Officials who occupy jobs that are vital to the task of reversing SA’s decline should, where possible, have to reapply for their jobs and not be reappointed if they are not competent.
This is the view of the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE), which proposes an amendment to the Labour Relations Act (LRA) to make it easier to replace civil servants in senior leadership positions.
“Mission critical” posts include cabinet ministers, deputy ministers, directors-general and their deputies in the priority portfolios of finance; trade, industry & competition; police; justice & constitutional development; and employment & labour, CDE executive director Ann Bernstein said in a statement on the CDE’s latest report.
Also included are the CEOs, chairs and other senior officials of state-owned companies and institutions under government control.
“Wherever possible, officials in mission-critical positions should be asked to reapply for their positions and appointed only after rigorous recruitment processes,” she said.
The report aims to highlight the need for the best available people to be appointed to top positions in the public service. It emphasises the importance of having effective leaders who are committed to urgent reform.
The report is the second in the CDE’s Agenda 2024 series of reports on what catalytic actions the new government needs to take to turn SA around.
The first report dealt with the priority to reorganise the presidency and the cabinet. Other reports will deal with driving growth and development by freeing up markets and competition; building a new approach to mass inclusion; dealing with the fiscal crisis; and strengthening the rule of law.
“CDE makes the case for replacing underperforming public officials with excellent people of impeccable integrity to turbocharge the new government’s reform agenda,” Bernstein said.
“We use the term ‘mission critical’ to describe jobs that will determine the success or failure of turning SA around. If the state is to become much more effective, opportunities must be seized to improve state capability dramatically and ensure the best possible people for the job required are appointed.
“Excellent professional appointments can kick-start change, achieve faster growth and generate millions more jobs.”
The proposed amendment to the LRA would allow for the dismissal of those holding senior positions in the public and private sectors on the payment of a determined compensation, which will be taken to be presumptively a fair dismissal with no rights of reinstatement.
The report calls on president-elect Cyril Ramaphosa to declare an end to cadre deployment in favour of merit-based appointments to build an honest and effective public service.
“In implementing this commitment, a first urgent step is to ensure the right people are in mission-critical jobs as soon as possible. We have seen the devastating consequences of putting the wrong people at the top of vital institutions,” Bernstein said.
“In the absence of a capable civil service, attempts to overcome the multiple crises that beset the country will fail. Rebuilding an effective state will take time but we need bold reforms and more effective delivery to occur urgently.”
The CDE points out that the Public Service Commission (PSC) reported earlier in 2024 that there was a shortage of professional and technical skills in the civil service.
PSC head Somadoda Fikeni said the public sector does not exhibit “the astuteness, agility, capacity or single mindedness to do its best for the country”.
Some public servants see their role as enforcing rules rather than achieving outcomes, while others abuse their positions for self-enrichment and patronage.
The centre also proposes the establishment of a permanent disciplinary tribunal chaired by a retired judge for officials accused of corruption. “The aim is to avoid lengthy delays in dismissing officials credibly accused of corruption. The tribunal should operate on an inquisitorial basis and be empowered to dismiss officials if the judge believes the evidence meets the ‘balance of probabilities’ standard. It should not need to wait for the completion of criminal investigations and prosecutions.”
The number of political advisers should be limited and their roles clearly defined.
Other reforms proposed in the report include strengthening the PSC, which should have a stronger role in the hiring of senior managers in the public service, and the introduction of more rigorous entrance exams for public servants.
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