Veteran public servants receive lifetime achievement awards
"They played a role in shaping the public administration we see it today."
The SA Association of Public Administration and Management (Saapam) on Thursday honoured two public “servants for their tireless work to bring services to the people”.
Through a red carpet evening, Saapam awarded professor Stanislaus Sangweni and the late Dr Zola Skweyiya with lifetime achievement awards at the Sheraton Hotel.
Both Skweyiya and Sangweni had illustrious careers in the public service.
Sangweni chaired the Public Service Commission from 1994 to his retirement in 2009 and Skweyiya was appointed minister of public service and administration in 1994 then minister of social development in 1999. The latter died in April at the age of 76.
Saapam promotes good governance in the administration of the state and also recognises excellence in the field of public affairs particularly for individuals who demonstrated selflessness in their service to citizens.
Saapam president professor Zwelibanzi Mpehle said Skweyiya and Sangweni were among the few public servants to receive this highest award.
“They are among the outstanding individuals who are further credited for their role in shaping our public administration as we see it today,” he said.
Skweyiya’s widow Thuthukile Skweyiya accepted the award on her late husband’s behalf.
Ministers of public service and administration Ayanda Dlodlo and cooperative governance and traditional affairs Zweli Mkhize gave keynote addresses.
“These two great men have shaped the post-apartheid public service in our country. We are filled with great pride as we acknowledge their illustrious contribution not only to the struggle for liberation but to the transformation and building of the South Africa we dream about,” said Mkhize.
He said they laid a firm foundation for a new, transformative civil service.
Dlodlo commended Sangweni and Skweyiya for their illustrious contribution to the country’s transformation.
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