Advancing public service professionalism: A path towards effective governance in South Africa
Beauty Zindi & Tasneem Majam
Abstract
The study aimed to explore the significance of advancing public service professionalism to achieve effective governance in South African public sector, laying the groundwork for exploring the underlying principles and strategies in this endeavor. Advancing public service professionalism not only serves as a catalyst for enhancing governance outcomes but also plays a pivotal role in fostering trust, accountability, and inclusivity within government institutions. The study adopted a qualitative semi-systematic literature review with the aim to gain an in-depth understanding of the impact of professionalism in South African public sector, the role of the government in professionalizing and its importance in improving service delivery. Data was collected from extensive literature using documents from 2015 to 2024, extracted from Scopus, Google Scholar, Sabinet, and Web of Science databases. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The articles established that systemic issues such as corruption, bureaucratic inefficiencies, political interference, and capacity constraints undermine the ability of the public sector to meet the diverse needs of citizens. The study concludes that by leveraging the insights gleaned from literature policymakers can formulate evidence-based strategies to address systemic challenges and cultivate a culture of excellence, integrity, and accountability within the public sector.
Keywords
professionalism, governance, public service, Civil service reform, accountability, integrity
Author information & Contribution
Beauty Zindi. Corresponding author. Doctor of Public Administration. Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, School of Public Management Governance & Public Policy, University of Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa. Email: letwinbee@gmail.com
Tasneem Majam. Doctor of Public Administration. Senior Lecturer, School of Public Management Governance & Public Policy, University of Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa, Republic of South Africa. Email: tmajam@uj.ac.za
“All authors equally contributed to the conception, design, preparation, data gathering and analysis, and writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding
This work was not supported by any funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not Applicable
AI Declaration
AI tools were not used in writing this paper.
Notes
Acknowledgement
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Cite this article:
Zindi, B. & Majam, T. (2025). Advancing public service professionalism: A path towards effective governance in South Africa. International Review of Social Sciences Research, 5(4), 260-285. https://doi.org/10.53378/irssr.353296
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