Crafting of a model for the sector delivery agreement in the Department of Public Service and Administration

Abstract

The DPSA is responsible for overseeing South African public service, which also includes ensuring that the public service is in a position to implement government policies effectively. Service delivery agreement Outcome 12 was instituted as a response to the challenge of public service failure to implement service delivery programmes successfully. Historically, South African public service was designed to provide public services to the white section of society, and white bureaucrats were overwhelmingly over-presented in public service. The democratic government sought to change this situation when it came into power in 1994. One of the inevitable outcomes was the exodus of senior, skilled and experienced civil servants, who were replaced by relatively inexperienced African professionals, with a cumulative negative impact on public service capacity. In addition, the responsibility of public service was also expanded as it now had to provide services to all South Africans, regardless of race. Therefore, it was not surprising that the public service fell short in effectively and efficiently implementing the policies of the democratic government. It was against this background that the service delivery agreement Outcome 12 was adopted. The G&A/GSCID cluster has the DPSA and other service delivery departments, such as the DPME and Home Affairs. The cluster is the platform used to implement service delivery Outcome 12, which is concerned with building public service capacity by ensuring that it is effective and efficient. The study used the qualitative case study method to conduct an in-depth examination of the varied, detailed and extensive array of information obtained from different sources to present comprehensive explanations that portray a holistic picture concerning the DPSA’s sector delivery agreement. The consulted literature and interviews indicate that the G&A/GSCID cluster has so far failed to transform public service into a well-functioning, capable, effective and efficient apparatus for the execution of public policies. The reasons for this failure include the poor coordination of the work unfolding in the G&A/GSCID cluster and the lack of capacity to implement programmes. In response, this research study proposes a service delivery model, called the CSD model, that can potentially transform both organisational and individual performances in pursuit of the goal of improving the policy execution capacity of the public service. The model is based on systems theory’s holism perspective, that a comprehensive approach to organisational/institutional performance must be embraced in order for the organisation to function optimally and fulfil its mission. Based on its findings, the study makes the thesis, among others, that the DPSA and government adopting the CSD model would significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public service. As it is custom with research studies, the study also outlines its practical and scholarly contributions, in addition to recommendations for future research.