Apartheid and the Bureaucracy

The discussion begins with a brief historical overview of racial oppression and exploitation in South Africa, including the period of apartheid. The critical role played by the bureaucracy in realizing the National Party’s vision for a racially separated and white dominated South Africa is explained. The discussion then shifts to the apartheid bureaucracy’s formal structure, demographic character, values and norms, and capacity and performance. This descriptive analysis sheds light on why successive ANC governments have sought to reform the public service, and in particular, to transform it into a representative bureaucracy. The apartheid bureaucracy presents a paradox: while it possessed impressive capabilities and achieved notable successes, it was also plagued by chronic deficiencies that limited its efficiency and effectiveness and necessitated major administrative reforms.