Prelims

Half Title Page

PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM IN SOUTH AFRICA 1994–2021

Series Page

PUBLIC POLICY AND GOVERNANCE

Edited by Professor Evan Berman, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

This series brings together the best in international research on policy and governance issues. Authored and edited by experts in the field, these books present new and insightful research on a range of policy and governance issues across the globe. Topics covered include but are not limited to: policy analysis frameworks, healthcare policy, environmental/resource policy, local government policy, development policy, regional studies/policy, urban policy/planning, and social policy.

Titles include:

• Corruption, Accountability and Discretion

  Nancy S. Lind and Cara Rabe-Hemp

• The Experience of Democracy and Bureaucracy in South Korea

  Tobin Im

• Governmental Financial Resilience: International Perspectives on How Local Governments Face Austerity

  Ileana Steccolini, Martin Jones and Iris Saliterer

• The Global Educational Policy Environment in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Gated, Regulated and Governed

  Travis D. Jules

• Governing for the Future: Designing Democratic Institutions for a Better Tomorrow

  Jonathan Boston

• Asian Leadership in Policy and Governance

  Evan Berman and M. Shamsul Haque

• Different Paths to Curbing Corruption: Lessons from Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore

  Jon S. T. Quah

• Institutional Reforms in the Public Sector: What Did We Learn?

  Mahabat Baimyrzaeva

• New Steering Concepts in Public Management

  Sandra Groeneveld and Steven Van de Walle

• Curbing Corruption in Asian Countries: An Impossible Dream?

  Jon S. T. Quah

• Public Policy and Governance Frontiers in New Zealand

  Evan Berman and Girol Karacaoglu

• Transformation of Korean Politics and Administration: A 30 Year Retrospective

  Tobin Im

Title Page

PUBLIC POLICY AND GOVERNANCE

PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM IN SOUTH AFRICA 1994–2021

By

ROBERT CAMERON

University of Cape Town, South Africa

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2022

Copyright © 2022 Emerald Publishing Limited.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80382-736-0 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-735-3 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-737-7 (Epub)

ISSN: 2053-7697 (Series)

Contents

List of Tables

List of Abbreviations

Acknowledgements

I arrived at UCT rather belatedly just before my 23rd birthday. I had spent the first few years after school trying to work out what I wanted to do with my life. This included a number of eclectic activities, including being a doorman at the nightclub and a spell at the then South African Railways & Harbours where I earned my first post-school qualifications in the form of a Certificate in the Duties of Station Foreman (which included Guard’s and Shunter’s duties). After this somewhat unconventional start to my working life, I eventually came to the conclusion that I should go to university.

I found my subjects at university relatively manageable, with the exception of one subject, Public Administration. I could not understand my textbook and had concerns that I was not going to make it out of first year, let alone become a Professor of Public Administration in the future. As a matter of interest, the book that gave me much angst was Democracy in the Administrative State by Emmette Redford. As I grew older and (hopefully) wiser, I grew to appreciate the book more and still have a copy of it on my shelves.

After this inauspicious start in Public Administration, I have made a career as a Professor in the discipline. This book is a monograph on Public Administration, examining public sector reform in the South African public service since democratisation in 1994.

I would like to express my gratitude to the following colleagues who gave me advice during the research for this book. They include Willie McCourt, Sergio Fernandez, Vinothan Naidoo, Karen Johnston, Ian Goldman, Anthony Butler, Brian Levy, Sandra Van Thiel and Ivor Chipkin.

I would also like to thank those who have helped shape my ideas more generally down the years. They include George Frederickson, Richard Stren, (the late) Jan Beekman, Gerhard Tötemeyer, David Welsh, Robert Schrire, Eckhard Schröter, Norbert Kersting, Ladipo Adamolekun, Todd La Porte, Allan Rosenbaum Blue, Wooldridge, Chris Game, (the late) Chris Pollitt, Jefferey Sellers, Larry O ’Toole and Paul Smoke.

I would also like to thank the officials at the Department of Public Service and Administration, Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation and Public Service Commission who took time out from their busy schedule to provide me with invaluable data.

Thank you also to Jacqueline Gamble who assisted with the physical reproduction preparation of this manuscript.

Finally, a fervent thank you to my wife, Cathy, for her support and encouragement.