‘n Waardegeoriënteerde openbare bestuursbenadering tot die akademiese onderrig en praktyk van publieke administrasie

Abstract

The proposition of this article is that South African public administration has developed into a closed system and is in some instances completely out of touch with the problems and the needs of the community to be served. The question is posed whether the bureaucratic insensitiveness and apahetic attitude towards the community of some public institutions did not contribute to a large extent towards the unrest and revolutionary upheaval in South Africa? The conclusion is that public administration in South Africa should steer away from the traditional approaches focusing mainly on internal effectiveness and efficiency, towards a more modern and open approach focusing also on social equity. Social equity, characterised by the perseverance and maintenance of high ethical and moral standards in public administration aims at satisfying people's needs and solving their problems instead of regimenting them through strict bureaucratic control.