Dr Marcel Nagar
ANOTHER State of the Nation Address (SONA) was given by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 6 February 2025 in which he gave another nod to the elusive and enigmatic concept of the ‘developmental state’.
This year it has been earmarked as the third strategic priority of the country’s Medium Term Development Plan. It is no secret that South Africa aspires to become a developmental state. It declared itself as one as early as 2005 at the ANC General National Council Meeting, something no other such state has done.
The fact is that the ANC-led South African government has failed remarkably in delivering a “capable and developmental state” model. To date, it has lacked the presence of an ethical and development-oriented leadership equipped with the necessary technical capacity and expertise to steer the country’s developmental trajectory.
In its place, South Africa’s government has been riddled with maladministration, misuse of public resources, and a high prevalence of corruption. This has, arguably, been most evident at the local government level. Corruption, bribery and embezzlement have become so deeply entrenched into the very fabric of government to the point that ‘state capture’ has become part and parcel of our public sector.
Although a developmental state is characterised by having a strong public bureaucracy, the government has not yet inculcated an ethos of excellence and meritocracy within the public service. This is largely due to the ANC’s policy of cadre deployment, which has increasingly led to the politicisation of the public service, effectively replacing meritocratic principles with that of party loyalty.
Ultimately, this has negatively impacted the government’s capacity to provide its citizens with basic public goods and services.
Yet, the arrival of our newly formed Government of National Unity (GNU), following the outcome of the recent May 2024 national elections which saw the ANC lose its 30-year parliamentary majority, may signal new hope for the country’s developmental state aspirations. Indeed, different configurations of democratic politics (i.e. be it dominant-party or coalitional party democratic states) have a profound impact on both the developmental trajectory and capacity of the state.
Here, dominant-party democratic developmental states enjoy greater control over industrial and developmental policy. Unfortunately, as we have seen within the context of the ANC-led government, their 30-year unchallenged dominance within the South African political landscape coupled with full control of all the executive lever of government has meant that they have been able to drastically underperform without feeling any immediate repercussions.
Conversely, coalitional democratic developmental states, through power-sharing and consensus, create more stable, consolidated democracies and long-lasting developmental compacts. This may be all the truer for South Africa which finds itself facing a new political reality as it transitions from a dominant party to a broad coalitional government in the form of a GNU.
The GNU’s founding statement of intent hit all the right notes when it comes to building a capable and ethical developmental state: For starters, it appears to be fully committed, more than ever, to professionalising the public sector by doing away with cadre deployment.
It does so by committing to, “a professional, merit-based, non-partisan, developmental public service that puts people first”. This is a massive turn-around, granted that the ANC’s policy of cadre deployment has been in effect since 1997.
It also prizes, “integrity, good governance and accountable leadership” another hallmark of any developmental state. Some key priorities which it outlines include, among others: rapid economic growth and job creation, poverty alleviation, addressing corruption, and massive investment in public goods and services such as better education, skills development and quality healthcare.
Much of this has been echoed within the 2025 SONA in a more detailed-oriented manner, showing the dedication and seriousness that the GNU has in realising the developmental state model.
For starters, the government seems to finally grasp the indispensable role played by a ‘professional public sector’ in building a ‘capable and competent state’.
Beyond paying its usual lip service, it promises to follow through by strengthening the Public Service Commission to ensure that senior managers, in particular, are “ethical, skilled and properly qualified”.
Its announcement of a graduate recruitment scheme to attract and staff the public service with “best and brightest” technocrats shows the government taking a leaf out of East Asian Tigers’ handbook (such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, who are regarded as first-generation developmental states).
Most impressive was the acknowledgement that the developmental state model operates, not only at the national, more importantly, at the local level where municipalities are responsible for delivering basic services to South Africans.
Recognising that local government is in dire need of “technical skills and resources” is commendable given its track record of poor performance. So, too, are the plans to “update the funding model” for many municipalities that lack a “viable and sustainable revenue base”.
This will do well to mitigate much of the inequality and disparities we see across local communities. Underpinning these initiatives with an updated White Paper on Local Government is timely, given the changes in our modern society.
Constructing successful coalitional democratic developmental states is no small feat. They require constant consensus building and compromise by all parties involved. This is incredibly important as it is only through an agreement that the state can build and amass any developmental capacity.
It is, therefore, imperative that the GNU leadership work to resolve any conflicts and non-agreements that emerge, a recent one being over the Expropriation Act which has been challenged by both the Democratic Alliance (DA) and well as the Freedom Front (FF) Plus.
Only a unified GNU can build a developmental state capable of addressing the pressing development concerns of our country. One need only look at examples such as Mauritius and Malaysia to see the developmental gains of such a model if it is done right.
* Dr Marcel Nagar is the Director of the Centre for African Diplomacy and Leadership (CADL) and Senior Researcher, SARChI Chair: African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, University of Johannesburg (UJ).
** The views in this article are entirely of the author and do not reflect those of the University of Johannesburg (UJ).
*** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.