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Instead, the commission advocates for a variety of methods to ensure that the public service meets its primary purpose of providing services.
FILE: President Cyril Ramaphosa meets with the National Planning Commission on August 6, 2019. Image: @ PresidencyZA / Twitter
JOHANNESBURG – The National Planning Commission (NPC) said the argument that the public service was inflated and needed to be cut at the top was not helpful.
Instead, the commission advocates for a variety of methods to ensure that the public service meets its primary purpose of providing services.
The APN held a webinar Thursday morning to discuss its report on a review of economic progress towards the 2030 vision of the National Development Plan.
The commission’s report found that there is an imbalance, with a shortage of professionals, specialists and front-line services in the public service.
The find is not so new.
Unions have spent the last few years emphasizing this point amid mounting criticism that the 1.5 million state employees are too many and weigh heavily on the wage bill.
Commissioner Miriam Altman said the problem was rather that staffing costs were not in line with budget, which was critical.
“This has to drive a broader staffing strategy around sustainable compensation, staff structures aligned with performance benefits and delivery.”
Additionally, the commission has called for a change in the way wage negotiations were conducted in the sector.
He called for the strengthening of state capacity to negotiate and align with budget processes.
The NPC has recommended that the government restore confidence in the budget process and commit to a fiscal framework to restore the economy.
The recommendations are critical for South Africa to meet the goals it set in the NDP, which has a nine-year timeline.
Calls for a restoration and modernization of revenue collection capacity to ensure a sustainable fiscal and financial pathway.
The country faces several economic challenges that are mainly based on a weakened treasury, forcing the Treasury to enforce budget cuts across the board.
Altman said: “We tend to have a very sparse discussion on this set of issues. It goes like this: we have to cut spending or we have to raise taxes. But we know very well that there are so many opportunities ”.
While the NDP lays out a clear blueprint on what big things could be done in tackling corruption, the review also mentions this, urging the government to take credible action against it.
There is also a call to strengthen municipal management and finances and improve public spending.
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