From the editor's desk

On February 2018 Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in as the new President of the country and immediately spoke with great emotion and conviction about how he planned to address the scourge of corruption across the nation.

His State of the Nation Address (SoNA) the next day is one of those historic moments we continually see in this wonderful country that surprises us at every turn.

I met the President when he was the head of the National Union of Mineworkers in 1987 when he led the mineworkers strike which was a defining moment in South Africa's history. He was clearly a leader who inspired not only his union, but also the oppressed black majority of the country.

During the Convention for a Democratic South Africa, when negotiations took place between the ANC and the National Party, President Ramaphosa was instrumental in ushering in our era of democracy. His negotiating skills are said to have been crucial in overcoming major differences between the party of the struggle and the party representing apartheid.

Now he takes charge of a nation of 57 million South Africans and has promised in his first public appearances as President to reinforce the battle against graft in all sectors of society.

This is a new struggle against greed both inside and outside government which has hamstrung service delivery and skimmed billions from the treasury.

One of the main areas of interest to us here at Public Sector Manager Magazine is a combination of Batho Pele principles of good governance and the accountability of civil servants.

We are often told about what we should do in order to achieve the standards expected of government.

There is no confusion about what these principles and standards are and because of the clarity in our planning, as human players within the complex machine that is government, we must deliver.

The uplifting and motivating message delivered by President Ramaphosa must be taken to heart by all of us inside government. As senior managers we should be driven to improve our attitude to our citizens who pay our salaries.

This is a great year for South Africa. We host the BRICS Summit, we are chairing the African Union, and we are chairing the Indian Ocean Rim Association. South Africa also has a new President who wants to breathe fresh air back into government and as responsible civil servants, we should be ready to fully support his message. As we watched the SoNA, all South Africans could not help but be filled with hope.

As the President said:“Together we are going to make history.” It is time to lend a hand, time for each of us to say ‘send me' and now is the time for all of us to work together.This is the centenary year of the great Nelson Mandela and as President Ramaphosa has said, it's also time for us to build a new, better South Africa. It's up to us.

Head of Editorial and Production

Des Latham