Reforming Appointment and Removal in the Public Service and Municipalities

The policy brief argues that South Africa's state deterioration is rooted in the politicisation of public administration, where political office-bearers use unchecked appointment and removal powers to install allies and sideline competent officials. To counter this, the author proposes a system of 'segregation of duties' where independent bodies, specifically the Public Service Commission (PSC), manage the process planning and short-listing stages to ensure technical merit, while political leaders retain the final appointment power. For municipalities, the brief suggests involving the PSC or professional associations in selection committees. Because patronage is central to current power structures, the document recommends a 'covering in' mechanism—a strategically incremental implementation via presidential proclamation—to transition departments and municipalities into the new system gradually.

• South Africa's public administration suffers from systemic deterioration because political office-bearers routinely appoint politically aligned individuals to key positions and use removal powers to intimidate or sideline non-aligned officials.
• While the South African Constitution and legislation like the Public Service Act formally prohibit political criteria in personnel decisions, the lack of rigorous independent checks allows politicians to exercise political discretion in practice.
• The author proposes a reform model based on the principle that independent bodies must act as checks and balances, ensuring that no single group controls all stages of the appointment process (planning, administration, short-listing, and appointment).
• For national and provincial services, the Public Service Commission (PSC) should be the central reform agent, taking over process planning and administration, and chairing selection committees to generate short lists from which the President or premiers appoint.
• To address the lack of an independent regulatory authority in municipal administrations, the brief suggests either integrating local government into the general public service under the PSC or utilizing recognized professional associations (e.g., law, engineering, accounting) to nominate selection committee members.
• The document advocates for a 'covering in' mechanism for implementation, where an Act of Parliament establishes the new system but the President determines which specific departments or municipalities are brought under its provisions via irrevocable proclamation.

APA

R., B. (2021). Reforming Appointment and Removal in the Public Service and Municipalities. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/20210512_Policy-Brief-Reforming-Appointment-and-Removal-in-the-Public-Service-and-Municipalities-v2.pdf

Chicago

R., Brunette,. Reforming Appointment and Removal in the Public Service and Municipalities. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2021. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/20210512_Policy-Brief-Reforming-Appointment-and-Removal-in-the-Public-Service-and-Municipalities-v2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=R. |first1=Brunette, |title=Reforming Appointment and Removal in the Public Service and Municipalities |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=May 2021 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/20210512_Policy-Brief-Reforming-Appointment-and-Removal-in-the-Public-Service-and-Municipalities-v2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{r2021reforming, author = {R., Brunette,}, title = {{Reforming Appointment and Removal in the Public Service and Municipalities}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/20210512_Policy-Brief-Reforming-Appointment-and-Removal-in-the-Public-Service-and-Municipalities-v2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }