POOR service delivery in SA: Purely by numbers

Pure numbers prove that extent of poor service delivery in SA. South Africa’s public sector wage bill has grown significantly in the last decade and a half, while service delivery has declined markedly. This is the assertion of economic analyst, Moeletsi Mbeki.

Mbeki says poor service delivery in SA persists because government continues to pay grossly inflated salaries to civil servants. And yet, service delivery continues to decline, without maintenance and upgrading of critical infrastructure. In fact, South Africa has one of the highest-paid civil services (as a percentage of GDP) in the world.

POOR SERVICE DELIVERY IN SA

Currently, South Africa spends one third (33%) of its total economic output on the annual public sector. Worryingly, this is higher than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 22%. And higher still than the G20 average of developed nations. In effect, despite allocating more economic resources, South Africa’s public sector delivers fewer services at a lower level than developed countries.  

Worse still, Mbeki says that poor service delivery in SA has a knock-on effect to other sectors of the economy. “You cannot address poverty, for example, by paying higher salaries to the civil service or offering bigger jackpots in the lottery. You address it by investing in infrastructure, factories, education and creating sustainable jobs,” he says.

EARLY RETIREMENT PROGRAMME

To their credit, government is tackling the inflated wage bill with a new Early Retirement Programme for the elderly public servants. It hopes it can bring more youngsters into the public sector, which will prove less costly for the state. The finance minister hopes as many as 30 000 civil servants will opt for early retirement, with a projected savings of R5.5 billion.

However, Mbeki worries the loss of experienced works may only prolong poor service delivery in SA. “We already have a problem with incompetence in the civil service. Some call it a lack of service delivery, but it is just incompetence. Government needs to make sure that the people who enter the civil service, at all levels, have the skills that are required to do the job that they are employed for,” Mbeki says.

HOW TO FIX POOR SERVICE DELIVERY IN SA

In many cases, South Africa’s civil service, given how well it is paid, needs to be on par with those of developed G20 countries. To resolve this, Mbeki suggests implementing an entrance examination. This would ensure that those employed in the public sector are highly capable. If South Africa wants to compete for global capital and investment, its civil service has to be on par with the best in the world, like it is in the DA-run Western Cape.

But what do you think? Can we justify our poor service delivery in SA by continuing to increase the civil servants’ salaries each year? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below …