How to re-engineer government so it works

THE recent proposals by minister Lindiwe Sisulu on reforming the public service and creating a school of government by October should be welcomed. Some of the high-growth economies in the developing world have targeted improvements in the performance of the public sector as a catalyst for driving positive social and economic change. This was the case in Japan in its early years of industrial growth, with the role of bureaucrats in the nation’s development being elevated above that of politicians.

In Japan, those entering the public service were drawn mainly from some of the country’s elite universities and first needed to undergo a gruelling exam before they were absorbed into the system. In countries such as Singapore and, more recently, the United Arab Emirates, governments have also recognised the importance of a meritocratic and well-developed public service in development by establishing schools of government.

If successful, Sisulu’s reforms could enhance the developmental and facilitative role of the state in a way that improves the social and economic wellbeing of citizens. This is also important as governments today have to manage in a complex and changing global economy.

Governments that are institutionally strong are better positioned to respond confidently to external factors in ways that harness positive gains for their citizens. They are also able to build the resilience of their national economic systems. In SA in particular, the deepening socioeconomic crisis in the form of high unemployment and inequality requires a public service that can act intelligently and quickly.

One of the weaknesses of SA’s public service is that it has a crisis of purpose, largely due to poor political leadership as well as how it is institutionally structured. In their book, Re-engineering the Corporation, Michael Hammer and James Champy have pointed out that any organisation that seeks to achieve radical change in its operations must ask itself two basic questions of purpose and method: Why do we do what we do? And why do we do it the way we do? Very few government ministers and departmental heads would be able to answer these questions. Leading change in government requires more than tinkering with operations — it requires shifting mind-sets and restructuring the relationship between the political elites and the bureaucratic machinery of the state. Accordingly, there are two broad sets of changes that would need to be made.

There is a need to first recast the relationship between the ministers and the directors-general, with more authority and clout given to the latter. Directors-general should be appointed through an open, meritbased system rather than be deployed by a clique at Luthuli House. The role of the ministers should be strictly limited to that of vision-setting and monitoring the implementation of the ruling party’s core mandate.

In some departments, there is anecdotal evidence of ministers routinely interfering in the appointments of public servants to dispense patronage to favoured groups. Some ministers and deputy ministers also pursue useless pet projects by undertaking expensive fact-finding missions abroad that are essentially politically camouflaged holidays. Making the public service professional and limiting ministers’ powers in the running of governments could go a long way towards curbing wastage and refocusing the purpose of the government.

Further, before even setting a framework of norms for bureaucrats, there should be minimum standards for appointing ministers and MPs, including a threshold of academic qualifications. When you have ministers that are underachievers, you are guaranteed to have the kind of mediocre public service that we have at present. Sisulu’s school of government would benefit her colleagues in the Cabinet primarily.

The second set of required changes has to do with the operational pillars of the government. Here, there is first a need to create a lean, agile, productive and customerfocused public service. Accordingly, setting new norms of performance, getting rid of deadwood at the top, bringing in highly qualified professionals and setting the bar for entry high, are some of the necessary steps that could help bring lasting change in the performance of departments. Sisulu should consider implementing a compulsory entrance exam for would-be public servants before they are selected for a job interview.

Building a world-class, high-performance public service requires that we relook at the role of ministers in government departments as we introduce operational improvements in the way the public service functions. Success depends chiefly on implementing the right kind of political changes at the top while creating a framework of norms for both politicians and public servants.

Qobo is affiliated to the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation at the University of Pretoria.