Remodelling Cabinet Departments in South Africa

The study tracks the internal machinery of seven South African Cabinet departments from 2009 to 2021. It finds an aggregate expansion in internal organisational units that peaked around 2018/19, coinciding with the presidency of Jacob Zuma, before declining under Cyril Ramaphosa. While most departments are dominated by externally-oriented specialist portfolio units, the research indicates that internal structural changes are generally not triggered by ministerial reshuffles. Furthermore, the creation of public entities (agencification) did not lead to a corresponding reduction in the internal functions of Cabinet departments.

• There was an aggregate expansion in the total number of internal organisational units across the sampled departments between 2011/12 and 2018/19, with a subsequent decline starting in 2019/20 that aligns with President Cyril Ramaphosa's macro-restructuring of Cabinet.
• Growth in internal units was most significant at the operational level (level three/Chief Directorates) and the strategic level (level two/branches), while there was an overall decline in units at the leadership level (level one/Director-General).
• The research found that ministerial changes generally did not trigger large-scale internal structural overhauls, as evidenced by departments that underwent major restructuring without a change in minister and others that changed ministers frequently without structural shifts.
• The proliferation of non-departmental 'public entities' in South Africa did not result in the relocation or reduction of internal functions within Cabinet departments, suggesting that agencification operates independently of internal departmental composition.
• Most sampled departments show a high degree of similarity in the type of activities performed, with approximately 70% of units dedicated to externally-oriented specialist portfolio services rather than internal general management.
• Policy-oriented departments generally maintain more compact and balanced internal structural arrangements compared to implementation-oriented departments, though this varies by the breadth of the portfolio.
• The Department of Home Affairs exhibited the most asymmetrical and expansive strategic and operational footprint, characterized by a higher proportion of general management units due to administrative complexity and risk management.

APA

Naidoo, V. (2022). Remodelling Cabinet Departments in South Africa. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/20220701_RemodellingCabinetDeptsInSA_VinothanNaidoo_WorkingPaper.pdf

Chicago

Naidoo, Vinothan. Remodelling Cabinet Departments in South Africa. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2022. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/20220701_RemodellingCabinetDeptsInSA_VinothanNaidoo_WorkingPaper.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Naidoo |first1=Vinothan |title=Remodelling Cabinet Departments in South Africa |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=July 2022 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/20220701_RemodellingCabinetDeptsInSA_VinothanNaidoo_WorkingPaper.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naidoo2022remodelling, author = {Naidoo, Vinothan}, title = {{Remodelling Cabinet Departments in South Africa}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2022}, month = jul, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/20220701_RemodellingCabinetDeptsInSA_VinothanNaidoo_WorkingPaper.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }