South Africa's poor service delivery - skilled workers replaced with cadres

It’s common knowledge service delivery at municipalities in particular – provincial and state departments are also affected – have collapsed or are near collapse due to the lack of trained engineers, technical people and managers.

Unqualified cadres are appointed to senior and managerial posts. The Eastern Cape and Limpopo province, whose departments, especially health and education, Treasury placed under administration, are indicative of this refusal to appoint appropriate skills, not the skills shortage per se.

In 2014 it was reported doctors in public hospitals are leaving because unqualified cadres are being appointed. At a municipality in Free State province, I think it was, people got ill from drinking unclean water because the municipality did not know how to maintain and repair a pump.

Grahamstown suffered water shortages because of the near collapse of the municipality due to mismanagement and corruption, which often go hand in hand.

There is a “continued skills exodus” from failing state-owned enterprises like SABC, SAA and “out-of-control” Eskom, which are “packed with ANC cronies and supporters, drawing enormous salaries and bonuses” (Sunday Times editorial 9/11/2014). Continual problems at Eskom has cost the country R300 billion since 2008, 10% of GDP.

Incidences like these at local, provincial and national level are happening all the time because an irreplaceable amount of institutional memory is being lost when skilled people are let go or not hired and inappropriate people employed. Where are they - the skilled people - going?

The above facts prove the reductionist skills shortage argument – that we are not producing enough – cannot be taken at face value. I asked the UCT’s South African Labour Development Research Unit (Saldru) if they had or knew of any research evidence to support this argument and if the shortage is hindering the economic potential of the Western Cape, as the DA’s Tim Harris and Western Cape Economic Affairs minister Alan Winde argued. Neither they nor Wesgro replied to my request.

We know race- and gender-based affirmative action and quotas gives preference to one demographic group – blacks and woman – over the other.

Where does it leave whites, browns and Indians, and especially men above 35 – the experienced people – in the job market?