JABULANI SIKHAKHANE: Heed World Bank warnings over pay of senior public servants
Managers have borne the brunt of government efforts to trim the public sector wage bill
The government has put various measures in place to improve the capacity and effective functioning of the public service. Two of these key measures are the professionalisation of the service and efforts to create a layer protecting top government employees from political meddling. But none of these will amount to anything unless the government tackles the pay of senior public servants.
Senior managers in the service have borne the brunt of government efforts to trim the public sector wage bill. That’s because senior managers are easier political targets — they won’t toyi-toyi, strew rubbish on the streets or threaten patients’ lives. And there isn’t much public sympathy for senior public servants nowadays due to the dominant narrative of purring fat cats who earn a lot but deliver very little value for the public. ..
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