Acting on ANC deployment body’s advice ‘unlawful’, says PSC
The Public Service Commission (PSC), which monitors and evaluates performance of the public sector, has said it would be unlawful for an executive authority to consider a recommendation of the controversial ANC deployment committee in making an appointment.
In a 191-page report on the study released in February that reflected on the pre- and post1994 public administration ideology, practices and reforms, the PSC said the state capture commissioned, chaired by chief justice Raymond Zondo, “shone a very clear light” on the governing party’s cadre deployment committee.
President Cyril Ramaphosa “tried to emphasise that the ANC deployment committee only makes recommendations”. The commission however, found that in many cases it “amounted to instructions”, the study said.
“After analysing the relevant provisions in the constitution and the Public Service Act, the commission concluded that it will be unlawful for an executive authority to consider a recommendation of the ANC deployment committee when he/she makes an appointment.”
The PSC said that an appointment on the recommendation of the deployment committee “would be actionable as an unfair labour practice. Various commentators have concluded that accountability in the public service has been eroded.”
The DA has long advocated abolishing the policy, which it says is at the centre of the weakening of state institutions through the deployment of cadres who often lack the expertise to run state agencies, enterprises and departments.
The DA maintains that through the policy, the ANC illegally interferes in appointment processes to ensure its cadres are appointed on the basis of their loyalty to the governing party, rather than merit and skill.
DECLARED ILLEGAL
The policy, which the DA wants replaced with merit-based appointments throughout the public sector, has been used by the ANC to help fast-track transformation and to implement its policies in government better. It has also been blamed for service delivery failures.
In the final part of the state capture commission report released in June 2022, commission chair Raymond Zondo declared the policy unconstitutional and illegal.
The Constitutional Court ruled last month that the ANC has to hand over the records of its cadre deployment committee meetings since January 1 2013, when Ramaphosa became chair.
However, the Pretoria high court recently dismissed the DA’s application to have the ANC cadre deployment policy declared unconstitutional. The party is taking the decision on appeal.
The issue of cadre deployment has suddenly turned into a political hot potato with former DA senior leaders claiming the party also practised cadre deployment in the provinces and municipalities it runs.
The PSC said strains were visible in the state system.
“High levels of political instability, especially at local government level, make the counterweight of an effective and stable administration even more important,” it said.
“This environment engenders calls for quick fixes, namely institute consequences for nonperformance, root out incompetence and deal harshly with irregular expenditure. However, the highly complex and nonformulaic nature of public administration makes it not amenable to quick fixes. There are too many moving parts, and one should be careful about how reforms will affect the tenor and values of administration.”
The PSC study focused on assessing the influence of the National Development Plan (NDP), Vision 2030, the National Framework towards the Professionalisation of the Public Sector, on “the state of the public service on future public administration reforms in SA”.
The study explored whether the public administration reforms and existing models of governance were consistent with the demands of an “efficient and effective public administration in a developmental state”.
It found limited progress was made in implementing the NDP’s recommendation on the professionalisation of the public service, “but professionalisation has now picked up renewed impetus through the acceptance by cabinet in 2022 of a framework for the professionalisation of the public sector. This is a positive step.”
COMPLETED PROGRAMME
The department of public service & administration recently published a new directive to guide government departments in implementing the national framework for the professionalisation of the public service.
The directive states that people can qualify to be appointed to senior management in the public service only if they have successfully completed the preentry programme, Nyukela, aimed at ensuring prospective senior managers are grounded in the values of good citizenship, ethical leadership and developmental public administration.
Ramaphosa has said the Public Administration Management Amendment Bill and the Public Service Amendment Bill, which were both passed by the National Assembly and are now set to go to the National Council of Provinces for consideration, would help improve the sector, strengthen accountability and increase efficiency.
He said the reforms would “significantly reduce the potential for undue political interference in the administration of government”.
“The PSC supports the amendments introduced through the Public Service Amendment Bill, 2023, that draw a clear distinction between the powers of a minister to give political direction and the powers of the head of department to administer the department,” said the PSC study.
“There is no doubt that leadership plays an immense role in the success of an administration and reforms ... The need for visionary, inspirational, and consultative leadership is integrally linked with how to decentralise power and make the public service more agile.”
The report called on the PSC to maintain its independence by not being involved in the administrative process of filling a post of director-general (DG) or head of department or any other employee.
Instead, it must host a database of experts, “as recommended in the professionalisation framework, which can be accessed by HR units of departments to assist in identifying technical experts” in filling director-general, head of department or deputy directorgeneral posts”.
AWARDING POSTS ON THE DIRECTION OF THE BODY WOULD CONSTITUTE AN UNFAIR LABOUR PRACTICE, THE COMMITTEE SAYS