Some curious facts from a ballooning presidency
It often stated, by the DA in particular, that over the last ten years - starting with President Mbeki and expedited under President Zuma - power is being centralised in the Presidency. But what are the facts? Well, the best way of determining an answer is to look at the annual reports for the presidency. And, sure enough, they demonstrate it is growing at an ever-increasing rate.
With that increase, though, come various administrative posts - the ‘logistical support', if you will - and so, one obvious contingent question is, to what extent has a ballooning presidency created the need for more positions which exist merely to accommodate and facilitate the work of those charged with making actual policy? Here too, the numbers tell a certain story.
First, a word about the methodology: every annual report is produced in pro forma fashion. One standard section is a Human Resources report; within it, a table which breaks down the staff of any given department by critical occupation. It sets out the number of people that department employs by position. By comparing the numbers year-on-year, you can see how the overall size of the department has grown; likewise, the growth in personnel employed for each specific job.
The presidency's website only carries its annual report going back to 2002/2003, so let's use that has our primary comparative point of reference.
By the end of the 2003 financial year, the presidency employed 367 people. Of these, it employed a great deal of support staff, of various different sorts. But let us look at those positions which deal more with ensuring comfort, than facilitating hard outcomes. For example, in 2003 the presidency employed: