Page 27 - Service Delivery Review

National Development Plan and State Capacity Conference

planning and implementation. In particular, Chapter
13 of the NDP fleshed out the need for building a ca- Window of opportunity and action
pable, ethical and developmental state, alongside the Even with some of the gloomy episodes, there are
need for the professionalisation of the Public Service. silver linings to South Africa’s story in the ten years of
the NDP. Most of these seem imperceptible and are
The missing link akin to the sound of a growing forest rather than the
For a long time, South Africa had a good story to loud noise that a tree makes when cut down, he il-
tell. However, the trouble with the story, according to lustrated. The “Zondo Commission” on state capture
Professor Fikeni, is that it opened up the country to might have exposed the lowest points in the state of
an “uncritical embrace of the notion of South African ethics and morality in the country, it also represented
exceptionalism”, or the belief that the country is a a window of opportunity and a call for renewed efforts
“special case”. toward building a capable, ethical and developmental
state. According to Professor Fikeni, the Zondo Com-
Its symptoms, explained Professor Fikeni, are the in- mission and the public discourse and discussion it
ability to learn from failures, let alone the experienc- sparked turned into “civic education about the me-
es of other countries. Alongside complacency, there chanics, anatomy and impact of corruption” and calls
is also a tendency to believe in one’s PR, such as for accountability.
overusing the “Madiba magic” concept to the point
of meaninglessness. There has been significant progress in efforts aimed at
building a capable, ethical and developmental state,
“Yes, there was magic. Yes, there was this iconic Professor Fikeni noted. These include, among others,
leader,” said Professor Fikeni about the legacies of the priority that state capacity continues to enjoy as
the founders of post-apartheid South Africa. it is regularly featured in the President’s State of the
Nation Address and approval by the Cabinet of the
Echoing Fanon’s words, he added, “You [can’t] have Framework for the Professionalisation of the Pub-
a Mandela or a Gandhi every ten years. A Roosevelt lic Service. Moreover, he addded, the management
comes along once in a while. A Churchill appears of ethics in the Public Service is increasingly slowly
during wartime and then vanishes,” he said, echoing being institutionalised and the policy on auditing the
Fanon’s words. lifestyles of public servants has been recently intro-
duced.
In his reflections on the first ten years of the NDP in
the context of state capacity, Professor Fikeni ac- Translating policies into action
knowledged the achievements, value and investment As he drew toward the conclusion, the idea of per-
the country had expended over several years, mainly sonal agency and responsibility with regard to an
in developing systems, policies and regulations. Yet ethical society and state took centre stage yet again.
the “paradox and dilemma”, he said, is that “all the In a way, Professor Fikeni challenged the gathering
positive policy developments” are out of sync with of public servants, academics and politicians at the
the reality of “weakening of institutions, governance conference to “discover its mission”, both individu-
crisis, state capture and evolution of a patrimonial ally and severally, rather than “externalise responsi-
system of patronage”. bility” to other, which hamper change efforts. Starting
with individuals, families and communities, Professor
In Professor Fikeni’s view, the failure to tackle the Fikeni suggested the need for a “social and cultural
“human factor” is the “missing link” which explains engineering” initiative on a national scale. Such an
the disconnect between policy intention and ethical undertaking, he proposed, would help to shift the cur-
outcomes. He added that there is little focus, if any, rent and superficial understanding of ethics to a more
on “developing human consciousness and midset” value-based moral code of ethical, professional and
that would lead to changes in behavior. According to meritocratic public service.
Professor Fikeni, people tend to only emphasise their
rights under the Constitution with not much regard By Dudley Moloi, DPSA knowledge management
for the parts that deal with rights and responsibilities. and innvation directorate.

SERVICE DELIVERY REVIEW | Volume 15. No. 3 of 2023 27