NSI Executive Director and co-founder Dr Ivor Chipkin recently joined Podcast Party SA’s Level Up with Phumi Mashigo for an episode examining how South Africa’s laws and policies are developed—and how the public can participate meaningfully in that process. Podcast Party was formed ahead of South Africa’s 2024 election to use long-form conversation and accessible online content to support informed civic engagement, with a stated focus on open dialogue, critical thinking, and accountability.

Context: NSI’s “Sign the Bill, Mr President!” campaign

The conversation takes place against the backdrop of NSI’s newly launched “Sign the Bill, Mr President!” campaign, which urges President Cyril Ramaphosa to assent to the Public Service Amendment Bill following its final processing in Parliament in the last quarter of 2025. The campaign aims to explain the Bill in clear language, encourage informed public dialogue on public-service reform, and respectfully call for presidential assent to enable implementation in the coming financial year.
NSI has argued that, once enacted, the Bill would help clarify the boundary between political office-bearers and the administration; promote merit, professionalism and ethical conduct; strengthen institutional integrity and oversight; and improve accountability in service delivery.

What was discussed in the episode

In the episode—titled “Who really writes our laws?”—host Phumi Mashigo is joined by Makashule Gana (RISE Mzansi) and Dr Ivor Chipkin (NSI) to walk listeners through key stages of law-making and law reform, from early policy proposals and drafting through parliamentary processes and, ultimately, assent and implementation. The discussion also considers what citizens can do to engage with these processes, including participation through submissions and public hearings.

The episode uses two live legislative “case studies” to illustrate how power and discretion operate at different points in the system. Dr Chipkin reflects on the trajectory of the Public Service Amendment Bill, which seeks to support the professionalisation of the public service and reduce the scope for political interference in day-to-day administration—an issue at the centre of NSI’s current public campaign.

Makashule Gana, in turn, discusses a reform effort in the gambling policy space and what it looks like to advance legislation at an earlier stage of the parliamentary journey—highlighting the practical realities of negotiation, contestation, and institutional bottlenecks.

Listen / watch

The episode was published on 15 January 2026 and runs for approximately 45 minutes.