DURBAN - The Public Service Commission (PSC) has issued a warning to officials that they would be held accountable for service delivery to ensure that South Africa does not become a failed state.
The PSC has approved a guide on implementing lifestyle audits in the public service which will commence in February, said commissioner Michael Seloane.
According to Seloane, 42 ethics officers were trained in May on the risk-based verification of financial disclosures.
According to the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC), there are 9 473 councillors who won seats in the local government elections held on November 1.
Of the 325 political parties that contested the elections, 167 managed to secure a seat in a council. A total of 51 independent candidates managed to win wards in councils across the country. There are 3 841 councillors returning to councils and 5 632 new councillors.
Seloane said the PSC would like to awaken those who had assumed power in the new municipal councils, and on how they delivered services to the electorates.
Seloane called on public servants and municipal workers to be loyal to the municipal governments they served.
“They must serve with integrity. It is a call to citizens to be vigilant and hold councillors accountable for service delivery,” Seloane said.
He said the public service could not expect its new recruits to have all the necessary skills.
He explained that the public service had the responsibility to provide effective training and development programmes to provide public servants with the skills and competencies that they needed.
He said lifestyle audits should be understood as reassuring that the living standards of public servants were congruent with their declared financial incomes.
“Part of ensuring that we do not become a failed state is that we have the responsibility to ensure that public servants live according to their reported incomes.”
DAILY NEWS