We have been here before. The third major public service strike since 1994 is upon us. During the first major public service strike since democracy, in 1999, trade unions suffered a significant defeat with government’s unilateral implementation of wages. But in 2007, public service unions turned the tables on government conducting an unprecedented strike, and building an unlikely coalition with departments responsible for frontline service delivery. This resulted in the introduction of occupational specific dispensations (OSDs) that put new occupational classifications, promotions and grading systems in place.
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Posted: August 21st, 2010 | Filed under: Civil Society, Public Services | Tags: Bargaining, Cosatu, Trade union | No Comments »
A reminder to the ANC that it needed to deepen democracy in society arrived at the ANC’s Polokwane conference, where one major gripe against President Mbeki was that he had failed to create “policy coherence” amongst the ANC and its alliance partners, let alone the broader society. Mbeki was criticised for insulating public policy through technocratic methods, and failing to build consensus in society beyond the so-called chattering classes. Whilst Mbeki’s vision for a post-colonial society that worked rested on making unpopular decisions, it was at least palpable.
President Jacob Zuma’s administration repeats Mbeki’s mistake, but in more hidden ways. Nevertheless, it’s exactly the same thing: attempting to insulate public policy choices from contestation in society, and as a consequence failing to build policy consensus in society. This is most visible in the establishment of various presidential panels to advise on key policy areas of black economic empowerment (BEE), state owned enterprises (SOE) and developing the national plan.
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Posted: July 26th, 2010 | Filed under: Civil Society, Public Policy | Tags: Black Economic Empowerement, Jacob Zuma, Planning Commission, Policy, Politics, South Africa, Thabo Mbeki | No Comments »
This conversation from the movie Before Sunset provides a reason why the people who provide the little achievements of the day should be resting on Mandela Day.
Céline: Yes, of course. (Hands him a cigarette.) Um, here. (He takes the cigarette and taps it 3 times on the table.) In my field, I see these people that… (Hands him her cigarette so he can light the one she has given him.)…uh, sorry…come into it with big idealist visions of becoming the new leader that will create a better world. They enjoy the goal, but not the process!
Jesse: Right.
Céline: But the reality of it is that the true work of improving things is in the little achievements of the day. And that’s what you need to enjoy, just in that field.
Jesse: What, what do you mean, exactly?
Céline: Well, for example, I was working for this organization that helped villages in Mexico. And their concerns was how to get the pencils sent to the kid in these little country schools. I was not about big revolutionary ideas, it was about pencils. I see the people that do the real work and what’s really sad, in a way, is that…the people that are the most giving, hard working and capable of making this world better, usually don’t have the ego and ambition to be a leader. They don’t see any interest in superficial rewards, they don’t care if…if their name ever appear in the press. They actually enjoy the process of helping others, they’re in the moment.
But, the amazing people that run the trauma unit, provide counselling, raise funds, take the extra steps in schools and hospitals will not take the time to rest. The activists that make it easy for us to give money, because our time is so limited. Their commitment is of a different scale, built on a strength that many of us cannot have. There is a moral and ethical strength in facing poverty and inequality each day. Analyst like myself write about poverty and inequality – sometimes with distance, more often with activism intended – and the real test is both whether we can face the daily realities, and develop ideas that help the activists that run development programmes.
I hope these people rested on Mandela Day, and gave a little time to their family and friends.
Posted: July 19th, 2010 | Filed under: Civil Society | Tags: activism, civil society, Mandela Day | No Comments »
I am trained to be a public policy analyst. This training entails a couple of implicit rules. I blog and this entails a couple of implicit rules. Here is a quick summary of the main differences as a I see it.
Analyst/Blogger
| Area |
Analyst |
Blogger |
| Knowledge |
Complete knowledge and a careful assessment of sources and arguments are core to good arguments. |
More incomplete forms of knowledge (a link, a rant, a couple of paragraphs) encouraged. |
| Mistakes |
Penalised heavily, intellectual reputations ruined.
Fixing mistakes is a long process. |
Simply say “My Bad”. Audiences can however be extremely unforgiving.
Fixing mistakes are as easy as hitting the edit button. |
| Expert |
Do not speak or write on areas that you are not an expert. |
It is OK to write on areas that you have a limited knowledge of, just make certain to have done the homework. |
| Audience |
The policy community which are usually highly educated |
It could literally be anyone. |
| Medium |
Still largely paper |
Online |
| Length |
Varies, but usually 1000 words plus. |
About 500-600 words. |
| Presentation |
Text heavy presentation not encouraged, but is inevitable |
More scannable (and some would say scanty) presentation of arguments. |
One of the reasons, I have not blogged more often is that I am rooted in the world of the analyst. But, I still see value in blogging, and ensuring that my work on the blog is of the same standard as my work in writing public policy documents. So why bother? For three reasons:
- Increasingly the web is becoming a medium that provides a voice on public policy.
- The web facilitates connections and opportunities. The public policy world is not an early adopter of the interwebs, but having a voice online will be a standard requirement.
- Organisation tool – The primary reason for me to blog is to share some of my notes with the audience of this site. This means I get to learn from their contributions , comments and emails. But, more simply I have a searchable set of notes.They are public and I have taken some time to edit them. It means I can find them easily.
So from now on I am going to use this site primarily to capture my notes. It raises a couple of questions for me. Do I have the time? Can I write regularly, more shorter and yet meet the expectations of my peers? These doubts are, not just about my challenges, but all part and parcel of a changing world of public policy analysis. I think I am beginning to understand how disruptive the internet is, and will be.
(This note only took me ten minutes, and is under 500 words)
Posted: July 17th, 2010 | Filed under: Internet and Public Policy | Tags: Blog, Internet, Public Policy | No Comments »
Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen aspires to produce useful and evidence based policy options to meet the goals of a more equal society.