<\/p>\n
The new Public Service Commission Act repeals the Public Service Commission Act of 1997 and extends the Commission\u2019s mandate to local government and public entities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The PSC is an independent institution established under Section 196(1) of the Constitution. The Commission must exercise its powers impartially and without fear, favour or prejudice.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The PSC monitors and evaluates public-service practices, investigates administrative failures and examines problems affecting service delivery.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Commission is also responsible for promoting effective public administration and maintaining high standards of professional ethics.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The new law gives the PSC power to direct executive authorities or other affected parties to report on progress made in implementing Commission decisions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Anyone convicted of obstructing the PSC while exercising its powers or performing its functions could face up to 12 months in prison, a fine or both.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The legislation also regulates the appointment of Commissioners and establishes a dedicated Secretariat to support the Commission\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
SA President Cyril Ramaphosa said the legislation supported government\u2019s objective of building a capable and ethical state, one of the seventh administration\u2019s three main priorities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new Public Service Commission Act should be welcomed by public servants and citizens alike as a means to improve the lives of all South Africans and to enable growth through ethical and efficient conduct in our public service,\u201d Ramaphosa said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The expanded mandate will allow the Commission to investigate administration and ethical conduct beyond national and provincial departments.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa said stronger oversight alone would not improve government services unless individual public servants also fulfilled their responsibilities. \u201cWhile the PSC is a critical enabler of improved public services, it is incumbent upon all public servants to honour citizens in line with the Batho Pele, or People First, principles and to view their responsibilities as tools of transformation,\u201d Ramaphosa said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The legislation was enacted during Public Service Month, which focuses attention on government performance and the responsibilities of public employees.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe enactment of the PSC Act during our annual Public Service Month should inspire renewed pride and ethics in the public service,\u201d Ramaphosa said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":44630,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-45659","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"South Africa (SA) has enacted legislation strengthening the Public Service Commission\u2019s (PSC) independence, oversight mandate and power to enforce decisions across the public sector.","published_date":"","news_description":"South Africa (SA) has enacted legislation strengthening the Public Service Commission\u2019s (PSC) independence, oversight mandate and power to enforce decisions across the public sector.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/45659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/45659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45660,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/45659\/revisions\/45660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=45659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}