Affirmative action policies and strategies impacting on management positions in the provincial administration: Western Cape - 1995 to 1999: a critical assessment

Abstract

The South African society is in a period of transformation that constantly challenges economic, social, and even psychological paradigms. Affirmative Action forms an integral part of the process of redistribution and has, for the longest time, attempted to make inroads into the mainstream of economic life in South Africa. The public service, being a government employer, generates a certain expectation with regards to substantive transformation amongst its ranks. For this reason, this study focuses on the Provincial Administration: Western Cape and the impact that affirmative action policies and strategies have had on management positions between the period 1995 and 1999. Government Affirmative Action policies and legislation have more than placed this issue in the forefront of social change and transformation, yet this investigation leads one to conclude that there is a lack of commitment from the provincial administration in terms of realizing national goals and objectives. This study critically assesses the dynamics at work in the transformation process in the administration and establishes the strengths and weaknesses of particular policies and strategies. Data relating to management positions, and the implementation of affirmative action policies and strategies during this period, suggest that little or nothing has been transformed.