Pretoria – Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe says a productive civil service can help to tackle the socio-economic challenges facing the country.
“The idea of a highly productive public service is to meet the basic needs of our people, as well as contribute towards the development of our economy,” said Motlanthe on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Government Leadership Summit held in Pretoria, Motlanthe said an effective public service had to develop a deeper understanding of the constitutional imperatives and government mandate of providing a better life for the country’s citizens.
This, according to Motlanthe, would make it easier for government to develop the necessary skills in its human capital to deal with the challenges faced by South Africans across the board.
“Our key challenge then, in addition to inculcating a sense of mission and a deeper understanding of government in our civil service, is to come to terms with the nuts and bolts of the civil service machinery,” he said, adding that civil service needed to adhere to the culture of human rights and excellence, as required by the Constitution.
The summit aimed to create a platform for the sharing of views on the professionalization of the public service, and finding potential solutions to improving the delivery of quality public services through building a public service that is devoted to serving citizens and government.
Also addressing delegates at the conference was Minister in the Presidency for National Planning, Trevor Manuel, who said there was broad consensus across the political spectrum on the need for a professional and competent civil service.
He said the culture of doing things also had to change in the civil service, and he hoped to see personnel in the service dedicated to excellence.
Public Service and Administration Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said her department would continue to follow up on cases where officials were implicated in corruption, ensuring that recommendations made in disciplinary cases were followed.
The summit was attended by senior government officials, including Public Protector Thuli Madonsela. – SAnews.gov.za
