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A streamlined, efficient and well-integrated civil service is the hallmark of a capable state, but South Africa has fallen in several areas, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Writing in your weekly open letter To the public, Ramaphosa said the government’s key priority is to build a “capable state.”
“If we want to build a more capable state, we have to seriously and urgently address the shortcomings in the organization and capacity of the public service,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the view that public service is inflated is misplaced. “Public servants include civil servants and administrators, but also doctors, nurses, policemen, and women and teachers who play an invaluable role in keeping our country turning.
“The real problem is whether, given the size, cost and needs of our country, the public service is working as it should. The experience of our people is that in several areas, the state is not meeting expectations, ”he said.
The president said there are some fundamental problems in public service that the government is now working to fix. These include:
- The ‘political-administrative’ interface, where the lines of responsibility in the most of the upper levels of the state have gone blurry. Political office holders such as ministers, MECs and mayors are often inclined to get involved in administrative matters that should be the responsibility of professional civil servants.
- Public service managers it must have the space, means and resources to manage.
- Sometimes senior appointments are made political considerations rather than experience. This severely limits the capacity and effective functioning of the state.
- While the ranks of our civil service comprise individuals committed to advancing the government’s program of action, it has also partnered over the years with patronage. This is manifested through the appointment of people to high-level positions based on considerations other than their ability to perform the tasks of the position for which they are appointed.
Greater training
Ramaphosa said that building “a capable, ethical and developmental state” is now one of the government’s top priorities.
“We want public service to be geared towards efficiency, performance and development results.” The president said that the civil service must also attract qualified and high-caliber candidates.
“As one of the ways to achieve this, the National Development Plan (PND) proposes a formal scheme for hiring graduates for public service. Our people want the best and the brightest in society to serve them.
“The civil service should be seen as a career destination of choice for those who want to make a difference in the life of their country, and not simply as a comfortable 9 to 5 office job or a place to earn a salary with minimal effort. .
“If some still hold this view, they should seize opportunities to exit public service to make way for those who measure up.”
Salary dispute
Ramaphosa’s comments come as government and public sector workers gear up for a legal battle over an ongoing wage dispute.
The case centers on whether the government has to pay nearly R40 billion in wage increases to public sector workers. Working day reports that the government wants the court to declare that doing so will be illegal.
The increases the state agreed to pay as part of a multi-term wage agreement signed in 2018 were supposed to take effect on April 1, but the government said it does not have the money to pay.
The problems are expected to come to a head in the coming weeks as workers prepare for the start of the strike season in South Africa.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says it will start mobilizing for a major strike action in the first week of October. The trade federation plans to hold a general strike on October 7, with the protest centering on corruption and perceived inaction by the government.
Public salaries are established through negotiation with the unions and the agreements are valid for three years. The current agreement is in effect until March 2021.
However, in February, the government asked to review the last tranche of a three-year payment agreement because it said it could not pay it.
The coronavirus pandemic has further exacerbated the country’s financial woes with the unions and the government which is now ready for a showdown.
The National Treasury plans to cut R160 billion from the public sector wage bill over the next three years, a position that has been fulfilled. opposition from public sector unions.
Read: Ramaphosa Considers Cabinet Shakeup – Report
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