Unconstitutional PSC Bill a blatant ANC power grab - IRR

The African National Congress (ANC) is trying to gain control over the recruitment, promotion and dismissal of municipal personnel in opposition-controlled municipalities by devious and unconstitutional means.

“The ANC is seeking to achieve this,” says Dr Anthea Jeffery, Head of Policy Research at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), “by giving the Public Service Commission (the Commission) – whose 14 commissioners are appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly or provincial premiers – expanded personnel and other powers over all municipalities. These include the City of Cape Town and other municipalities controlled by the Democratic Alliance, the Inkatha Freedom Party and other opposition parties.”

The underlying purpose is to “move towards creating a single, harmonised public service’’, as  President Cyril Ramaphosa urged in 2023. This has long been a key ANC objective, as it will help bring all “levers of power” under party control. This in turn will help advance the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) – the Soviet-inspired strategy the ANC/SACP alliance has been implementing since 1994 because it offers “the most direct route” to a socialist future.

The goal of a single public service is currently being pursued via the Public Service Commission Bill of 2023. This Bill has already been adopted by the National Assembly. Now the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is rushing to adopt it too – having given the public a scant ten days to comment on the Bill by 12 September 2025.

“However, the Bill is plainly unconstitutional,” says Dr Jeffery. “The Constitution limits the Commission to dealing with departments and public entities in the national and provincial spheres of government. It excludes the local government sphere from the Commission’s jurisdiction. Instead, it expressly gives municipalities the power to employ their own personnel – and also to ‘structure and manage’ their administrations, along with their ‘budgeting and planning processes’.”

As parliamentary legal adviser Fatima Ebrahim told the National Assembly in 2024, the Memorandum on the Objects of the Bill is wrong in claiming that the proposed “extension of the mandate” of the Commission to the local government sphere “accords with the Constitution”. Instead, she warned, a prior constitutional amendment should be considered before the Bill’s adoption.

However, a constitutional amendment would require a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, which the ANC cannot muster. This explains the ANC’s insistence that the Bill complies with the Constitution and can be adopted by simple majorities in both houses.

Adds Dr Jeffery: “In adopting the Bill, the National Assembly has already breached its obligation to uphold  the ‘supremacy of the Constitution’ at all times. Now the NCOP is planning to do the same.

“The NCOP has already botched the public consultation process by giving the public a very short time to comment on the Bill and failing to explain its likely costs and consequences. It has also breached a section of the Constitution expressly requiring it to consult in advance with all municipalities, including the City of Cape Town and other opposition-controlled ones.

“The ANC’s determined pursuit of the Bill further confirms that – despite its loss of majority support in 2024 and the creation of the government of national unity (GNU) – it is still intent on pursuing the NDR.

“Yet the ANC has only 40% of the national vote, while opinion polls suggest its support is continuing to wither. The GNU is now in charge – and all participants in it have an obligation to ensure that the ANC is brought to heel on the NDR and compelled to comply with the Constitution.

“The only correct way forward on the Public Service Commission Bill is clear. The Bill conflicts with the Constitution and cannot lawfully be adopted. All MPs in the NCOP must step up to the plate and ensure that the Bill is abandoned.”

 Media contact: Anthea Jeffery, IRR Head of Policy Research Tel: +27 11 482 7221; Email: ajj@irr.org.za

Media enquiries: Michael Morris, Head of Media Tel: +2766 302 1968 Email: michael@irr.org.za