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.
Collections
- Humanities [2691]