More than 347,000 public servants, aged between 31 and 35, are employed in South Africa’s public service, accounting for 27% of the government workforce but systemic issues are blocking their long-term career growth.
This emerged during a briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration on Tuesday.
The committee heard from the Department of Public Service and Administration and the Public Service Commission (PSC) as part of Youth Month engagements focused on strengthening youth development in the state.
While the department noted the significant representation of younger people in administrative, finance, supply chain, and technical roles, with women forming the majority, the committee raised alarm over the low absorption of interns and short-term placements that offer little in terms of skills recognition or career advancement.
“Short-term placements without certification or skills recognition do not constitute meaningful empowerment,” the committee noted.
A major concern raised was the budget constraints that limit the creation of posts for youth, and the practice of assigning interns to unrelated, menial tasks with little supervision. Committee members also flagged nepotism in placements and the lack of formal exit interviews to assess programme impact.
To address these challenges, the department is developing a policy to introduce a voluntary early retirement scheme. This would allow older public servants to leave without financial penalties, thereby creating space for younger recruits. The department will also enforce youth hiring targets in departmental performance plans and scale up partnerships.
Committee chairperson, Jan de Villiers, said, “Today’s presentations reflected the dual importance of efficient leave management and purposeful youth development; it is not just about employing young people; it is about creating developmental pathways for them to grow within the public sector.”
The committee also scrutinised the PSC’s report on leave utilisation from 2020 to 2023. It revealed that capped leave, days that accrued before July 2000 now stands as a R16 billion liability, mostly within the health and education sectors. The PSC warned this liability will continue to grow due to inflation and salary increases.
Members also raised concerns about high levels of sick and incapacity leave and unequal access to study leave, with senior managers often benefiting more than lower-level staff such as cleaners and clerical workers. They called for improved transparency in recruitment and leave oversight, and better demographic data to inform workforce planning.
THE MERCURY
