Mbeki Slams Civil Service Failures: “People Don’t Need Handouts, They Need Empowerment”

“People Don’t Need Handouts, They Need Empowerment” – Mbeki Takes Aim at Civil Service

Former President Thabo Mbeki didn’t mince words over the weekend, delivering a stinging critique of South Africa’s civil service that left audiences at the University of South Africa reflecting on years of broken promises.

At the heart of his address, Mbeki lamented the absence of Batho Pele, the “People First” principle meant to guide public service. “South Africans can no longer pretend the public service is working fully for their benefit because it is not,” he said, paying tribute to Stan Sangweni, the first chair of the Public Service Commission, whose legacy Mbeki framed as a benchmark for accountability.

From Blackouts to Empty Taps: A Service Delivery Crisis

Mbeki painted a picture familiar to millions: collapsing municipalities, rolling blackouts, empty water taps, and dysfunctional clinics. “People don’t need handouts, but need to be empowered,” he said. The former president stressed that the crisis is not just technical but moral.

“For a government that cannot be trusted cannot govern. Therefore, if leaders want citizens to believe again, they must show honesty and responsibility in their conduct,” he added.

Social media platforms erupted with support for Mbeki’s frankness, with citizens sharing screenshots of water shortages, electricity cuts, and overcrowded clinics. Many noted that while politicians speak about empowerment, ordinary South Africans continue to bear the brunt of service delivery failures.

Private Sector Steps In Where the State Fails

Mbeki highlighted the growth of private initiatives stepping in to fill service gaps. Education and healthcare organisations, as well as campaigns to address local infrastructure shortcomings, have multiplied in recent years. He cited the Solidarity movement’s plan to establish a university outside Pretoria as a prime example of private citizens acting to meet needs the government has left unmet.

Political Appointments and Accountability Concerns

Echoing Mbeki’s concerns, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa said political appointments have replaced merit in the public service. “Accountability has become optional. Ordinary citizens, especially the poor, unfortunately, pay the heaviest price,” he said.

Hlabisa added that professionalising the civil service is essential for national growth, but that responsibility doesn’t lie solely with government. “Public administration is a legacy between the state and the public. It is a state that invests in people,” he said.

Citizens Growing Impatient

For many South Africans, speeches like these are long overdue but don’t erase years of frustration. Social media reactions reflected a mixture of hope and exasperation. Users praised Mbeki for speaking truth to power while lamenting that past governments have repeatedly failed to prioritise service delivery over corruption.

Mbeki concluded his lecture with a call for ethics, responsibility, and a moral compass within the civil service, principles he said are non-negotiable if South Africa hopes to restore faith in government institutions.

{Source: The Citizen}

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