In the latest episode of Governing Tomorrow, hosted by the New South Institute (NSI), Executive Director Ivor Chipkin joins the conversation to explore one of the most significant public sector reforms currently underway in South Africa: the Public Service Amendment Bill.

This wide-ranging discussion unpacks how the proposed amendments aim to depoliticise public administration by shifting operational authority from political principals to Heads of Departments. Drawing on comparative and historical insights, the episode argues that professionalising the public service is a prerequisite for building a capable and accountable state.

The conversation also revisits the legacies of state capture and reflects on the slow pace of implementation of the Zondo Commission’s recommendations. The politicisation of appointments and its impact on state capacity remain central concerns, with Dr Chipkin stressing that the amendment bill represents a critical opportunity to interrupt that trend.

Additional themes covered in the episode include:

• The professionalisation framework and the need for systemic, not individual, reform;
  
• The role of frontline public servants and the material constraints they face;
  
• The balance between administrative autonomy and political accountability;
  
• The importance of engaging provincial legislatures during the current phase of the bill’s passage;
  
• Regional and international interest in South Africa’s reform trajectory.

The episode ends with a call to action: for civil society, unions, public servants, and elected representatives to support these reforms and help usher in a new phase of democratic governance in South Africa and beyond.

🎧 Governing Tomorrow is available on the New South Institute’s YouTube channel.