Opinion by Thabang Mokoka
OPINION
By Thabang Mokoka – In his reflections on the performance of South African institutions, Professor Busani Ngcaweni, Director General (DG) of the National School of Government, highlights a critical issue: the dissonance between achieving clean audits and delivering tangible public value. While clean audits are often celebrated as a hallmark of good governance, they are insufficient to address the deep-seated institutional fractures plaguing the public sector. The obsession with audit outcomes, though important, often comes at the expense of innovation, efficiency, and service delivery. A glaring example is the cumbersome process of issuing opportunities for young people, which underscores the low bar set for institutional performance and the lack of technological adoption to streamline processes.
Consider this scenario: A government department issues an advert in February calling for young people to apply for opportunities. The advert is disseminated, and applications pour in. Instead of leveraging technology to manage the process efficiently, officials engage in a costly, labour-intensive exercise. They drive to various districts to collect physical applications, sift through them manually, and navigate a labyrinth of bureaucratic approvals. By April, a quarter of the year has passed, and only a fraction of the applications have been processed. Governance processes were followed, and the Auditor-General’s criteria were met, but at what cost? The human and financial resources expended are staggering, and the delay in delivering opportunities to young people is inexcusable. This is not efficiency but it is institutional inertia masquerading as compliance.
This example illustrates a broader problem of institutions that are often more focused on ticking boxes than delivering value. As Ngcaweni notes, the survival mantra for public sector bureaucrats is to secure a clean audit and keep political principals happy, often at the expense of innovation and impact. The result is an over-bureaucratised, under-utilised public sector, riddled with “Senior Makotis” tendencies and misaligned with the needs of a rapidly changing society. The fixation on clean audits and consequence management has overshadowed the real goal of improving citizens’ lives effectively with high-impact value.
The irony is that clean audits do not necessarily translate into better service delivery. A department can achieve a spotless audit outcome yet fail to deliver on its mandate. Audit outcomes measure compliance, not impact. They indicate whether rules were followed but do not assess whether those rules are effective or contribute to national reconstruction. As Ngcaweni argues, we must move beyond the “corruption” surface and confront deeper institutional fractures hindering performance (A topic for another day). This requires a fundamental reimagining of how institutions operate, including adopting technology to streamline processes and improve efficiency with high value and impact.
The reluctance to embrace technology is particularly baffling. In an era where digital tools can automate routine tasks, reduce costs, and accelerate service delivery, institutions remain wedded to outdated, manual processes. This is not just a failure of imagination but a failure of management. As Lee Kuan Yew observed, institutions are made or broken by the people who run them. To rebuild institutions, we need management willing to challenge the status quo, embrace innovation, and prioritise public value over bureaucratic compliance. “Senior Makotis” tendencies must be left at home.
The crux of the matter is that, If management and their lieutenants do not recognise the crisis, can we claim to be applying corporate governance principles effectively? Corporate governance is about ensuring institutions are led and managed to maximise value for stakeholders. It emphasises accountability, transparency, and strategic foresight which is breathed and lived by every official in the organisation. Yet, when management prioritises maintaining the appearance of compliance over driving impact, one must question whether these principles are being applied or merely paid lip service.
Corporate governance theories stress aligning institutional objectives with public value. However, when management fails to recognise inefficiencies, resists innovation, and prioritises bureaucratic processes over outcomes, they are not governing—they are hindering. They stifle innovation and perpetuate a system that values conformity over substance. This is not governance, it is a dereliction of duty.
Ngcaweni’s call for a “grand imagination of institutions” is timely and necessary. He writes, “Do you not think that our number one problem in SA is performance of institutions? How they (don’t) work (operating models), what they (don’t) do, how they are (mis)governed, how they are (mis)used and (under)utilised? That’s in addition to the (mis)interpretation and allocation of mandates that may themselves be outdated (not responsive to changing realities) and the stagnation of rules governing institutions (while we pretend to be reforming by over-bureaucratizing their governance and administration).”
This statement encapsulates the problem in which institutions are not only failing to perform but are also misaligned with the realities of a rapidly changing world. Ngcaweni argues that the survival mantra for public sector bureaucrats is to “get a clean audit, keep the board and the minister/MEC/Mayor happy, at whatever cost it may take. This instead of obsessing about contributing to national reconstruction.” This fixation on compliance over impact is a significant barrier to progress.
Ngcaweni also highlights the need for a broader reimagining of institutions, stating that, “I think we conceal deep institutional fractures by scratching the ‘corruption’ surface, while even in the absence of corruption, key institutions aren’t contributing public value, partly because we haven’t done the grand imagination of institutions and their contribution to national reconstruction.” This indictment of the status quo prioritises superficial fixes over systemic change.
The stakes could not be higher. As Ngcaweni warns, unless we invest in reimagining institutions, both the economy and the democratic project will remain stagnant. The youth opportunities advert is a microcosm of a larger problem in which institutions are not delivering value because they are not designed to do so. It is time to move beyond the audit mirage and focus on what truly matters—improving citizens’ lives through efficient, innovative, and responsive institutions. Only then can we claim to be contributing to national reconstruction.
In conclusion, the question we must ask ourselves, are we applying corporate governance principles to drive impact, or are we using them as a shield to hide our failures and lack of innovation? If management and their lieutenants cannot see the crisis, we are not governing—we are drifting. In a country as complex and challenged as South Africa, drifting is not an option. We need management who can steer the ship with vision, courage, and a relentless focus on delivering public value. Anything less is a betrayal of the trust placed in them by the people they serve.
As Ngcaweni aptly puts it, “Unless we invest in the work of reimagining institutions & rewrite the performance measurement (public value) matrix, the economy & indeed the democratic project will remain stagnant, me thinks.” These words should serve as a clarion call for all of us to demand more from our institutions and the management who run them.
Disclaimer: Thabang Mokoka writes in his personal capacity.
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