PUBLIC SERVICE
Institute of Race Relations highlights high churn of state’s top dogs
Musical chairs is the name of the game under President Jacob Zuma’s watch, as he has overseen an astonishingly high turnover rate among Cabinet ministers and top civil servants, according to a report published on Thursday by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR). The Cabinet has had 10 reshuffles and directors-general have on average kept their jobs for just 22 months since Zuma took office on May 10 2009. As a result, the working relationships between most ministers and their directors-general have been short-lived, averaging 14 months, and most (60%) lasted less than a year. The high turnover rate has compromised the ability of ministers and directors-general to operate in unison, leading to a collapse in service delivery, says the report, written by political analyst Gareth van Onselen. "Many changes are born of necessity, both politically and administratively … but for the most part, the picture painted is one of mass instability, poor planning, constant conflict and perpetual t...
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