Until “hard, uncomfortable political decisions” are taken, South Africa’s public service “rather than being an agent for progress and development … will remain a hindrance”.
This is the cautionary gist of the latest report in the Blueprint for Growth series published by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), In Service of the Public: Reforming South Africa’s Public Administration.
It was launched at an online webinar yesterday.
In a statement, the IRR says this study examines what would be necessary to repurpose South Africa’s public service as one geared for growth-first solutions.
Authors Terence Corrigan and Sara Gon identify the origins of today’s crisis in poor choices made in the early years of the transition to democracy.
“Most importantly, the idea of the public service as development-oriented, professional and non-partisan was never appropriately honoured.
“Rather, a focus on demographic change was pursued, often with little regard to the necessity of retaining skills and experience (something early policy papers on the transformation of the public service had explicitly warned against). More importantly, the authors argue, the public service has been severely politicised, as a result both of the institutional design of the public service, and of deliberate political interference through the ANC’s cadre deployment programme.
“The failure of the public service is not only enormously damaging to developmental endeavours, it undermines the service provision that South Africans are entitled to, and has enabled a crippling culture of corruption.”
So, what can be done?
Corrigan and Gon propose three streams of intervention.
“On the policy front, the public service must be thoroughly depoliticised and professionalised. The key here would be to empower the Public Service Commission (which has operated as a largely advisory body) to act as a buffer between the political authorities and the professionals who staff state institutions. The Commission would sign off on staff policy, and would foster a strictly meritocratic ethos, free from political (or any other) interference.
“On the operational front, there can be no substitute for good management. This means demanding and maintaining high standards of performance and behaviour and ensuring effective consequence management. This role is one that demands effective leadership, and should never be simply outsourced to human resources departments – although the latter play an important supporting role. This is a heavy responsibility on all who occupy management positions, and they must be supported by their seniors.
“On the capacitation front, it is important to ensure that public servants have the correct aptitude, skills and access to appropriate tools to play a value-adding and developmental role.”
The recommendations in the report include introducing an entrance examination “to ensure minimum competences for certain entrants, and making a career in the public service a matter of prestige”.
“Ongoing training is important, although it is important to recognise that capacitation is as much a matter of learning by exposure and experience, and from a productive organisational culture, as it is a matter of formal certification. Technology, judiciously applied, can be a force multiplier for the public service, provided it is well designed for its tasks and its operators are properly trained in using it.”
Corrigan and Gon argue that “all of this speaks to both a policy and a cultural change, which is likely to meet political resistance. But, properly implemented, such reforms hold enormous potential as a stimulus for positive change.”
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