Free civil service of political appointees

One can understand to a degree that the ANC government wanted to fill most civil service positions with active party loyalists after 1994.

It has now become increasingly evident that the chaos and weak links in administration at civil service level – central, provincial and especially local government level – has increasingly become the cause for the administrative problems which have led to rampant corruption, inefficiency and stability failure.

One need only be aware of the number of senior staff being appointed in acting positions and the frequency of suspensions. Each time it becomes necessary for new appointees to freshly acquaint themselves of the new tasks, leading to unnecessary delays.

The political infighting in the KZN ANC and the vast number of political murders inevitably create a culture of insecurity, especially among staff members.

Political appointees frequently are not necessarily the most experienced and capable public servants, especially not if they constantly have to watch their backs.

It is high time that civil service staff should be appointed according to their professional ability to run an administration effectively and they should preferably be politically neutral and free from political interference. If that were the case, the economy would improve, investment would increase and productive employment would benefit all South Africans.

V A Volker Pietermaritzburg