The public service will play a pivotal role in any effort to build a prosperous SA out of the ashes that remain from the Covid-19 epidemic. Though exact forecasts are not yet possible, it is already abundantly clear that our country will be plunged into a socio-economic disaster in the wake of the novel coronavirus crisis. Our economy will likely be in depression, thousands of businesses will fail, unemployment and poverty will skyrocket, and millions of citizens will struggle to meet their most basic daily needs.

In the difficult future that awaits us, it will simply not be possible to rebuild the country without a capable state staffed exclusively by highly skilled professionals. The first thing to do in a crisis is to face facts. We will get nowhere unless we are prepared to face up to hard truths and look reality dead in the eye. One such inconvenient truth is that, with a few notable exceptions, SA features a public service that demonstrably lacks the independence, skill...

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