SA is at a turning point. To succeed, the new government of national unity (GNU) must rapidly draw millions of marginalised black South Africans into the economy, stimulate growth off a scanty base and ratchet up development.
The challenge is that getting a much-deepened reform agenda off the ground requires a functional, capable state. This is why the Centre for Development and Enterprise’s (CDE) Agenda 2024 priority areas of action for the next government start with fixing the state.
Our first document in this series made the case for a smaller, more functional cabinet and a strengthened presidency. The new report calls on the incoming government to appoint the right people in mission-critical public sector jobs. Putting the best possible people into key positions can accelerate change, boost economic growth and generate millions more jobs. By contrast, putting the wrong people in charge can destroy institutions, as we have seen with devastating effect.
There are excellent senior civil servants in the state, whose commitment and hard work in difficult circumstances is impressive and admirable. Unfortunately, there are also far too many civil servants who are inadequately skilled, demotivated or dishonest.
As the Public Service Commission (PSC) reported earlier this year, there is a lack of professional and technical skills in the public service and many officials see their role as enforcing rules rather than achieving outcomes. According to its head, Somadoda Fikeni, the public sector does not exhibit “the astuteness, agility, capacity or single-mindedness to do its best for the country”.
Reforming the public sector is a major undertaking, and some tentative initiatives to build a more professional public service are in place. The new government needs to turbo-boost the process by focusing on leadership. The president must appoint capable, honest ministers and deputy ministers to lead reform. His cabinet must then ensure the top echelon of the public service — such as directors-general and their deputies — are the best people available to drive and monitor effective execution, particularly in key departments and critical state institutions.