Trainingsenior Public Servants in South Africa

TrainingSenior Public Servants in South Africa

Peter E. Franks

University of Stellenbosch

ABSTRACT

South Africa negotiated a peaceful process of regime change from Apartheid to a non-racial, non-sexist democracy. It has become a beacon to the world and Africa, attesting to the viability of negotiated settlements for complex socio-political conflicts. Despite the triumph of this political-process, South Africa’s transition to democracy has stumbled in important ways, slowing thedevelopment agenda.High-quality public service training and development is one important element of the necessary politico-administrative changes that must occur so that the country can make progress in an orderly fashion. This remains difficult in the current context. When the Apartheid-distorted civil service was overhauled political allegiance overruledtechnical competence, in the Weberian sense, in the deployment of cadres to public service positions. The corrupt procurement processes of the previous regime’ collusion with the private sector continued to tempt the newly entering public servants. Adding to these challenges was the overlay of New Public Management anddevelopmental state perspectives that failed to utilize concomitant accountability mechanisms, to constrain the strong cultural norms relying on ideology and kinship loyalty as normally found in modern effective administration. While the rudiments of improved public service management, anti-corruption measures and training are presently being put in place, guided by the National Development Plan, it remains to be seen if these initiatives will be widely supported and effectively implemented, or swept away in the next political rotation. Training in support of these initiatives is essential if the public service is to be able to deliver on its mandate.

INTRODUCTION

The new South Africa emerged from the negotiated end of Apartheid in a world context of regime change, globalisation and successive global economic crises. As Brent (1996) states “…South Africa is not a normal country. It has emerged from a history of tragedy to become a model of compromise and creative leadership for the world.” (p. 126). The promise of the new South Africa was wildly exaggerated by the euphoria that accompanied the negotiated settlement. However, the depth of the challenge of lifting up, integrating, and providing leadership to the formerly oppressed community was underestimated.

The new South Africa inherited a racially skewed public service in which 95.5% of the top 3,239 civil servantswere white, and only 0.6% black African (Picard 2005, p. 40). Black Africans made up the vast majority of public servants in the lower ranks, with a few middle and senior level public servantsin the homeland Governments (Picard 2005, 45).Faced with this historyof exclusion from executive roles in the public service, as well as the private sector,most members of the ANC were suspicious of the existing public servants.

In preparation for taking over governance, the ANC set up “...a group to explore post-Apartheid public administration in South Africa” whichconcluded“…that public administration policies should be redirected to development management through education and training” (McLennan 2007, p. 41), and called for the establishment of a Civil Service College.

The enormity of the task facing the new government was daunting. South Africa had to merge the many administrations of the central government and the various homelands into one coherent, vastly extended administrative system, while at the same time develop policies and practices to ameliorate the ravages of Apartheid and its colonial and settler predecessors. It also had to contend with the rapid urbanisation accompanying the lifting of influx controls which was increasing the demand for urban services. To add to these difficulties, the ANC was faced with anadministrative system and ‘Mandarins’(top civil servants) who they felt they could not trust.Nonetheless, an effective restructuring occurred in which a three sphere system (National, Provincial and Local Governments) was created,incorporating all the previous administrations and rationalising the previously fragmented local governments. The three spheres are independent and interdependent which makes central control difficult and some in Government would therefore have preferred them to be tiered.

SOCIO –POLITICAL NEXUS OF GOVERNANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA

For convenience fiveoverlapping periods can be identified in the development of the new South African public service to the present juncture:

1987 – 1994Preparations for change.

1991 – 2003Euphoria for the new South Africa.

1999 – 2008Defensive denial, blaming unintended consequences.

2006 – 2012Growing acknowledgment.

2011 – PresentComprehensive and integrated response.

In transition negotiations, it was agreed that a Government of National Unity would be formed for the first five years. The so-called Sunset Clause, which guaranteed public servants their jobs until 1999,was an important compromise. Thesettlement was reluctantly accepted by the ANC, but many within the broad coalition remained allied to the idea of the national democratic revolution, requiring dismantling of the racial/class system fostered by capitalism. As Fraser Moleketi (2006) put it, “When the time came for a negotiated settlement, the ANC and its partners had to consider a more strategically informed settlement rather than the initial desire for a clean break” (p. 14). In the 1990s, a number of policies were speedily produced in order to bring about the desired transformation of South Africa, ingeneral, and the Public Service in particular.

Although the ANC took the reins of government asa movement of liberation,it had to transform itself into a pragmatic ruling party.The ANChas always maintained that it is a ‘broad church,’a 'coalition' of a broad variety of ideologies that exist,centringonthe Tripartite Alliancewiththe South African Communist Party, and the Congress of South African Trade Unions.The challenges of a broad coalition,containingsuch diverse and even opposing value systems and interests,make coherent policy making and effective administration enormously difficult.

In this rapidly changing and confusing environment,training in administrative matters has been overwhelmed by the political, as with the Apartheid regime before. Loopholes were exploited as public servantsinterpreted policy in terms of their own ideological bent and/orpersonal interests, as well as those of their kin and comrades. The problemsinherent in this corruption of management is that it cascades down the ranks, and compoundsthroughout the public service system.Incompetent managers hire even less competent subordinates in order to safeguard their position.Centres of excellence and commitment become swamped by the malaise.

