South Africa’s civil service should be restructured, but a plan to reward early retirement won’t solve the problem – economist

By Andrew Robert Donaldson, Senior Research Associate, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town

South Africa’s finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, announced in his October mid-term budget policy statement that cabinet had approved funding for an early retirement programme to reduce the public sector wage bill. R11 billion (about US$627 million) will be allocated over the next two years to pay for the exit costs of 30,000 civil servants while retaining critical skills and promoting the entry…

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