Single public service – Part 1: Where does the idea come from and what’s it all about?
Written by Derek Powell Friday, 05 June 2009 12:37
Government intends to go ahead with the single public service and the DA will oppose that move. This much is clear from the President’s State of the Nation Address and Premier Zille’s remarks to the media afterwards. In the past other influential voices have expressed concerns about this initiative, including the South African Local Government Association and certain trade unions. Consequently, this is not just an ANC-DA standoff, but a policy debate that cuts across political parties and spheres of government. More importantly it is a matter that concerns the general public, because what the public service does or doesn’t do affects all of our lives in one way or another. That fact is a strong incentive for the public to pay close attention to developments as they unfold over the next few months, looking at –1. The background to the single public service and Government’s policy objectives
2. The specific measures and reforms that are being proposed to create a single public service
3. The concerns of key stakeholders, and key questions for the portfolio committee
It is still unclear whether the legislation introduced into Parliament last year will go back in its current form or with amendments. That legislation is the point of departure for this column.
Background and policy context
Currently, South Africa has a dual public service. National and provincial administrations are governed by a single Act of Parliament and local administration by another. Different conditions of service, codes of conduct, levels of remuneration, pension funds, labour bargaining processes and so forth apply in the public service and in local administration. One of the consequences of the split in public administration is that it is not possible for officials to move easily from the public service to local administration and vice-versa without resigning their present positions, pension funds and medical aid schemes.
The idea of the single public service has been around for some time. In one of her last speeches in public office, the former Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi traced its political origins back to the resolutions of the 51st ANC Conference in 2002. The Minister extracted this quote from the conference resolutions to explain the policy behind the single public service:
`The 51st conference...expressed the view that: ‘we seek to build a developmental state, capable of implementing the objectives of our national democratic revolution, including the creation of a better life for all, addressing the legacy of apartheid, colonialism and patriarchy, and acting as the driving force for socio-economic transformation; and that the state as the key instrument for the delivery of basic services should develop appropriate systems and structures in order to facilitate sustainable service delivery machinery.” Among the resolutions taken under this heading were:
· To continue strengthening, developing and refining the system of intergovernmental relations between the three spheres of government that has evolved;
· The pace of transformation be accelerated through the creation of a single development-oriented integrated system of public administration, and
· That the move towards a single public service should not be seen as an administrative process, and should incorporate the move the move towards integrated service delivery including single service access points for citizens. This will result in greater access to services for rural communities.’
The resolution became part of the ANC’s 2004 election manifesto and was thereafter articulated as government policy in the President’s State of the Nation Address in following years.
This quote and the content of the Minister’s speech make it clear that the purpose of the single public service is both normative - a core component of the developmental state: a state that intervenes in the economy and society - and instrumental - it is aimed at increasing the pace of service delivery by creating single service delivery access points. The Minister then elaborated on each element of the single public service, the problem it seeks to address, and how it will do that. These are set out in tabulated form below:
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What is needed
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What is the problem
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What is proposed
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Increasing coherence of state
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Myriad of national, regional, provincial and municipal offices, each operating in own silo with separate identity (fragmented delivery – single department, single service point, single service point) Poor coordination between spheres of government requires citizens to visit more than one office or make multiple visits for a single service (services are inaccessible to citizens) |
Integration of government services, systems and personnel: · Cluster services and concentrate them as one stop shops close to citizens (Thusong centres and urban malls) · Staff become responsible for services of multiple departments/entities Regulatory framework for service centres across the country as sites for the delivery of services across the spheres of government Integration of ICT (pay traffic fine at supermarket) |
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Flexible institutions
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Different conditions of service makes transfer of staff between spheres difficult |
Mobility between institutions of government to facilitate the transfer of functions between spheres: · Interim transfer mechanisms · Harmonization of conditions of service in the long term |
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Capable human capacity
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Civil servants are not civil or servants of the public |
Attitude change, professional ethos, Batho Pele |
This policy was enshrined in two pieces of legislation for a single public service – The Public Service Amendment Act (30 of 2007), which came into partial effect in March 2008, and the Public Administration Management Bill, which was withdrawn on the 11th of November 2008. Subsequent columns will look at the specific measures proposed in this legislation.
