A host of civil engineering and public service experts have noted that developing professional civil servants is necessary to ensure the development of an equitable, effective and efficient State that serves the interests of citizens and not politicians.

Professionalism in the public service will allow for national developmental goals to be translated into concrete action and changes throughout governmental structures, from planning to development to operation. Government structures will continue to pursue these developmental aims and projects that are in progress even if there are changes in political offices, South Africa Public Service Commissioner Dr Somadoda Fikeni said during a webinar on May 13.

Professionalism will make public servants more able to resist political influence by cleaving to the practices and requirements of their profession, he added.

Fikeni illustrated the point by highlighting that some developed countries experienced significant political instability, but that the public service continued to function effectively and deliver services to citizens.

South African Institution of Civil Engineering (Saice) CEO Vishaal Lutchman, who moderated the 'Professionalisation of the Public Service' webinar, summarised Chapter 10 of the South African Constitution, which deals with public service principles, values and professional ethics.

"The chapter talks about values, principles, governance, care for society, public administration professional ethics and for the public service to be development-oriented and ensure the best and most effective use of resources.

"Additionally, it talks about the public being involved and considered in decision-making, as well as about accountability, transparency and career development of public servants in the process," he said.

Lutchman says implementing the National Development Plan is key to professionalising the civil service and creating a more equal and egalitarian society and producing a capable and developmental State.

"At this time, it does not seem as if our public service and political leaders are motivated by care for society and we are not implementing the already agreed mandate of the public service."

The Public Service Commission, as a Chapter 10 institution, is charged with monitoring the effectiveness of public service and the range of values written in the chapter. It also investigates and monitors service delivery, but its case-by-case approach has not sufficiently contributed to broader improvement in the public service, said Fikeni.

"Our problems have become so complex that government alone cannot do it, and it will take the public and private sectors and civil society and every player to be professional and ethical."

The Public Service Commission is changing its tack to look at the greater ecosystem and is using the patterns identified from its research and investigations to drive professionalisation of the public service ecosystem.

The commission aims to investigate the entire value chain by talking to all training institutions, such as universities and schools of government, and industry and professional organisations, about what role each can play in fostering professionalism, not only in civil service, but in all professions, said Fikeni.

"This is necessary to give context to the political-public administration interface and allow for professionals within civil service to be more intuitive and creative. It will also help to ensure that professionals within the public service can better manage the political-administration interface by adhering to their professional practices, considerations and requirements to fulfil their duties."

PROFESSIONALS IN PUBLIC SERVICE
The quality of human resourcing interviews can ensure that competent people enter a technical position by ensuring that the interviewing panel has a sufficiently competent person or people with knowledge of and experience in a profession to ask specific and detailed technical questions to assess the fitness of a candidate for the role, said nuclear physicist and water and environmental engineering specialist Dr Pulane Molokwane.

Doing so will also contribute to improving the quality of management within civil service practices and ensure that the civil service at all levels can plan properly to meet mandates and continue to serve the people, she added.

"There is a need to change the attitude of civil servants to being ethical professionals serving the public. These ethical professionals must be qualified people with knowledge of what they are doing and fully equipped to perform their duties with diligence. Continuous development and training [is also needed] to ensure proper succession planning.

"Professionals in public service carry a political mandate, but must not be political actors themselves," she said.

University of the Witwatersrand School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Commission Professor Yunus Ballim sketched the attitude required by saying that: "If Cyril Ramaphosa in his role as President of South Africa asks to meet me as a professional in civil service, I would immediately meet with him. However, if he requests, in his role as president of the African National Congress, to meet me in my role as a professional, then I would have to consider it much more carefully."

Ballim noted that people should arrive in the civil service as competent professionals, such as engineers and accountants, not as civil servants.

He added that he advocated for public administration qualifications to become postgraduate degrees only, so that the State would have a collegiate of public managers with a range of disciplines, who could provide technical support and share best practices.

Additionally, experienced professionals within the civil service can also provide mentorship to younger professionals, helping to ensure sustainability.

"We need to think carefully how we sharpen the instrument to deliver services to citizens, and we have not had the full conversation yet," he said.

Accountability for actions and execution of duties at all levels of any organisation, whether public or private, is necessary to ensure an effective organisation, and is a sign of significant failure of management if this does not happen.

However, Fikeni said accountability was not just a carrot or stick approach, but about the intrinsic value of doing the right thing beyond all other influencing factors. This requires establishing the ideal of a values-based professional public service to progress the ultimate aim of developing the country for its citizens.

"Without service by the public sector, a dignified life for all is not possible," said Ballim.