A bill that will give effect to a single public service, with the aim of improving delivery, will be introduced by June, the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) announced on Wednesday.

Updating Parliament’s portfolio committee on public service and administration on the way forward for the long-awaited bill, the department’s director-general Mashwahle Diphofa described it as a “massive, complex initiative”.

Diphofa said the bill faced a number of challenges, including reconciling the legislation of the different spheres of government. It was expected to generate “vigorous debate”.

Vowing to fight the bill, the DA voiced grave concerns on Wednesday, saying it would compromise municipalities’ ability to exercise their powers or perform their functions.

DA spokesman on public service and administration Kobus Marais said the single public service contravened section 151 of the constitution and was also likely to undermine the executive authority of provinces.

Marais voiced dissatisfaction that the state law adviser had been unable to answer questions on the impact of the single public service on the independence and autonomy of local and provincial governments. “Under a single public service, local and provincial governments will lose the power to recruit their own staff. Officials will no longer be accountable to democratically elected executives, but to a centralised bureaucracy.

“This has no place in a constitutional democracy which recognises the rights of citizens to choose their government at local, provincial as well as national level.”

Marais said one of the hallmarks of a successful government was the ability and the political will to appoint “the right people in the right places”.

“Governments that follow this formula tend to succeed. Governments that practise cadre deploymentgenerally fail.

“Taking away a government’s right to appoint people who are fit for purpose is not only undemocratic, but will negatively impact on service delivery to our most vulnerable citizens.”

Marais said none of the DA’s concerns – raised when the Public Administration Management Bill which first proposed the creation of a single public service, came before Parliament in 2008 – had been addressed as the department prepared for the bill’s new formulation.

“The public service is the backbone of service delivery.

“We should be seeking ways to improve efficiency and accountability in the public service.

“Instead, this bill will erode accountability and infringe on provinces’ constitutionally enshrined powers.”

Marais said the DA would monitor the progress of the bill closely and challenge any proposed legislation that threatened the quality of services and the “constitutionally enshrined” authority of provincial and local government.

Diphofa said initiatives were under way in the public service to develop service delivery models, to create citizen-centric service delivery and inculcate a culture of service. The constitution will remain paramount as the legislation was prepared, he said. - Political Bureau