Third of senior government employees in South Africa are not qualified – here are the worst departments
Around 35% of senior managers in government do not have the necessary qualifications or credentials for their position.
This was revealed by the Minister of Public Service and Administration Senzo Mchunu in a written response to a parliamentary question posed by the Democratic Alliance.
Senior managers in South African government require at least an NQF Level 7 qualification, which is equal to a Bachelor’s Degree or Advanced Diploma.
According to information captured in government’s Personal and Salary System (PERSAL) as of 15 February 2021, however, there were no records of such qualifications for 3,301 of the 9,477 senior managers in the public service.
According to a breakdown of the information provided, 5,447 of government’s senior managers operated at national level.
Of these, 1,987 did not have a record of a suitable qualification.
Worryingly, the largest number of those were in the police department, which accounted for 228 unqualified senior managers.
It was followed closely by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development with 227.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, meanwhile, had 189 senior management employees without a record of the necessary qualifications.
The table below shows the number of unqualified senior managers working in each national department.
| Department | Senior managers without needed qualifications |
| Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development | 227 |
| Arts and Culture | 1 |
| Basic Education | 5 |
| Civilian Secretariat for the Police Service | 11 |
| Communication and Digital Technologies | 17 |
| Cooperative Governance | 34 |
| Correctional Services | 67 |
| Education | 1 |
| Employment and Labour | 79 |
| Environment, Forestry and Fisheries | 107 |
| Government Communication and Information System | 8 |
| Health | 56 |
| Higher Education and Training | 52 |
| Home Affairs | 56 |
| Human Settlement | 46 |
| Independent Police Investigative Directorate | 9 |
| International Relations and Cooperation | 81 |
| Justice and Constitutional Development | 189 |
| Military Veterans | 4 |
| Mineral Resources and Energy | 31 |
| National School of Government | 10 |
| National Treasury | 64 |
| Office of the Chief Justice | 10 |
| Office of the Public Service Commission | 15 |
| Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation | 16 |
| Police | 228 |
| Public Enterprises | 22 |
| Public Service and Administration | 32 |
| Public Works and Infrastructure | 67 |
| Science and Innovation | 44 |
| Small Business Development | 15 |
| Social Development | 39 |
| Sports, Arts and Culture | 22 |
| Statistics South Africa | 24 |
| The Presidency | 17 |
| Tourism | 23 |
| Trade, Industry and Competition | 128 |
| Traditional Affairs | 7 |
| Transport | 25 |
| Water and Sanitation | 78 |
| Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities | 20 |
| Total | 1,987 |
Mchunu further revealed that 1,314 out of 4,028 senior managers at provincial government departments did not have the required qualifications.
Gauteng accounted for the highest number among the provinces, with 381 senior managers lacking the necessary qualifications for their jobs.
Notably, the largest number of these were in the Health department.
Gauteng was followed by KwaZulu-Natal – which had 246 unqualified senior managers – and the Eastern Cape – with 185 unqualified senior managers.
The table below shows the number of senior managers with qualifications below NQF Level 7.
| Department | Senior managers without needed qualifications |
| Gauteng | 381 |
| Kwazulu-Natal | 246 |
| Eastern Cape | 185 |
| Limpopo | 154 |
| Mpumalanga | 131 |
| Free State | 127 |
| Western Cape | 45 |
| North West | 27 |
| Northern Cape | 18 |
| Total | 1,314 |
South Africa won’t survive cadre deployment
The DA’s Michele Clarke has said the party will ask Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) to investigate the matter.
She pointed out that some of the departments worst impacted were essential to the country’s economic and food security, and blamed the lack of qualified managers on cadre deployment by the ANC.
Clarke said the ANC regarded its political placements as more important than good governance and the well-being of South Africans.
According to Clarke, middle management positions in national government typically paid between R779,802 and R922,750 per year. Senior management earn between R1,078,267 and R1,974,067 per year, depending on their level of employment.
“South Africa won’t survive if this trend of cadre deployment continues much longer,” Clarke said.
“Ordinary South Africans have suffered under this corruption en masse for years and unless urgent action is taken the country will devolve into the banana republic some already view us as,” Clarke said.
Clarke added that the DA’s Public Administration Laws General Amendment Bill aimed to ensure that civil servants were appointed purely on merit and not political loyalty .
The Bill has been published in the government gazette for public comment.
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