SA government to improve public service
In his weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the public service must be staffed by men and women who are professional, skilled, selfless and honest.
THE South African government is planning on implementing a rigorous approach in the recruitment and selection of public servants, induction and performance management.
In his weekly newsletter on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the public service must be staffed by men and women who are professional, skilled, selfless and honest.
“They must be committed to upholding the values of the Constitution, faithfully serve no other cause than that of the public,” said Ramaphosa.
Over the past two weeks, public consultations on policy documents have been underway. These were aimed at strengthening civil service.
“The draft National Implementation Framework towards the Professionalisation of the Public Service aims to build a state that better serves our people, that is insulated from undue political interference and where appointments are made on merit. The framework was approved by Cabinet in November last year and structured consultation with various sectors of society are now underway,” said Ramaphosa.
The President said often people are hired into and promoted to key positions for which they are neither suitable nor qualified.
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“This affects government performance, but also contributes to nepotism, political interference in the work of departments, lack of accountability, mismanagement and corruption. There is also the related problem of political and executive interference in the administration of the public service. One need only to look at the instability in government departments when senior managers are swopped or replaced each time a new Minister is appointed. Directors-General and provincial heads of departments are particularly affected. In some departments, DGs, HoDs and executive managers have had stability of tenure, enabling the departments to function with little disruption,” added Ramaphosa.
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In most departments where there is leadership stability, audit outcomes tend to be positive and public funds can be accounted for.
“Introducing integrity tests for all shortlisted individuals will help so that we can recruit civil servants who can serve honestly. We also need to extend the compulsory entrance exams that we introduced in April 2020 beyond senior management. Successful developmental states have similar measures which help advance professionalism within the public service,” said the President.
The public service is diverse with a huge range of skills, qualifications and capabilities and many public servants have specialised skills that are necessary for the effective provision of services.
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