Page 12 - Service Delivery Review

Towards the Professionalisation of the Public Sector Framework

Creating An Enabling Environment for the

Professionalisation of the Public Sector

Developmental State in line with Chapter 13 of the
National Development Plan (NDP) and Priority 1 of
the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF). For
this reason, the DPSA views the Framework towards
the Professionalisation of the Public Sector as an
opportunity to rethink the Public Service in light of its
size and complexity today.
Ageing Public Service

A discussion on a capable developmental state and
the future of the Public Service would be remiss if it
did not touch on the thorny issue of an ageing Public
Service. There are several factors which drive the
debate on the age profile of the Public Service. Firstly,
the changing demographic profile of the society that
the Public Service sets out to benefit is increasingly
made up of youth. Secondly, a significant portion of
the current crop of public servants has one foot in
their current jobs and another on retirement, which
Yoliswa Makhasi, Director General of the raises questions about investing efforts into a future
Department of Public Service and public service without them. Thirdly, those public
Administration (DPSA). servants in their 50s, and with few years of work left
to them before their planned retirement, might find
it difficult to self-commit to change efforts, let alone
reskilling.
If I were asked, with an eye on the future,
“What does the Department The latest PERSAL data shows that the average age
of public servants in 2013 was 42 years and kept
of Public Service and growing, reaching 43 years in 2021, which is worrying.
A breakdown of the current age profile further reveals
the following:
Administration (DPSA) do?”
§ 54% of public servants are 45 years old and
I might simply say that the DPSA sets norms and younger.
standards for the Public Service. Perhaps, adding § That 43% of public servants are between the
that the DPSA’s areas of work range from Human ages of 46 and 60 is of considerable concern
Resources, Labour Relations and Service Access to as once people reach 55 to 65 years, they start
Information Communication Technology (ICT). The preparing for retirement.
answer would be close enough, yet far from giving
the sense of scale and complexity that the mandate
of the DPSA carries. Meanwhile, the employee profile shows the following
on the management echelons of the Public Service:
What the above answer misses in terms of scale are
the over 1.2 million people who make up the ranks Senior Management Service (SMS)
of Public Service. Added to this figure are the million
or more people who have to be considered as the § 1.4% of SMS are 35 years old and below.
provisions of the Public Administration Management § 71% of SMS are between 36 and 55 years old.
Act (PAMA) kick-in and the reality of a Single Public Middle Management Service (MMS)
Service is being slowly realised. And beyond these
2.2 million “warm bodies” is the institutional landscape § 7.5% of MMS are 35 years old and below.
of some 161 national and provincial departments and § 74% of MMS are between 36 and 55 years old.
their local Government counterparts.
Below MMS
Now that the issue of scale has been dealt with
above, what of the complexity? The complexity is § 23% are 35 years old and below.
transforming this motley of people and institutions § 63% are between 36 and 55 years old.
into a professional army for an Ethical, Capable and

12 SERVICE DELIVERY REVIEW | Volume 15 • No. 2 of 2022/2023