The civil rights organisation AfriForum today said the fact that 35% of senior public servants do not have the necessary qualifications is only one of numerous problems hampering the state and service delivery. This fact was recently made known by Senzo Mchunu, the Minister of Public Service and Administration.
Dr Eugene Brink, strategic adviser for community affairs at AfriForum, said although these particulars are shocking, they did not come as a surprise. “The recent findings by the Auditor General indicate that provincial and national departments do not heed the concern that is expressed repeatedly with regard to several matters. The same with municipalities, where only 8% of them get clean audits.”
However, this is only the tip of the iceberg and it should be viewed in context with other factors. “Firstly, the public service is enormous. The public service wage bill is devouring a huge part of the state’s operational budget, which also chases away investors. Yet there is no turnaround, with community services and therefore the state being one of the few sectors that show growth in the COVID-19 era thanks to new appointments.
“If, in addition, these appointments cost too much in view of the state’s low productivity, it translates into economic decline, poor service delivery and socio-political instability,” Brink said.
According to Morné Mostert, manager of local government affairs at AfriForum, these issues are also related to corruption, the ANC’s policy of cadre deployment, affirmative action and a complete lack of accountability. “If you know you are appointed on anything but merit, it is a free pass and even a duty to loot because you know there will be no consequences for you. Your work then becomes to steal, not to do the work which you are not even qualified for and on top of that for which you are getting paid too much. Consequently, expensive consultants are appointed to do the work or these overpaid officials.
“The taxpayer and the public then are being wronged in numerous ways and not only because some people do not have qualifications. Not having the necessary qualifications and skills for one’s job is bad enough, but then in addition losing money that is stolen by incompetent officials is much worse.”
Finally, questions also have to be raised regarding victimisation of good officials; diligence; general leadership in the state, and also competence and correctness of the qualified people in the state. “Good and hard-working people are being forced out of the public service because of their ethical behaviour, the colour of their skin and their political non-alignment.”
“Without lumping everyone together, very valid criticism may be brought against many qualified people, because the state has weakened not only because people do not have qualifications. Qualifications may be forged and those with qualifications may still not be competent to be leaders or to properly perform their duties. And qualifications are not required to be on time for work and to do the basic things correctly,” Brink concluded.