House Chair, the ACDP supports the Public Service Amendment Bill as an important step to ensuring a public administration that is professional, effective, and impartial as set out in section 195 of the Constitution.
What is important is that it establishes a clear separation between the political role of ministers and the administrative functions of public servants to prevent political interference in day-to-day operations.
This was highlighted by the Zondo Commission which identified that the primary mechanism of state capture was the strategic positioning of particular individuals in positions of power which was then used to gain control of public procurement and over law enforcement agencies.
Corrupt politicians and officials used appointments and disciplinary processes to remove those law-abiding public servants and replace them with those who were willing to be complicit in corruption—and this was done under former President Zuma’s administration, and sadly, has continued as we see in evidence before the Madlanga Commission and the parliamentary ad hoc committee.
House Chairperson, broad executive powers of appointment and removal without effective checks and balances allowed patronage considerations to pervade public administration and personnel practices, blurring lines in the political administrative interface. This the bill seeks to remedy.
The bill has now been further improved by the NCOP to include words or membership of a party’s executive after the word ‘party’ to ensure broader application. This the ACDP supports.
Lastly, the ACDP shares concerns about long delays in finalising disciplinary action against offending public servants, many of whom are suspended almost indefinitely on full pay. This cannot be allowed to continue unabated as it severely impacts service delivery. Disciplinary hearings must be finalised quickly and without unnecessary delays.
I thank you.
