DG Makhasi Urges Young Public Servants to Anchor Professionalisation within the Constitutional Values and Principles

At the start of the two-day Emerging Leadership in the Public Service (ELIPS) Personal Mastery and ELIPS Certification Ceremony workshop in Tshwane today, 9 May 2024, the Director-General (DG) of the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), Ms Yoliswa Makhasi, urged the young public servants to revisit the Constitutional Values and Principles that underpin the ongoing reform of the Public Service.

“We should ask ourselves how we can improve the quality of services for the people we serve,” said DG Makhasi.

DG Makhasi further explained that efforts to professionalise the Public Service and the introduction of public administration reforms are geared towards meeting the service delivery needs of citizens and not our interests.

She added, “The professionalisation agenda is meant to bring us back to the basics, such as the Batho Pele Principles.”

DG Makhasi was addressing young public servants and interns who participated in the Personal Mastery workshop, both physically and virtually, under the auspices of the ELIPS,  an innovative coaching and mentoring initiative under the auspices of the DPSA  and launched in April 2023.

The first ELIPS cohort received their certificates of completion in August 2023, while the second group will receive theirs tomorrow, 10 May 2024, as part of the Personal Mastery workshop programme.

Organised to inspire and encourage open engagement with the future leaders of the Public Service, the workshop participants directly interacted with DG Makhasi, the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of South Africa, Dr Mampho Modise, who regaled on her journey to one of the most critical jobs in the Public Sector.

Ms Rethabile Matolweni and Mr Ephraim Mmekoa from Metropolitan Health and the National School of Government also shared their insight and experiences.

During the workshop, the participants had an opportunity to engage in questions of both personal and institutional nature, such as the nature of “failure” and perceptions of the glass ceiling for young people working in the Public Service.