Hon Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister and all members, the success of any country depends on the calibre of officials in the employ of the government. If the officials are honest, diligent, dedicated and patriotic, that country will succeed, but if they are corrupt, mean, indolent, slack and are only pen-pushers, that country is doomed to failure, regardless of its wealth.
Public servants are the one and only best resource a government can boast of, because even if the country may have natural and industrial resources, if the government officials do not master the resources, that country is sure to fall. People in the employ of the Public Service should not be allowed to dabble in politics to the extent of holding office in political structures, otherwise they would not know their bounds and end up allowing foreign aircraft to land at unauthorised airports without authority.
We in the UCDP support the efforts of Minister Sisulu to breathe life into a somewhat moribund Public Service. We hope she will succeed in inspiring them with a spirit of fairness and impartiality. Officials in the Public Service should know they are there as servants of the public and not as masters or mistresses of the Public Service.
We note that the North West has a resident Public Service Commissioner at last, after not having had one since 2009 - a very long time. We look forward to this department succeeding, because, in this department, we can have our sons and daughters run the public administration because we do not need to import people to come and run our Public Service.
The consideration to appoint a shepherd of shepherds, that is, to appoint a senior director-general who will take charge of the other directors- general, is most welcome. We pray much strength for the Minister and the department to succeed in this appointment and realise it.
We note that the Public Service is bulging by the day, while we, in the UCDP, believe in a lean, mean machine in battle so that we can turn the government around.
In keeping with the National Development Plan, we in the UCDP envisage a Public Service insulated from political interference. We envisage the Public Service to be a career of choice where appointees do not hop, skip and jump from one post to the other or from one government level to another. We yearn for the day when an official disciplined in one department or at one government level should not find it easy to go to another, and even be appointed to a higher post, before sorting out issues with the previous employer.
The UCDP supports the Budget Vote. [Applause.]