Open Letter to the President: Major reforms in the public service are critical to the future of South Africa

The Public Affairs Research Institute urges President Cyril Ramaphosa to strengthen the draft National Implementation Framework towards the Professionalisation of the Public Service. The author contends that current norms allow political office bearers to prioritize personal connections over expertise, contributing to corruption and the breakdown of basic services. The letter proposes granting the Public Service Commission greater institutional independence to manage the appointment and removal of senior public servants, including the head of the public service and directors-general, to ensure a capable state able to address social, economic, and climate crises.

• South Africa's public service is undermined by rules and procedures that grant political office bearers broad, unchecked powers of appointment and removal, which prioritizes political connections over integrity and expertise.
• The lack of administrative control and the presence of political networks within the administration have facilitated corruption, the State Capture crisis, and the deterioration of basic service delivery.
• The draft National Implementation Framework towards the Professionalisation of the Public Service is viewed as insufficient because it does not clearly define how the head of the public service is appointed or removed, nor does it address appointment powers lower in the hierarchy.
• The Public Affairs Research Institute recommends amending the Public Service Commission Act to give the Commission full control over senior appointments and the authority to manage the appointment and removal of the head of the public service, directors-general, and deputy directors-general.
• A professionalized and capable state is presented as a necessity for South Africa to overcome its current socio-economic crisis and to prepare for future threats, specifically climate change.

APA

Buthelezi, M. (2021). Open Letter to the President: Major reforms in the public service are critical to the future of South Africa. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/open-letter-to-the-president-major-reforms-in-the-public-service-are-critical-to-the-future-of-south-africa/

Chicago

Buthelezi, Mbongiseni. Open Letter to the President: Major reforms in the public service are critical to the future of South Africa. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2021. https://pari.org.za/open-letter-to-the-president-major-reforms-in-the-public-service-are-critical-to-the-future-of-south-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Buthelezi |first1=Mbongiseni |title=Open Letter to the President: Major reforms in the public service are critical to the future of South Africa |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=5 March 2021 |url=https://pari.org.za/open-letter-to-the-president-major-reforms-in-the-public-service-are-critical-to-the-future-of-south-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{buthelezi2021open, author = {Buthelezi, Mbongiseni}, title = {{Open Letter to the President: Major reforms in the public service are critical to the future of South Africa}}, publisher = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://pari.org.za/open-letter-to-the-president-major-reforms-in-the-public-service-are-critical-to-the-future-of-south-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }