Radical change ahead for state
AN OVERHAUL of the state is on the cards following the ANC’s July lekgotla. Some provinces may disappear, with more power vested in municipalities. Lifestyle audits are also mooted for senior public servants and the top brass of all state-owned companies.
“The government should conduct lifestyle audits for all employees of the state and its related entities. There should be a single agency for the state to vet all strategically placed civil servants (including in state-owned enterprises) including those who reject promotion even though it comes with an improved remuneration package.”
These are some of the suggestions in the discussion documents from the meeting, which have been sent to provincial structures for discussion and debate in the national general council (NGC) in October, the party’s mid-term conference, and plays a critical role in reviewing and making policy. The party will formally release the council’s discussion papers tomorrow.
One of the most radical proposed changes concerns the future of South Africa’s three spheres of government, and could form the major part of the deliberations.
“At some point, we need to go back to the ANC’s resolution on the Review of Provinces and finalise it whichever way,” reads the document on ‘The Capacity of the State’, delivered by NEC member and Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
State capacity is viewed by party policy heavyweights as the most important issue at this year’s NGC. The party believes the creation of a developmental state is the foundation stone for its economic agenda.
However, the state falls short of this requirement, and is plagued by weaknesses. These include poor institutional memory as a result of high staff turnover at senior levels, chronic skills shortages and high vacancy rates, corruption, financial mismanagement, lack of co-ordination, and over-reliance on expensive private sector consultants.
At its last conference in December 2012, the ANC resolved to “reform” the provinces with a view to streamlining this sphere of government and devolving more power to municipalities, considered the coalface of government by the ruling party.
“Provinces be reformed, reduced and strengthened. A Presidential Commission be appointed to review the provinces, and make proposals on, among other issues, the role of provinces and the number the country should have and their possible boundaries. The Report of the Presidential Commission be presented to the next ANC council and any changes that have to be made to the provincial system be given effect to in the 2019 national and provincial elections,” its 2012 resolution reads.
But none of these recommendations appears to have gone anywhere. Any proposed restructuring is likely to be divisive in the ANC, given that provincial and regional politics have become entrenched in the party.
Provincial patronage networks are often the lifeblood of the party’s internal politics, and the provinces provide an extra layer of government and state positions. ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa told Independent Media that while no presidential commission had been established since the last conference, the matter was contained in the discussion documents and would be on the agenda of the council.
In a major departure from the party’s traditional approach before elections, the lekgotla also resolved to “publicise the names of mayoral candidates” before the 2016 local government elections. The move is part of the ANC’s attempts to maintain its grip on power in the metros, in part through “political stability management” strategies.
The party faces serious challenges in next year’s municipal polls. It could be on the brink in the Nelson Mandela Metro, where the party has appointed no less than four mayors in the past five years. The high turnover is part of the party’s attempt to stem chronic underperformance and infighting.
The lekgotla also resolved to start the 2016 campaign in earnest, with the party keen to steal a march on the opposition.