Public Service Amendment Bill 2023 Submission of Public Comment

The submission supports the Public Service Amendment Bill 2023's goal of professionalising public administration but argues that the Bill does not go far enough to prevent political interference. The authors propose clarifying the distinct roles of the President/Premier versus Ministers/MECs, strengthening the role of the Head of the Presidency in managing senior career paths, and introducing robust checks and balances in the appointment of Heads of Department (HODs). They specifically advocate for de-linking HOD tenure from political terms and extending prohibitions on holding political office to all public servants to prevent the 'strategic positioning of particular individuals in positions of power' used during state capture.

• The authors argue that broad executive powers of appointment and removal without checks and balances have allowed patronage to pervade personnel practices, which was a primary mechanism of state capture used to control public procurement and law enforcement.
• The submission identifies a risk of 'organisational paralysis and chaos' due to ambiguity in the Bill regarding whether certain powers—such as aligning a Head of Department's (HOD) role with a strategic plan—belong to the President/Premier or the relevant Ministers/MECs.
• The submission claims the Bill fails to provide robust checks and balances for appointing senior public servants, leaving room for 'partisan politics' and 'factionalism' to influence the administrative hierarchy.
• The authors propose that the Public Service Commission (PSC) should play a vital role in administering appointment processes to ensure transparency and recruit for expertise and integrity.
• The submission advocates for de-linking the tenure of HODs from political terms, suggesting an increase in the standard term from five to at least ten years to stabilise the public administration.
• While supporting the prohibition of HODs and their direct reports from holding political office, the authors propose extending this prohibition to all public servants to prevent the blurring of the political-administrative line.

APA

Public Affairs Research Institute (2023). Public Service Amendment Bill 2023 Submission of Public Comment. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/PublicServiceBill2023_Submission_v166.pdf

Chicago

Public Affairs Research Institute. Public Service Amendment Bill 2023 Submission of Public Comment. 2023. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/PublicServiceBill2023_Submission_v166.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Public Affairs Research Institute |title=Public Service Amendment Bill 2023 Submission of Public Comment |date=28 July 2023 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/PublicServiceBill2023_Submission_v166.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{publicaffairsresearchinstitute2023public, author = {{Public Affairs Research Institute}}, title = {{Public Service Amendment Bill 2023 Submission of Public Comment}}, publisher = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/PublicServiceBill2023_Submission_v166.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }