Parliament, Tuesday, 11 August 2026 – The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration will receive a briefing tomorrow from the Public Service Commission (PSC) on its Advisory Note on public servants' participation in political party study groups and related informal engagements.
This matter forms part of the committee's oversight responsibilities concerning public administration, governance and professional conduct within the public service. The issue of political study groups has gained attention because the PSC received complaints and requests for investigation regarding the involvement of public servants in political party study groups, party caucus briefings and similar informal engagements linked to parliamentary matters. The complaints raised concerns about whether such participation is consistent with constitutional principles governing public administration and the professional obligations of public servants.
The PSC developed the Advisory Note to guide departments, executive authorities, Directors-General, Heads of Department and public servants regarding participation in study groups and similar political engagements. The Advisory Note seeks to clarify the legal, ethical and governance implications that may arise when public servants participate in structures that fall outside formal governmental and parliamentary processes.
Also on the committee’s agenda for tomorrow is the PSC’s report on the implementation and recommendations of the Good Practice Guide on Executive Recruitment and the use of Technical Experts. The National Framework for the Professionalisation of the Public Sector has assigned specific functions to the Commission, including developing a database of a pool of technical experts to be utilised by executive authorities during the recruitment and selection process of Directors-General, the Deputy Directors-General, Municipal Managers and Chief Executive Officers in the public sector.
Details of the meetings are as follows:
Date: Wednesday, 12 August 2026
Time: 10:00 – 13:00
Venue: M201, Marks Building, Parliament
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES
For media enquiries, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Alicestine October (Ms)
Cell: 083 665 4345
E-mail: aoctober@parliament.gov.za
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