SECTION A

$[100$ MARKS$]$

Read the case study below and answer ALL the questions that follow.

Ethics in South African public administration: a critical review

Upholding sound ethical leadership in South African Public Administration has not been an easy task due to prevailing corruption and political interference in public organisations. In a study conducted by Chene $(2012,$ p$\mathrm{.}2),$ it was revealed that public officials in South African local government are often caught on the wrong side of the law $-$ guilty of fraud, corruption and money laundering which inhibits the effective delivery of public goods and services. Local municipalities in South Africa are confronted by undue influence of political authority, which disrupts the decision$-$making processes. The rampant clashes between the mayoral office and municipal manager affect public service delivery adversely, which delays policymaking or disbursal of funds. The State of Local Government Report $(2009$a$),$ including the Local. Government Turnaround Strategy $(2009$b$),$ reflects that political tensions have been the prime cause of poor performance and unethical leadership in service delivery across many municipalities in South Africa. Furthermore, unethical leadership has been widely observed as an obstacle to development because powerful government officials often divert resources from development initiatives, which contribute negatively towards poverty, underdevelopment and inequality $($Department of Public Service and Administration, $2003).$ The moral decadence in Public Administration has reached unprecedented levels thereby creating bureaucratic inefficiencies, because corruption increases without effective internal controls. Communities across South Africa have been protesting poor service delivery in local municipalities, which explains the weak ethical thread when officials who discharge services are not doing their jobs properly and ethically or are being incapacitated by eternal forces such as political interference. It should be noted that in South Africa, it is generally difficult to divorce service delivery from political interference. To examine this hypothesis, an example can be utilised of many local municipalities, which render services effectively depending on which political party is in power. The level of support public office bearers may receive from the political office determines the level of service delivery to communities. Instances of leadership disputes result in citizens being denied services because no ethical obligations are implemented to ensure that end$-$users who are citizens are provided for, that is$,$ value of their money, as stated in the Batho Pele Doctrine. Basheka $(2008,$ p$\mathrm{.}381)$ argues that although local municipalities in South Africa are positioned as the closest sphere to the people, their capacity to render services is constrained by the lack of accountability and corruption of scarce government resources. To improve the delivery of services through ethical leadership, the National Treasury developed reporting templates for provincial treasuries to enhance accountability, monitoring and evaluation of the entire supply chain management system. These efforts were developed to inhibit public sector corruption, particularly in procurement system $($Ambe and Badenhorst$-$Weiss, $2012).$ Therefore, it is argued that South African Public Administration has taken greater strides in promoting ethical leadership in the three spheres $($national$,$ provincial and local$)$ of government. However, a vacuum $8$ exists in terms of skills to implement the legal imperatives to guide sound ethical conduct. This calls for ethical leadership that can drive chanqe. transform the functions of the public institutionsQUESTION $1$

$(25$ Marks$)$

In light of the challenges outlined in the abstract$,$ elucidate the specific roles and competencies that a public servant in the South African public service should embody to address and navigate the complexities inherent in contemporary public administration.

QUESTION $2$

$(25$ Marks$)$

Discuss the various forms of unethical behaviour exhibited by public servants. What measures can be implemented to prevent such unethical conduct?

QUESTION $3$

$(25$ Marks$)$

Write an essay on professionalism in the South African public sector. The essay should demonstrate your understanding of what professionalism is$.$ Include the characteristics and examples of professional conduct.

QUESTION $4$

$(25$ Marks$)$

Discuss the communication functions of a public manager.

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