PSETA Podcast Series EP9: Professor Mbongiseni Buthelezi

This, the ninth podcast in the PSETA series, is hosted by REAL researcher Themba Tshabalala who explores impact and importance of the professionalisation framework and what it means for skills in the public service sector with Professor Mbongiseni Buthelezi, Executive Director of the Public Affairs Institute (PARI). Buthelezi – who served as a member of the Ministerial Task Team on the professionalisation of the public service – explains that the National Framework towards the implementation of Professionalisation of the Public Sector (approved by Cabinet on 19 October 2022) builds on a significant amount of work that had already been done.

The challenge, he argues, is now a case of implementation and ensuring that organisations and structures such as the DPSA, the PSC, the National School of Governance and the PSETA take this work forward. As part of this, he suggested that what was key was having champions at both a political and administrative level to drive implementation. Another key theme highlighted was the need to roll back the extent of political interference in the public service or what he called the political administrative interface.