Dialogue Series on the Capacity of the State

The report summarizes dialogues on enhancing South African state capacity, highlighting the need for a $250 billion energy transition, the professionalization of the public service to reduce political interference, and the urgent need to address municipal infrastructure backlogs and the legacies of state capture.

• The South African energy transition is estimated to require an investment of approximately $250 billion through to 2050. To achieve net zero by 2050, the state must mobilize domestic financial sector investments and create partnerships across business and government.
• The electricity sector requires complete restructuring to ensure a secure and cheap supply, which includes the establishment of a national transmission company and a central purchasing agency. Current progress is hindered by excessive red tape delaying the connection of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to the grid.
• Localization policies are currently acting as an obstacle to energy infrastructure development. Specifically, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) insists on localization prescripts that exceed local capacity, such as for insulators, which increases costs—for example, making transmission infrastructure 40% more expensive than in Namibia.
• State capability is defined not just by administrative attributes but by the ability to 'reach into society' to coordinate and incentivize actors. However, a culture of compliance and micro-controls has created a system where public servants focus on ticking boxes and compiling reports rather than delivering real outcomes.
• Professionalizing the public sector is viewed as a critical reform to insulate the public service from improper political interference and stabilize the political-administrative interface. Proposed reforms include extending the tenure of Directors-General (DGs) from five to ten years and establishing the Public Service Commission (PSC) as an independent Constitutional entity.
• The state faces a significant 'capability gap' in human resources, struggling to find skilled officials in areas such as legal drafting. There is a need to rethink public sector pay scales to attract young professionals who currently opt for the private sector due to world-competitive salaries.
• State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are currently overburdened with competing mandates and are grappling with institutional legacies from state capture. There is a need for a clearer policy mandate and reformed board appointment processes to ensure stability.
• Municipal infrastructure and funding models are in crisis, with maintenance backlogs estimated between R100-R200 billion. The current fiscal framework is insufficient, and there is a critical lack of capability within municipalities to manage distribution networks.
• Organized crime is increasingly impacting public infrastructure, particularly in the transport and energy sectors. Law enforcement, specifically crime intelligence, is described as not being fit-for-purpose and in some cases being implicated in the crime.

APA

Public Affairs Research Institute (n.d.). Dialogue Series on the Capacity of the State. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/20240512_AfDG_DialogueReportFinal_v2.pdf

Chicago

Public Affairs Research Institute. Dialogue Series on the Capacity of the State. n.d. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/20240512_AfDG_DialogueReportFinal_v2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Public Affairs Research Institute |title=Dialogue Series on the Capacity of the State |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/20240512_AfDG_DialogueReportFinal_v2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{publicaffairsresearchinstitutenddialogue, author = {{Public Affairs Research Institute}}, title = {{Dialogue Series on the Capacity of the State}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/20240512_AfDG_DialogueReportFinal_v2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }