The Month of September is recognised annually as the Public Service Month. During this month we celebrate men and women of high ethical standards who continue to serve our province with pride and distinction. As we mark the end of this important month I am reminded of a book written by Ayi Kwei Armah, titled The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. Set in post-colonial Ghana, this novel portrays the decay and moral compromise of a society consumed by greed and corruption. The protagonist, an unnamed man who works in the railway, is an idealist who resists participating in the country’s rampant cases of malfeasance becoming an outcast for his integrity.
In his weekly newsletter, His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa intimated that, this month offers the country an opportunity to reflect on the vital role played by public servants in the delivery of services to our people and in particular the most vulnerable by being incorruptible. He acknowledged the significant challenges facing the public sector and in particular poor service delivery, and corruption, where in many parts of the state, the values of Batho Pele – Putting People First – have been eroded. President Ramaphosa further maintained a fully functional public service remains the most potent instrument that is critical for socio-economic development.
As I pondered on the words of the President I wondered if he had this book in mind when he penned his weekly newsletter.
In the last few days our province launched the Integrated Public Service Month held under the theme: “Professionalising the Public Service to build trust and restore confidence in Government. This launch came exactly two weeks after we had a frank and candid discussion with the Cabinet on the state of governance in the province. While there is enormous work confronting us to reposition the province, particularly in addressing the scourge of unemployment and poverty affecting our communities, provincial audit outcomes serve as a glimmer of hope on our continued endeavours in keeping up to this year’s theme.
Our concern however is the state of local governance, which remains crucial in improving the lives of our people through uninterrupted provision of services such as water, electricity, sanitation and roads among others. As we mark twenty-nine years since its establishment, we must not relent in our advocacy for a local government that serves its people selflessly with dignity and respect.
We are however encouraged by the intervention measures employed by both the national and provincial government in addressing administrative challenges stifling the developmental trajectory of municipalities.
Our government has always been intentional in developing and institutionalising reforms, directives, themes and programmes that are aimed at ensuring the delivery of quality services to the citizens. This assertion is given credence by Priority 3 of the Medium Term Development Plan which is centred on building A Capable, Ethical and Development State, with emphasis on a strong public service, which is capacitated with responsive and meritocratic professionals that can help the province achieve its developmental objectives.
As part of seeing to the full implementation of this priority we can confirm that all Accounting Officers have been vetted as part of our ongoing efforts to deter various cases of malfeasance in our Departments. We have instructed all Accounting Officers that no new appointments at senior management level will proceed without formal clearance from the Security Services or an appropriate security structure. This will extend to all supply chain functionaries across the provincial administration. We expect this process to be concluded by the end of this year and this is not negotiable.
These efforts are primarily aimed at strengthening the efficacy of the state.
A capable state requires effective coordinated state institutions with skilled public servants who are committed to the public good and capable of delivering consistently high – quality services in the achievement of the nation’s development objectives.
Therefore, it is our responsibility to ensure that people that we employ to serve our communities are skilled, properly qualified and ethical, and will further serve with dedication.
It is for this reason that I agree with the President in his introductory remarks of the Framework on Professionalisation of the Public Service where he stated the following, that “the Public Service is diverse, with a huge range of skills, qualifications, and capabilities. Many Public Servants have specialised skills that are necessary for effective provision of services. It is therefore not necessarily the case that we need a smaller public service: what we need is a fit-for -purpose public service with suitable skills, a professional ethic, and commitment to serving the people”.
In building trust and restoring confidence in government the professionalization framework further requires that, as the government operationalises Batho Pele Revitalisation Strategy, more focus should be on investing in strategic partnerships with institutions of Higher Education and Private Sector. This will go a long way in assisting the public sector to optimise the effectiveness of the State and enhance service delivery. The 2025 -2026 Integrated Public Service Month (IPSM) Framework has identified weak service delivery, corruption, poor accountability, and declining public trust as hindrances in our developmental trajectory.
In addressing these challenges, a litany of intervention measures has been developed and will run until the end of the financial year. This is primarily aimed at ensuring that the needs of our people are being attended to and there is value for money in this regard.
This will further be given impetus by following an integrated approach and utilisation of the multidisciplinary teams in order to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation through models such as the District Development Model (DDM).
Therefore, Forums for Batho Pele and Accelerated Service Delivery Plan-Thuntsha Lerole in departments and municipalities must be strengthened and given the necessary support to ensure proper and seamless coordination of service delivery mechanisms and interventions in the province. Through the implementation of Phase 5 of Thuntsha Lerole we have demonstrated that nothing is insurmountable and together we can find lasting solutions to challenges such as overcrowding in schools, a lack of water, road infrastructure and social ills such as teenage pregnancy and drug use.
We need to pull together in building a public service that serves its people with integrity and has the aspirations of our people as one of its apex priorities in realising a better life for all.
Lazarus Kagiso Mokgosi is the Premier of the North West Province.
