By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Professor Somadoda Fikeni welcomed president Cyril Ramaphosa’s assent to the Public Service Commission Bill, which is now known as the Public Service Commission Act.
Ramaphosa has signed the Public Service Commission Bill into law, aiming to make South Africa’s public service more professional and ethical.
The new Public Service Commission Act repeals the Public Service Commission Act of 1997.
The bill was introduced in October 2023 but lapsed ahead of the 2024 National Election. It was revived in July with the new Government of National Unity (GNU).
It was passed by the National Assembly in March 2025 and received concurrence from the National Council of Provinces in May 2026, and was sent to Ramaphosa for assent.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent body established in terms of section 196(1) of the Constitution.
Fikeni said the new PSC Act formed part of broader efforts to strengthen the public service and restore professionalism, ethics and accountability.
The PSC will now embark on an implementation plan for the Act under the following parameters:
- In phase one, the Commission’s confirmed mandate over municipalities and public entities/enterprises is pended for a 12-month period. This will allow the Commission time to implement certain operational requirements in anticipation of the mandate. The Act furthermore provides that the full implementation of this confirmed mandate must be completed within three years after the expiry of the initial 12-month pended period.
- For PSC employees, the new Act ensures continuity, protection and fairness throughout the transition. All current PSC employees automatically become employees of the new Secretariat, with no break in service or interruption to employment. A joint employer-union task team will be established to assist with the placement of employees as part of the consultation processes for the PSC Secretariat migration of staff and function shift.
- Existing collective agreements and performance agreements will continue to apply as if concluded under the new system. Importantly, employees retain the right to opt out of moving to the Secretariat within 30 days, and those who choose not to move are safeguarded, with their salaries and conditions preserved until they are placed elsewhere in the public service or seconded to the Commission. A joint task team of employer and union representatives will oversee the migration process, while the PSC Bargaining Forum remains recognised as the collective bargaining structure.
- The expansion of the PSC’s mandate to municipalities and public entities/enterprises will be phased in over 12 months, ensuring gradual and well-resourced implementation. In essence, no employee will lose their job, salary, benefits, union rights or continuity of service because of this transition, which has been designed to guarantee a smooth and protected transfer with full consultation and safeguards.
Among other things, the new law regulates the procedure for the President’s appointment of Commissioners and provides for the establishment of the Commission’s Secretariat to support its work.
The Act gives the commission the power to direct the relevant executive authority, or any other person against whom it makes a decision, to report on progress in implementing such decisions.
Any person found guilty of obstructing the commission in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its functions will be guilty of an offence and liable, on conviction, to penalties.
Penalties can include imprisonment of up to 12 months, a fine of up to R50,000, or both.
Fikeni said reforms must also address emerging challenges facing the state, including gender-based violence, youth unemployment, inequality, climate change, migration, geopolitical volatility and the rapid development of artificial intelligence.
He said the public service could not focus only on responding to existing crises, but had to develop institutions capable of anticipating future challenges.
“The issues of GBVs, issues of basic collapse of a family as a traditional institution,” Fikeni said, listing some of the social challenges public servants would have to understand as they performed their duties.
He said future public servants would need to be equipped to deal with a changing environment, including more frequent climate-related disasters, technological changes and complex migration challenges.
Fikeni also called for stronger protection for whistleblowers and a change in the way they are viewed when they expose wrongdoing in government.
He said members of the public had a responsibility to report corruption and the misuse of public resources, adding that the money being wasted belonged to citizens.
The commission is mandated to monitor and evaluate a wide range of practices in the Public Service and to investigate administrative practices and service delivery failures.
According to the Constitution, the commission is independent and must be impartial, and must exercise its powers and perform its functions without fear, favour or prejudice.
One of the commission’s key mandates is to advance the maintenance of effective and efficient public administration and a high standard of professional ethics in the Public Service.
Fikeni said the PSC Act was part of a broader package of public sector reforms aimed at building a capable, ethical and professional state. Read full Act here: https://lawlibrary.org.za/akn/za/act/2026/8/eng@2026-09-15/source.