”.

“The National School of Government is playing an important role in building a culture of lifelong learning for those already in the ranks,” he wrote. “As an example, the school offers a certificate programme for anyone who wants to be appointed into senior management. Many of the school’s programmes – from advanced project management to financial management and budgeting to change leadership – are offered online.”

This falls neatly in line with the recent announcement that many of the ANC’s top members are going back to school, with a programme of spring schooling set to be rolled out to better equip ministers with “skills to govern” – and Ramaphosa said that now especially, the civil service needs to be put on the right path too.

“At a time when we have been confronted with a series of scandals that point to clear complicity by certain public servants in acts of corruption, this Public Service Month should be an opportunity for the men and women tasked with this weighty responsibility to set themselves apart – to rededicate themselves to their calling and to fully comprehend what it truly means to be a servant of the people.”