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By Duduzile Zwane – CW Voices

Every South African knows the situation. The clinic that never answers. The municipality that never fixes. The government office that treats citizens as interruptions rather than the very reason it exists. We complain about these experiences so often that they have become normal, and perhaps that is the greatest crisis of all.

A society should never become comfortable with being failed.

Africa Public Service Day – set up at the first Pan-African conference of public and civil service ministers held in Tangier, Morocco, in 1994 and overseen by the Department of Public Works and Administration – arrives on 23 June each year as a reminder of the important role public institutions play in shaping people’s lives. The UN also observes Public Service Day, which is now an important component of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programme and is expressed in SDG 16. This year’s theme is Transforming Public Institutions: Advancing innovation, Participation, and Inclusion.

It is a day meant to reflect on the importance of effective and accountable institutions, and also to recognise those who dedicate themselves to serving communities and strengthening society. But beyond the speeches and celebrations, it should also be a moment of honest reflection.

It should force us to ask a difficult question: How can we have a public service sector when that service itself is largely absent?

Public service is not simply about government offices, officials, or administrative processes. It is about people. It is about whether a child can access quality education, whether a patient can receive healthcare with dignity, whether a community has access to clean water and sanitation, and whether citizens can trust that the institutions created to protect them will actually do so.

In South Africa, these services are not acts of generosity from those in power. They are connected to the fundamental rights and dignity of citizens.

Public service delivery is often discussed as a governance issue, but it is equally a human rights issue. South Africa’s Constitution recognises rights to dignity, healthcare, education, water and other basic services that enable people to live meaningful lives. When a clinic cannot provide essential care, when communities live without reliable services, or when municipalities fail to maintain basic infrastructure, these are not merely administrative failures. They affect people’s constitutionally mandated right to live with dignity. They represent a failure to uphold the responsibility placed on the state.

Every resource diverted for personal benefit represents a missed opportunity to improve someone’s life. A public servant who abuses their position does not simply break a rule; they break a promise made under oath to the people they are meant to serve, because corruption steals more than financial resources. It steals opportunities. It steals access to services. It steals people’s trust in institutions. Most importantly, it steals the dignity of citizens who depend on those services.

The crisis of accountability

The crisis facing South Africa’s public service is therefore not only a crisis of delivery, but it is also a crisis of accountability.

Public institutions and services exist because citizens place their trust in the state. Through democracy, people give leaders and public officials the authority to make decisions on their behalf. That authority is not a personal reward, nor is it an opportunity for personal enrichment – rather, it is a responsibility.

Yet too often, public power has been treated as something to be used for personal, political, or financial advantage rather than for the benefit of society.

When decision-makers prioritise their own interests over the needs of communities, the consequences are felt by ordinary people. Corruption is often measured in the money lost from public institutions, but its true cost is far greater.

South Africa does not suffer from a shortage of evidence about corruption. Commissions of inquiry, investigative journalists, whistle-blowers, civil society organisations, and oversight institutions have repeatedly exposed wrongdoing – but exposure alone has not been enough. Too often, accountability is delayed, responsibility becomes fragmented, and institutions absorb scrutiny without meaningful consequence. The challenge facing South Africa is no longer simply exposing corruption but ensuring that those entrusted with power are required to answer for how that power is exercised and face consequences when they fail to act.

This is why accountability must become the foundation of public service and the centre of South Africa’s fight against corruption. Organisations such as Corruption Watch have highlighted that corruption is not simply a matter of illegal financial transactions; it is a threat to democracy because it weakens institutions and prevents citizens from receiving the services they are entitled to. A country cannot build strong institutions when those entrusted with power are not held responsible for their decisions.

And accountability cannot only exist when scandals make headlines or when elections approach – it must exist every day through transparent decision-making, ethical leadership, effective oversight, and consequences for those who abuse public trust.

Citizens must act

However, accountability cannot only be demanded from institutions. Citizens also have an important role to play in protecting democracy. A democracy cannot function effectively when citizens only engage with the state during elections and remain silent when institutions fail between them. Public participation cannot end at the ballot box. Democracy requires active citizens who question, monitor, and challenge those who hold public power.

People must know their rights, understand how government systems work, and feel empowered to question decisions made in their name – because citizens are not merely recipients of government services. They are the owners of democracy.

Time to reflect

This becomes important as South Africa moves closer to another electoral period. Elections should not only be moments where political parties present promises and ask for votes. They should be moments where citizens examine how power has been used and whether leaders have fulfilled their responsibilities.

The question should not only be: Who promises the most? Citizens should also reflect on: Who has demonstrated that they can be trusted with the responsibility of serving the public?

Citizens must look beyond campaign messages and ask whether leaders have protected public resources, strengthened institutions, and prioritised communities over personal interests. They must ask whether decisions are being made for the benefit of society or for the benefit of those holding power. They must ask: Have officials delivered on commitments, acted transparently, accepted responsibility when things go wrong, and placed citizens’ needs above their own interests?

These are the questions that should shape how we think about leadership and public service.

At the same time, it is important to recognise that collectively, public servants themselves are not the problem. Across South Africa, many dedicated officials continue to serve communities despite limited resources and difficult circumstances. Their commitment should be valued and protected.

But a professional public service cannot exist in an environment where corruption is tolerated or even practised by leadership, incompetence is ignored or rewarded, and accountability is avoided. A functioning state requires ethical leadership, capable officials, and systems that reward responsibility rather than protect failure.

The choice before us

Public Service Day should therefore be more than a celebration of government institutions. It should be a reminder of the relationship between citizens and those entrusted to serve them. Public power belongs to the people, and those who hold it are only temporary custodians of that responsibility.

As South Africa moves closer to important political decisions, we must ask ourselves what kind of democracy we want to build. One where citizens accept poor service as inevitable? One where promises are repeatedly made without consequences when they are broken? Or one where accountability is demanded, institutions are strengthened, and public service returns to its true purpose?

The future of South Africa’s democracy depends on the answer.

Public service without accountability is not public service at all and so Africa Public Service Day should not only celebrate the ideal of service. It should challenge us to demand it.

Duduzile Zwane is a communications intern at Corruption Watch.