Policy was distorted,firstlyat the level of formulation by an over-reliance on foreign models and failure to develop truly contextual policies; andsecondlyat implementation, whereparticular interpretations and interests have distorted the original intentions and spirit of these policies.

Understandably, many public servantswere motivated by the possibilities of capital accumulation attached to their positions, and conspicuous consumption became the rule. At first, the new government was careful in its deployments, however, as many skilled and experienced public servants left the service after the introduction of the Voluntary Severance Packages (1996);many deployments came to be less than appropriate in terms of merit (Kanyane 2012). In addition,cadre deployment wascomplemented by an unfettered application of Affirmative Action, without the support, monitoring, or management both promised and required, reducing it, too often, to mere favouritism and nepotism.

In particular, the contradiction between responsibility to the constitution and that to the national democratic revolutionhas hindered the ANC Government’s ability to implement policy and maintainwell-functioning management. Kader Asmal, a former ANC minister warnedin 2010 that the national democratic revolution should be scrapped, as dire consequences could result if it is not. As he said, it creates a fundamental, “… conflict of interests because the values of the revolution are incompatible with those of the constitution” (Hoffman 2010, p. 1).

The lack of a unifying vision has meant that policy implementation has been frequently and extensivelyundermined. The argument against neutrality in favour of ideological loyalty, although well meaning, undermines management as a whole. Rousseau (1762)warned, “Nothing is more dangerous than the influence of private interests in public affairs, and the abuse of the laws by the government is a less evil than the corruption of the legislator, which is the inevitable sequel to a particular standpoint. In such a case, the State being altered in substance, all reformation becomes impossible”(p. 44).Chipkin (2012) concurs when he describes the South African Public Service as a “captured institution” whose “…officials do not produce an ‘effect of universality’ but an effect of particularity” (p. 21). Impartiality and commitment to the general good is essential for democracy.

In the beginning of the transition from Apartheid, the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) promised an extensive program of Affirmative Action, including training and support, and stated further thatwithin two years” of its implementation, “…recruitment and training should reflect South Africa in terms of race, class and gender”(1994, p. 127). Despite warnings of the need to support appointees (Franks 1995),the training and support promised was seldom forthcoming; nor was the situation adequatelymanaged or monitored as promised. Furthermore, the concept of ‘potential’ became a favoured loopholethrough which kin, friends, and comrades were advantaged over more competent applicants. Even the possibility of on-the-job mentoring and training diminished as the Voluntary Severance Packages (VSP)depleted the store of experience and skill in the Public Service, despite government’s commitment to retain skills. Many of those with skills and experience, who knew they could get further employment, took the packages and many later came back as consultants, while much of the deadwoodfrom the old regime remained.

The racial and gender composition of Senior management was quickly transformed so that by 2006 52% were black African, 8% coloured, 8% Asian (68% black) and 32% white and by 2011: 72% were black African, 10% coloured, 5% Asian (87% black) and only 13% white. In 2011 63% of senior managers were male and 37% female, but it will still take some time for the revised 50% target to be met.

By1998, the Presidential Review Commission noted that the benefits of the voluntary severance packages, such as opening spaces for the appointment of black South Africans, were“…far outweighed by the disadvantages,”including a number of“…undesired and serious adverse effects,” orso-called unintended consequences. Picard (2005) warned that, “The failure to focus on institutional strengthening in the first decade of non-racial government may have long-term implications for South Africa” (p. 370).

In October of 1997, the Department of Public Service and Administration, recognising the need for an ethos of service delivery, launched the Batho Pele initiative (a SeSothophrase meaning “putting our people first”). The Batho Pele campaignedto implement eight service delivery principles aimed at improving efficiency and accountability.The initiative failed to take root or show significant results in changing the politico-administrative culture. In 1998, the White Paper on Public Service Training and Educationnoted a number of concerns with regard to training,but the growing problem of corruption was not mentioned in the Presidential Review Commission that same year (Picard 2005: 154).

Recruitment of public servants through political processes and affirmative action congealed around the notion of cadre deployment (i.e., selection of party-loyal members in senior administrative positions). The unintended consequences of these practices began to be noticedby some commentators; this was initially met with denial from theruling party, but later implicitly acknowledged(FraserMoleketi 2006, p.6).

The Department of Public Service and Administration Review 1999-2000 (2000) identifiedof the followingshortcomingsof the transformation project: time lines were overly-optimistic;it tackled too many interventions at the same time in an unplanned fashion; the need for management development had been underestimated; and that,in hindsight, some interventions could have undermined the resilience of the bureaucracy.

In 2001, the Senior Management Service (SMS) was introduced, which developed a Handbook (2003) defining a competency framework for the 10,000 senior managers in the Public Service (directors, chief directors,deputy directors general, and directors general) as well as the 250,000 junior managers. The competency framework (2002) identified TenCore Managerial Competences:

Strategic Capability and Leadership.
Programme and Project Management
Financial Management
Change Management
Knowledge Management
Service Delivery and Innovation
Problem Solving and Analysis
People Management and Empowerment
Client Orientation and Customer Focus
Communication.

