Deputy president David Mabuza defended the ANC government’s track record of “professionalising” the public sector, on Thursday, saying the success of some state institutions showed that it was not all doom and gloom.
“I do not agree that the ANC government [has failed]. We have a number of institutions that can attest to what I am saying now. The first institution that can attest to this is the auditor-general’s [office],” Mabuza told MPs during a question-and-answer session in parliament, during which the contentious issue of cadre deployment took centre stage.
The cadre deployment policy, which has been used by the governing ANC for many years to fast track transformation and push through its policies, came under intense scrutiny at the commission of inquiry into state capture, with evidence leaders suggesting it was one of the foundations of corruption and inefficiency in the government and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The commission eventually concluded that cadre deployment was at odds with the constitution and public service legislation as it prejudiced candidates not preferred by the party.
Subsequently and amid pressure by the main opposition party, the DA, the cabinet recently adopted a framework to professionalise the public service, effectively replacing cadre deployment with merit-based appointments throughout the public sector.
Mabuza, who is leader of government business and chair of the ANC's deployment committee, said the auditor-general’s office proves that government is committed to professionalising the public service. The office is a chapter 9 institution responsible for checking government expenditure, and programmes, yearly to ensure everything is above board.
“The auditor-general will tell you about the performance of our managers, about the failures in the system. Yesterday we [got] a report from the auditor-general about the national government and provincial government. The picture that has been painted is there is progress in the right direction, because more and more departments are getting clean audits... There are still departments that are getting adverse disclaimers ... of course some are failing to meet deadlines to submit audits, those are areas we need to attend to. But it does not paint a bleak, a dim environment,” Mabuza said.
But recently, the auditor-general painted a bleak picture of the state of financial management in the government. Highlighting the fruitless and wasteful expenditure incurred by government departments over a five-year period, the auditor-general’s office told parliament in August that half of the 41 national departments were cumulatively responsible for a total of R1.52bn of such expenditure.
The top offenders were the department of defence (R460m); the Treasury (R339m); and basic education (R106.85m). Fruitless and wasteful expenditure means there is no benefit derived from the spending and it could have been avoided had reasonable care been taken. Such expenditure contravenes the Public Finance Management Act.
Mabuza said the government’s framework to professionalise the public service would help bring about stability and improve performance across the board.
“It seeks to improve the recruitment and selection of people that work in public service to ensure that properly qualified people with necessary skills were appointed, especially in senior management.
This is the system we are using as a country: beyond that, it goes a step further by creating the school of governance so that from time to time, all those appointed as public servants are upskilled so that they serve the public.”
Furthermore, the terms of directors-general would be extended from five to 10 years to ensure stability, Mabuza said. Directors-general are crucial cogs in the government system as they lead departments and ensure their work is done.
Yet over the years, several government departments have been destabilised by the sudden removal or suspension of directors-general, in most instances for political reasons unlikely to stand up in court.
The NDP — which articulates the government’s vision to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030, and to build a capable state — notes that although public servants work for elected leaders, they should be non-partisan, while cadre appointments blur the lines of accountability.
With the cabinet still approving the choice of department heads, it remains unclear whether directors-general are accountable to the cabinet, their ministers, the governing party or citizens.
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