From 12-14 September, the Action SA party met for its policy conference. Ivor Chipkin, Executive Director of the New South Institute (NSI), was invited to speak on public service reform based on NSI research.

Reflecting on his 2017 report, “Betrayal of the Promised“, Mr Chipkin highlighted the pressing issues within South Africa’s public service. In particular, he highlighted the impact of Section 3 of the Public Service Act of 1994. This section has inadvertently led to the politicisation of public administration by giving politicians a disproportionate influence over departmental administrative processes.

The fundamentals of his discourse were echoed in the NSI’s policy brief, “An Agenda for Reform“, published earlier this year. The brief explicitly proposes:

(1) An amendment to Section 3(7) of the Public Service Act to reduce the operational and recruitment influence of Ministers and the President;
(2) A shift of recruitment powers to department heads, in line with the original SMS blueprint;
(3) The introduction of an Administrative Procedures Act to establish transparent and enforceable standards for public administration, from recruitment to ethics;
(4) Strengthening the criminal justice system to seamlessly enforce these reforms and pre-empt potential obstacles;

Mr Chipkin’s address to the conference underscored NSI’s commitment to advocating for public service reform on diverse platforms. Collaborative, cross-party, research-based dialogue remains an integral part of NSI’s ethos, a commitment exemplified by Ivor’s presentation at the Action SA Policy Conference.

For a detailed insight into Mr Chipkin’s perspective, his full address is available on YouTube.