South African Public Servants are being invited to take part in the development of a new integrated model for service delivery.
In a speech to mark Public Service Day, President Cyril Ramaphosa (pictured) said the model, now known as the District Development Model, had been embodied in a recent White Paper.
“We call on Public Servants to be part of this process by identifying ways in which we can realise a Public Service focused on meeting the needs and advancing the interests of citizens,” Mr Ramaphosa said.
“Our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that we do have capable and committed Public Servants who diligently serve the people of South Africa,” he said.
Mr Ramaphosa said that since the beginning of the pandemic, Public Servants had displayed courage and resilience in discharging their duties, often under the most difficult of circumstances.
“Despite the disruptions caused, they have kept the wheels of our country turning and have ensured that service delivery continues,” the President said.
“However, the pandemic has exposed the chasms between the planning and execution of Public Service delivery,” he said.
“Our commitment to building a State that is ethical, capable and above all, developmental, necessitates that Civil Servants see themselves not merely as State functionaries but as development workers.”
Mr Ramaphosa said there was a need to root out those whose conduct made them ill-suited for public service, “while, at the same time acknowledging the vast majority are exemplary Civil Servants. They have kept us going”.
“We have become too used to stories of Civil Servants involved in maladministration, embezzlement, corruption and other forms of conduct that betray the values of the Public Service,” he said.
“At a time when shortcomings in the Public Service are amplified and bad news falls like an avalanche, we acknowledge our Public Servants and their service,” Mr Ramaphosa said.
Pretoria 8 September 2021
