Public servants’ blind loyalty perilous

Isn’t it sad when public servants blindly defend their principals’ indefensible conduct, and it backfires, says Moshoeshoe Monare.

Johannesburg - Isn’t it sad when public servants blindly defend their principals’ indefensible conduct, and it backfires at the end. Rachel Molepo-Modipa, Limpopo’s top civil servant, once threw a volley of insults at this newspaper for exposing her former boss Cassel Mathale’s attempt to prevent charges instituted against civil servants.

Our story was based on Public Service Minister Lindiwe Sisulu accusing Mathale of resisting crucial investigations against corruption suspects in his administration.

Molepo-Modipa barked at our reporter Candice Bailey in April: “This blackpainting (sic) of the office of the premier must stop. Go to the Public Service Act to see who should be doing what. Go ask your source why these people have not been charged.”

Mathale was fired and banished to Cape Town. Hardly four months later, the new premier, Stan Mathabatha, suspended head of the Department of Education Morebudi Thamaga and his Co-operative Governance counterpart Nnana Manamela. Molepo-Modipa had earlier disputed (contrary to our report) receiving any investigation report on Thamaga or any other head of department.

The likes of Molepo-Modiba unfortunately believe that theirs was to defend corruption and incompetence instead of advising their principals on the consequences of their action.

They forget that even though they were hired to polish the battered reputations of their bosses, their primary allegiance must be to the people who pay their salaries – taxpayers – and the constitution.

I am offering to buy Molepo-Modipa the autobiography of Scott McClellan, former spokesman for former US president George Bush, in which he regrettably laments the consequence of blind political loyalty and the implication of swallowing the principal’s lies.

The political principals often survive the turbulence while the flak-catchers fall (see our report on Bruce Koloane on page 1).

The officials who lied for disgraced former communications minister Dina Pule are likely to be dealt with harshly while she trudges on with her red-shoes lifestyle, courtesy of the taxpayers.

McClellan, and former US vice-president Dick Cheney’s chief of staff Libby Scooter defended their principals’ lies about the Iraqi war intelligence, with the latter being convicted for exposing the identity of a CIA agent. In the book, McClellan expressed his anger at how Bush and those around him misled him.

Civil servants such as McClellan, Koloane and Molepo-Modipa are the reason why a partisan civil service can compromise accountability.

Minister Trevor Manuel was right when he reminded deployed cadres about the essence of accountability. “No matter how you were appointed, no matter who appointed you, you are not accountable to the ruling party. You are civil servants who are meant to serve all citizens irrespective of political persuasion.”

When professionals like Molepo-Modipa cease to be civil servants and use taxpayers to defend their bosses’ dubious conduct, they forget that governments change.

With ANC governments rapidly changing from one faction to the other, civil servants must avoid being the casualty of factional wars.

I hope Molepo-Modipa, Mathale sycophants and Mathabatha loyalists have learnt a lesson that taxpayers are their ultimate boss.

* Moshoeshoe Monare is editor of Sunday Independent.

** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Newspapers.

Sunday Independent