Answer to Question #194219 in Macroeconomics for Nolo

Question

What are bureaucrats and how do they contribute to government failure? Please use relevant South African examples.

Answer 1

Bureaucrats are officials in government departments, especially those who are considered to be more concerned with procedural correctness than with the needs of the public. Those contribute to government failure in South Africa. With the emergence of more complex patterns of governance that include multiple stakeholders, the contradictions between democratic demands and values and the need of bureaucracy have not dissipated, but have become much stronger. Bureaucracy leads to erroneous managerial decisions. Government officials' inflexible or unconstitutional decision-making is an example of bureaucratic acts that ignore or suppress citizens' and administrative bodies' rights. Everyone has the right to “lawful, equitable, and procedurally equal administrative action,” according to the Constitution. This means that, in order to be constitutional, any exercise of public power must be required by statute, carried out in good faith by a decision maker who has not misconstrued his or her authority, be reasonable, and follow the rules of natural justice.

The hiring of officials is another contentious area where bureaucratic intervention can be seen. The process for naming them is outlined in the Employment of Educators Act56 regulations under the heading "Personnel Administration Steps." The legality of the bureaucratic decisions of the respective departments has been questioned in a variety of court cases as a result of bureaucratic interference with the powers of governing bodies to recommend the appointment of civil servants.

Individuals have experienced unresponsiveness, red tape, and delays as a result of their behavior. When it comes to the hiring of educators, similar cases of poor communication and opaque decision-making arise on a daily basis. However, not all of these cases go to court, and the cases that have been published are just the tip of the iceberg. Therefore, in the absence of political will to regulate institutional undemocratic bureaucracy and the impossibility of changing government through elections, aggrieved parties can make the most of judicial control and control through autonomous constitutional institutions. It is proposed that the judiciary use appropriate legal remedies, such as punitive cost awards against bureaucrats acting in their personal capacities, to promote democracy through effective administration.