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Navigating the path to an ethical, capable, and developmental state

19 October 2023 | Story Samkelo Fetile | Photo Stephen Collett

Public Management Memorial Lecture — From left; Prof Philippe Burger, Prof Francis Petersen, Premier Mxolisi Dukwana, and Dr Mareve Biljohn.

The University of the Free State (UFS), Department of Public Administration and Management recently hosted its Public Management Memorial Lecture, which was delivered by the Honourable Mxolisi Dukwana, the Premier of the Free State. This year's Public Management Memorial Lecture, titled 'Public Administration and Management as a Method and Tool of Delivering an Ethical, Capable, and Developmental State,' delved into crucial aspects of governance.

In his welcoming address, Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS, provided insight into the university's Vision 130 and the university’s strategy, emphasising values such as accountability, social justice, and care. The university’s commitment to engaging on matters of public significance was also highlighted.

Fostering collaboration

Prof Petersen emphasised the importance of collaboration and co-creation – particularly in the post-COVID-19 era – to achieve optimal outputs and outcomes. “The Public Management Memorial Lecture aims to foster collaboration between academia, students, and practitioners in the field of public administration and management.”

In his introduction of Premier Dukwana, Prof Philippe Burger, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, highlighted Dukwana's role in various government positions, including as the ANC provincial treasurer and, more recently, as the Premier of the Free State.

Addressing challenges and opportunities

In his address, Premier Dukwana acknowledged the need for a collective effort to ensure an ethical, capable, and developmental state, emphasising the challenges faced in the current socio-political landscape. Premier Dukwana acknowledged the need for introspection regarding the state's foundations, values, and mechanisms of service delivery. “Understandably, this is quite an involved and extensive subject that interrogates not only the ethical and capable attributes of the democratic state, but also whether the democratic state is itself developing and evolving towards a horizon that is developmental in outlook.” He stressed the importance of upholding constitutional values and principles, accentuating the need for accountability, transparency, and adherence to the Batho Pele principles.

Premier Dukwana outlined key interventions in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF), emphasising the need for a capable and honest government, improved leadership, good governance, and accountability. He called for modernised business processes, improved financial management capability, and participatory local governance mechanisms.

The importance of a social compact was also highlighted, as well as the need to set aside narrow interests for the common goal of long-term growth and development. He stressed the need for a vibrant civil society and underscored the role of public servants in effecting positive change in service delivery.

Reducing bureaucratic red tape

The Premier concluded his address by emphasising the importance of reducing bureaucratic red tape and initiating programmes to streamline service delivery. He expressed optimism for further collaboration with the UFS in strengthening governance and public administration practices. “I am looking forward to having further discussions with the UFS as it relates to the MOU between the UFS and the Free State Provincial Government. The UFS can play a crucial role in helping us to strengthen governance, and specifically improve on public administration and management approaches and practices with the aim of accelerated and improved service delivery.”

The Public Management Memorial Lecture served as a platform for robust discussions on the challenges and opportunities in public administration and management. Premier Dukwana's insights underscored the imperative for ethical, capable, and developmental governance, setting the stage for continued collaboration and engagement on these critical issues.

News Archive

Moeletsi Mbeki discusses South Africa’s political economy

2012-08-17

At the guest lecture was, from the left: Johann Rossouw, lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, Mr. Moeletsi Mbeki, and Prof. Pieter Duvenage, Head of the Department of Philosophy.
Photo: Johan Roux
17 August 2012

South Africa’s ongoing problems do not have their origin in the apartheid dispensation but in the British colonial period. This is according to the well known businessman and political analyst, Mr Moeletsi Mbeki, who was speaking during a guest lecture at the University of the Free State.

Mr Mbeki said the high unemployment rate among Blacks arose from the destruction of the Black small farming class in the last third of the 19th century to provide cheap labour to the developing mining sector. He said the notorious Land Act of 1913 was not the root of Black people’s loss of land but merely the legal formalisation thereof. Mr Mbeki emphasised that as long as it was argued that South Africa’s problems arose during the apartheid dispensation, problems would remain unsolved.

Regarding South Africa’s future, Mr Mbeki argued that three issues in particular were important – South Africa’s industrialisation, which ground to a halt in the 1970s, should be revived; the large scale training of industrialists with special emphasis on mathematics, science and the broader education system; and post-nationalist politics, of which parties such as Zimbabwe’s MDC, Zambia’s MMF and Mauritius’s MMM were outstanding examples.

The guest lecture was presented by the Department of Philosophy. More than 200 people attended the lecture and participated enthusiastically in the question and answer session. Afterwards, Mr Mbeki said he was impressed with the high level of the questions asked by students, which he said gave him hope for South Africa’s future.

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