Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration has been tasked with amendments to the Public Administration Management Act of 2014, to overhaul the public service.
Clause 5 of the bill seeks to make amendments to clarify the definitions of words or expressions of"organ of state", instead of state, and the definition of a director of a company.Three organisations, the Public Affairs Research Institute , Public Service Accountability Monitor, The Ethics Institute & Corruption Watch, believe the section should be strengthened to better safeguard the public administration from corruption.
In April 2020, News24 reported that the Department of Public Service and Administration found 1 539 government employees were conducting business with the state, of which 1 111 were working at provincial and 428 at national departments. The Western Cape Government proposed that the term"ex-officio" includes employees who are nominated to serve on boards of state-owned companies by Cabinet."It is further recommended that all potential consequences of this clause be investigated; intended and unintended and that problematic unintended consequences are addressed," it said.