Draft Public Service Commission Bill (2023): Submission of Public Comment

PARI and PSAM support the Draft Public Service Commission Bill (2023) as a step toward professionalising South Africa's public administration but argue that the legislation must be strengthened to ensure the Commission remains a non-partisan bulwark against patronage. The submission recommends stricter rules on the political affiliations of commissioners and staff, greater transparency for reports, and clearer financial independence to prevent political interference in the public service.

• PARI research indicates that patronage politics in South Africa have destabilised state organisations, diverted resources from public programmes, and contributed to decaying public infrastructure and service delivery shortfalls.
• The submission argues that the Public Service Commission (PSC) must be institutionalised as a non-partisan entity to counter the 'strategic positioning of particular individuals in positions of power' used during state capture to control procurement and law enforcement.
• The authors recommend amending the Bill to prohibit commissioners and PSC Secretariat employees from being members of any political party or political organisation during their tenure to ensure impartiality and avoid conflicting party discipline.
• The submission proposes that the Bill be amended to prohibit commissioners from engaging in any remunerative work outside their official duties to prevent conflicts of interest and remove inappropriate political leverage from the President.
• The authors call for greater transparency regarding PSC reports, suggesting that all reports should be automatically public, except for those related to grievance procedures which should be disclosed based on public interest.
• The submission highlights ambiguity in the Bill's funding section, noting a contradiction between the appearance of a separate National Budget vote and an explanatory note suggesting appropriation through a government department.

APA

Public Affairs Research Institute (2023). Draft Public Service Commission Bill (2023): Submission of Public Comment. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/PARI_Submission_PSC_Bill_20230707_Final_withEndorsements.pdf

Chicago

Public Affairs Research Institute. Draft Public Service Commission Bill (2023): Submission of Public Comment. 2023. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/PARI_Submission_PSC_Bill_20230707_Final_withEndorsements.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Public Affairs Research Institute |title=Draft Public Service Commission Bill (2023): Submission of Public Comment |date=7 July 2023 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/PARI_Submission_PSC_Bill_20230707_Final_withEndorsements.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{publicaffairsresearchinstitute2023draft, author = {{Public Affairs Research Institute}}, title = {{Draft Public Service Commission Bill (2023): Submission of Public Comment}}, publisher = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/PARI_Submission_PSC_Bill_20230707_Final_withEndorsements.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }