Public Service Amendment Bill 2023 Submission of Public Comment

A joint submission by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM), The Ethics Institute (TEI), and Corruption Watch regarding the Public Service Amendment Bill 2023. The document supports the Bill's goal of professionalising the South African public administration but argues that it does not go far enough to insulate the service from patronage politics and political interference.

• The submitters argue that broad executive powers of appointment and removal without sufficient checks and balances have allowed patronage to influence public administrative personnel practices, which obscures the boundary between political and administrative roles.
• The submission identifies a risk of 'organisational paralysis and chaos' due to ambiguity in the Bill regarding the respective powers of the President/Premier versus Ministers/MECs in relation to Heads of Department (HODs).
• The submission criticizes the Bill for failing to implement robust checks and balances in the appointment of senior public servants, noting that the Public Service Commission (PSC) is not given a role in supporting these processes.
• The submitters recommend that the tenure of Heads of Department be de-linked from political terms, suggesting an increase in the standard term from five to at least ten years to stabilize the administration.
• The submission strongly supports the prohibition of HODs and their direct reports from holding political office in a party, but proposes extending this prohibition to all public servants to prevent inappropriate political interference.

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} }