The gift that keeps on giving
Thoughts were racing through my head in the wee hours of Saturday, so I decided to interrupt my sleep to attend to them. This morning officially marks 30 years since South Africans (the majority of them doing it for the first time) marked their ballot papers to select the party of their choice.
Over these three decades, the electorate has chosen the ANC to lead the national government and eight of the nine provinces. Relax — this is not going to be an assessment of the ruling party’s dismal governance record.
For all its weaknesses and nine wasted years (we all know who said it first!), Jacob Zuma’s administration left us with a truly beautiful piece of work in the form of the National Development Plan 2030 (NDP). It is 476 pages of compelling reading.
Zuma appointed the National Planning Commission (NPC), the original drafters of the NDP, in April 2010. He made his minister in the presidency at the time, Trevor Manuel, chair of the NPC.
Cyril Ramaphosa was appointed deputy chair, and he and Manuel duly directed the process that led to the official adoption of the NDP in 2012 as the blueprint for the country’s development over the next 18 years.
My favourite part of the NDP is chapter 13 — “Building a capable and developmental state”. I often go back to it, especially at election time, when silly behaviour permeates the silly season. It’s a cringe-a-minute when senior managers in the public service — who should know better — post images and icons promoting the governing party (or whatever party they support) on their personal social media accounts.
I know they must sing for their supper, and before you remind me that as private individuals they have the constitutionally enshrined right to show affection for the parties of their choice, let me remind you why the NDP thought it best to dedicate a whole chapter to depoliticising the public service.
“At senior levels, reporting and recruitment structures have allowed for too much political interference in selecting and managing senior staff. The result has been unnecessary turbulence in senior posts, which has undermined the morale of public servants and citizens’ confidence in the state,” is how the chapter sets the tone for strengthening the civil service and insulating those who serve in it from political interference. Basically the NDP recommends doing away with the practice of the last 30 years, in terms of which a cabinet comprised wholly of elected politicians appoints directors-general and their deputies (on the recommendation of line ministers), as well as the heads of state institutions.
“Though public servants work for elected leaders, their role is non-partisan and the potential to forge a collective professional identity requires that this distinction is kept clear. In South Africa, the current approach to appointments blurs the lines of accountability. The requirement for cabinet to approve the appointment of heads of department makes it unclear whether they are accountable to their minister, to cabinet, or to the ruling party,” the document continues.
In fact, the drafters wisely noted that, while the Public Service Act vests some human resources functions in the hands of political principals, this bunch are often reluctant to delegate some of these power. Politicians not wanting to let go of powers — how could they not expect this would be a problem when they drafted these laws?
The NDP notes that, when politicians refuse to delegate functions, it creates tensions with directors-general who under the Public Finance Management Act are the final accounting authority. Managers become answerable for issues they have little control over, which naturally leads to tensions with political principals and creates instability.
To address this anomaly, the NDP recommended an increased oversight role for the Public Service Commission, as well as the creation of an administrative head of the public service who would be responsible for convening panels for the recruitment of senior public servants and those below them. The incumbent would also conduct performance assessments and oversee disciplinary processes at that level.
They should have made this chapter compulsory reading for all civil servants. They should have had to print it out and stick it next to their work stations.
But, just as we are set to miss the NDP targets in their entirety, these well thought-out and easy-to-implement recommendations remain wishful thinking where there’s no political will to put them into practice.
Why was an administrative head of the public service not appointed, as recommended? Then again, did we seriously think politicians would willingly support appointments or legislative amendments that would curtail their powers?
Anyway, these elections — where for the first time the ANC might not garner enough votes to form a government on its own — present a rare opportunity for a new government possibly formed out of a delicate coalition to reset and rethink the public service of the future.
A depoliticised public administration run by skilled, capable officials who are appointed on merit and understand their allegiance lies with the public they serve could be the perfect gift for three decades of democracy.
✼Caiphus Kgosana is the editor of Business Times.