South Africa: Ramaphosa's New Dawn Is Here - but What It Will Take to Bring the Civil Service Back to Life?

analysis

A new president, a new Cabinet, but the same old civil service. The compliance culture that has evolved since 1994 has all but killed the developmental state. Deeply fearful of making mistakes in an environment where it is impossible not to make mistakes, officials minimise risk and maximise compliance. If they can just tick the boxes, they will be safe. Result: Zero experimentation and innovation.

President Cyril Ramaphosa became quite nostalgic as the 8 May 2019 election came to a close.

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