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Bloated public service pushes Manuel over
THE ECONOMY
OVER the past few weeks Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has suffered two body blows in his attempt to bring state spending under control. Firstly, final figures for the past 1996/97 fiscal year show the deficit before borrowing at 5.6% of GDP instead of the budgeted 5.1%. This followed a late spending surge in March by most government departments. More damaging to Manuel's credibility, though, is the continued rise in the number of public servants. According to the Central Statistical Service, total employment in the public sector remained largely unchanged between September and December last year when it totalled 1.913-million. However, over two years total employment has risen slowly but consistently from December 1994's 1.88-million. The increase in staff levels is largely attributable to the provinces, where governments had to absorb the bloated bureaucracies of former homelands. Even now, reliable statistics for most provinces are hard to come by, says the CSS. Government attempts to get to grips with the mess have been feeble to say the least. Having identified about 50 000 ghost workers last year - who are paid but do not exist - they are being tracked down at snail's pace. Voluntary retrenchments were supposed to provide one option to reduce numbers. Only about 45 000 bureaucrats have taken up the offer - mostly skilled officials the government cannot afford to lose. Finally, the commitment to reduce the staff complement by 300 000 over three years - in return for marked salary improvements - is not likely to be achieved. The odds are increasingly stacked against Manuel delivering a lean and mean public service, say economists. They point out that while Manuel can refuse requests for additional funds, this approach is likely to lead to further cuts in capital spending rather than expenditure on salaries.
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