In 2008 an 11thcore competence ‘Honesty and Integrity’, was added. A Public Service Job Summit was held in 2001successfully reaching aframework agreement.

Challengescontinued to undermine the progress of these initiatives andservice delivery protests increased due tothe continued failure to deliver promised services. From 2011 the government responded with a number offar-reaching interventions: theNational Development Plan (2011),aimed at mobilising all sectors and resources towards the development of South Africa;the proposed Public Administration Management Bill Public Administration Management Billof 2013, aimed at establishing basic Weberian competencies and managementin the public service, and outlawing public servants or their families doing business with the state. This package of interventions alsoprovides for an anti-corruption bureau; and establishinga National School of Government to utilise academics and experiencedpublic servants for appropriate training and development of incumbents and new appointments.

Government seems agreed that the Public Service is the engine room of development and has to be put right. The National Development Plan has placed a high priority onbuilding a capable professional and competent developmental state.Despite the need for rationalization, professionalization, and anti-corruption, it remains to be seen if thenew initiatives can withstand criticism from alliance partnersand vested interests and mobilise all sectors to contribute.

ORGANIZATIONAL-ADMINISTRATIVE CULTURE

In preparation for democracy, the Public Service Academics assisted by various funding agencies held a number of conferences and workshops and set up the New Public Administration Initiative (NPAI) modelled largely on the NPM.It was an exciting and vibrant time among both academics and practitioners, involving them in a number of activities where they jointly discussed public service transition and transformation.

“The Public Administration academic community got caught up in the euphoria of the New South Africa” as Cameron 2008)has noted (p. 61). Academics introduced supportive principles and concepts from the New Public Management but with only some success. Overall, the academics and the ruling party were talking at cross purposes. Academics became enthusiastically supportive but somewhat uncritical training and research beneficiaries of the foreign aid funding released by the coming of democracy.

The ANC embracedthe NPAI’s emphasis on popular participation, citizen-oriented service delivery, and management empowerment. Fraser Moleketi (2006) noted: “…not surprisingly the minimalist, neo-liberal ideology of the NPM clashed with the democratic and radical approaches of the ANC especially with regard to the ‘macro’ sides of reform.” (p. 62). Levin (2004) suggested that the NPM emphasis on“decentralisation and deregulation”ran“counter to the central tenets of developmental statism, which are based on coordinated planning from a central level and greater regulation.” (p. 78).The NPM competed with other models, notably the Developmental State model with its Japaneseorigins (later influenced by Deng Xiaoping’s vision of state-led capitalism), and also the centrally planned economy of communist regimes. The ‘old’Chinese model also embraces cadre deployment which Minister Sisulu continues to defend.

The trajectory of Public Management theory in the west, from Public Administration to New Public Management, to the various conceptions of New Public Governance, is perhaps, best suited to the needs of thatcontext. New Public Management and New Governance assume that basicpublic administration principles (the so-called Weberian competencies), are in place. Whether New Public Management and New Governanceare appropriate for situations in which the basic Public Administration principles,especially that of an impartial public service, have been challenged and undermined in practice, is doubtful. No doubt aspects of New Public Management and New Governance are certainly being incorporated as government, through the National Development Plan, attempts to build a consensus among all sectors towards a democratic developmental state. However, these networks can only thrive in a context of fairness, harmony, and trust, underpinned by an efficient and accountable public service. It is not just that public servantssimply lack the Weberian competencies, for competence does not seem to hinder the project management of some highly complex corruption schemes. What is required is an unambiguous ethical framework that is monitored, managed and exemplified.

EXPECTATIONS OF LEADERS

The 1996 Constitution provides a clear idea of the kind of Public Service management that was envisaged, anda clear goal for the transformation process:

Professionalism, impartiality and excellence;
Accountability and transparency;
Participatory policy-making;
Efficiency, effectiveness, and equity;
A developmental and service orientation. (Presidential Review Commission 1998)

In addition, section 195(1) of the Constitution prescribes basic values and principles for public administration:

A high standard of professional ethics must be promoted and maintained.
Efficient, economic and effective use of resources must be promoted.
Public administration must be development-oriented.
Services must be provided impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias.
People's needs must be responded to, and the public must be encouraged to participate in policy-making.
Public administration must be accountable.
Transparency must be fostered by providing the public with timely, accessible and accurate information.
Good human-resource management and career-development practices, to maximise human potential, must be cultivated.
Public administration must be broadly representative of the South African people, with employment and personnel management practices based on ability, objectivity, fairness, and the need to redress the imbalances of the past to achieve broad representation.” (p. 122)

However admirable these goals,implementationwas distorted by particular interpretations andconflicts of interests, unmediated by Weberian competencies or a notion of impartiality. Rothstein (1968)discussing China’s cadre deployment with reference to the concept of ‘enfeoffment,” (the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for service)to describe situations in which the incumbent views their position in the Public Service as, “… something they could use more or less as their property to extract private resources from.” (p. 184).South Africa has too many examples of such entitlement from even the highest offices.