Edition March 2025

The Public Service is often seen as a lifeline for societal development and governance and its effectiveness hinges on its ability to deliver quality services that address the needs of citizens in an efficient, integrated and responsive manner. However, achieving this goal is often hindered by organisational silos, where departments or provinces operate in isolation. The Public Service continues to face these challenges of fragmented structures limiting collaboration and coordination.

The mission of serving the people is also undermined by departments, and provinces competing for visibility, resources and recognition, resulting in high advertising and branding costs that drain the public funds meant for service delivery. This rivalry perpetuates silos, hampers collaboration, and detracts from the shared vision of improving services or results, by prioritising their individual objectives over shared goals.

Breaking these silos is an imperative step towards ensuring cohesive public service that meets the demands of society through improving service delivery, enhancing citizen satisfaction, and fostering a culture of accountability. At the heart of this transformation lies the role of ethical leadership, which must provide the foundation to address these challenges and foster a culture of cooperation and shared purpose guide and sustain the journey.

Understanding the problem

Silos in the public service are characterised by limited communication, poor coordination and a lack of shared objectives among various departments, agencies and provinces. These silos result in:

• duplication of efforts, leading to resource wastage.
• fragmented service delivery, where citizens are forced to navigate multiple systems to access basic services.
• limited innovation due to lack of shared knowledge and cross-functional collaborations.
• a culture of self-preservation within departments, which undermines trust and collaboration.

This can compromise service quality, widen gaps in service delivery and erode public confidence in government institutions.

The cost of silos in public service

A costly missed opportunity exists due to silos, which hinder interdepartmental and interprovincial collaboration, resulting in inefficiencies in policy implementation and fragmented service delivery. Citizens of- ten experience delays, inconsistent communication and poor quality of services because departments fail to share resources, information or strategies. This lack of cohesion not only affects the public but also demoralises employees, as they navigate bureaucratic barriers that stifle innovation and collaboration.

Collaboration and knowledge-sharing

Breaking silos requires a deliberate effort to foster interconnectedness across all levels of government.

The Public Service is loaded with thousands of policies. many of which may not be integrated or implemented effectively to shift from a siloed approach to one that fosters collaboration. There is a need to focus on developing more integrated policy frameworks and creating knowledge-sharing platforms that encourage the exchange of best practices and information in a centralised manner. This effort should be led by the Public Service Commission (PSC), given its role in promoting the constitutional values and principles outlined in Section 195. Such initiatives would foster a culture of collaboration, ultimately leading to cost savings and more effective governance.

A practical approach to in breaking silos

The PSC can play a pivotal role in advocating for interprovincial and interdepartmental collaboration, thereby breaking silos. By spearheading initiatives that promote cohesive strategies, the PSC can establish a public service knowledge-sharing platform to foster a culture of engagement and cooperation. This platform could facilitate the sharing of best practices through activities such as:

• Hosting forums for dialogue between departments to discuss challenges, successes and best practices.
• Developing guidelines that clearly emphasise the need to break silos and align goals across departments.
• Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of interdepartmental initiatives, ensuring account- ability for achieving results.

Breaking silos in public service is not merely a structural challenge, it is a cultural and ethical imperative. Ethical leadership is the glue that binds collaborative efforts, inspiring public servants to prioritise service excellence over parochial interests. By fostering a culture of trust, transparency and shared vision, leaders can ensure that the public service delivers quality, timely, and equitable services to citizens. In this way, the public sector not only fulfills its constitutional mandate but also becomes a beacon of hope and progress for the communities it serves.

The journey of breaking silos begins with single steps: a leader’s commitment to ethical inclusive, and visionary leadership. This is the key to transforming the Public Service into a cohesive force for sustainable development and improved service delivery.

*Makhubele is the Chief Director: Provincial Coordination Office of the Public Service Commission. She writes in her personal capacity.