Abstract:
This paper addresses the question of whether senior public servants should
be political or non-political when performing their duties. This debate has
long been a central concern in the literature of United States of America
from the beginning of public administration, and remains so to this day. It is also
the case in South Africa, especially after the ANC assumed power in 1994. The
ANC has deployed some of its members to key public service positions with a
view of promoting loyalty and service delivery. This paper addresses this issue in
the context of the politics-administration dichotomy. Models, which describe and
analyse the relationship between politics and administration are identified. These
models are dichotomy model/depoliticized bureaucracy, politicized bureaucracy
model, model of complementarity, the British permanent model and the
American hybrid model. This paper recognizes a need for “political appointments”
(politicized bureaucracy) within the public service due to a threat, real or
perceived, of political sabotage by disloyal incumbents of the previous dispensation.
After a threat of political sabotage diminishes the government should then
introduce the complementarity model, with more emphasis on the principle of
merit, which is emphasized in the British permanent model and to a certain
extent, the American hybrid model. State institutions supporting constitutional
democracy should act independently against corrupt public functionaries who
abuse “political appointments” for their own personal purposes.
