Civil servants need to be ‘insulated’ from politics and allowed to do their work

Pravin Gordhan stresses that government departments have to stretch their resources and fund their projects with their own cashflows.

Low levels of spending on operational programmes, poor staff morale and corporate governance are some of the problems facing the department.

The Transport Department spent over R75-million on four conferences in two years, the Democratic Alliance said on Wednesday.

The <i> Mail & Guardian</i> learned recently that Jacob Zuma’s administration will expand national ministries from 28 to 32.

Departments are spending more on ‘subsistence’ — restaurants and hotels — than ever before, and correctional services tops the list.