Inspired by the principles of Batho Pele, which can be translated to People First, Afrika-Cibangu makes it a point to solve every problem and help others overcome challenges. The Batho Pele principles can also be summarised by the slogan: “We belong, we care, we...

Bongiwe Sokutu has been a teacher at Holy Cross High School for the past 26 years. Orphaned at a young age, Sokutu’s school teachers helped her out with the various expenses and challenges that come with growing up. When she matriculated, she knew that it was her duty...

“As a bomb disposal specialist, my greatest satisfaction derives from saving people, property and events without those whom you’ve saved even realising that they were in extreme danger. Preserving lives is an eternal driver for me.” When he was growing up, Thabang...

Thabang Mokgoshi is a communications official in the department of planning, monitoring and evaluation. During an internship he decided to make working in the public service his career. He had worked in the private sector previously but felt his skills weren’t...

Nomthandazo “Thandi” Masina started her career as a firefighter in 2003 and now works as a control room attendant at Lekwa municipality in Standerton, Mpumalanga. “My duties as a civil servant are to assist the community and that’s the main reason why I decided on...

Willem Esterhuyse is head of engineering at the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO). Esterhuyse says he got involved in civil service when he started working on the Southern African Large Telescope. He later joined the SARAO, where he's in charge of the...

Paballo Mohafa joined the civil service in 2005 as a cultural heritage manager at the Mapungubwe National Park World Heritage Site (South African National Parks). In March 2020 she joined the Gauteng department of economic development, where she is involved in the...

“I did not choose to work in the public sector, it chose me,” says Ward Councillor in the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Sinethemba “Ceba waBantu” Matiwane. Born in Tarkastad, a small town in the Eastern Cape, Matiwane was inspired to be the change he...

Solly Ramulumisi is an assistant director at the Gauteng department of agriculture and rural development. Before this, he was a database administrator. Ramulumisi has been in this line of work and managing people since 2006. Although his job involves working with...

Growing up in a township under the apartheid government gave Thandi Sibanyoni, the executive manager of corporate services at Sassa, the drive to become a public servant. “I experienced poverty and inequality at its best,” says Sibanyoni. “I knew that I had to join...

Genevieve Simelane works at the Office of the Premier for the Public Servants Association. She started her journey in public service in 2004 out of necessity, but her passion for people quickly grew as she saw the lack of workplace representation. Simelane’s purpose...

Kelebogile Trom is a sergeant at the Ikageng Police Station in Potchefstroom, North West. She works as a communications officer and as court orderly for domestic violence and harassment cases at the Ikageng Branch Court. She also appears on local radio stations, where...

Major Mpho Mathebula says she joined the South African Air Force straight out of high school. She knew that she was designed to do work that allowed her to be part of building the kind of South Africa and Africa she wanted, and “joining the military was a good fit for...

Nobulali Mfengu’s passion to help others developed at a young age. Today, she’s a social work manager (acting director) in the department of social development. Mfengu grew up in Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape, where she witnessed people living in poor conditions. “I...

Food security is a cause close to the heart of Murhandiwani Shivambu, agricultural adviser for the Mpumalanga department of agriculture, rural development, land and environmental affairs. “Helping people produce their own food from a small backyard is very...

Among the members of his community, Lieutenant-Colonel Lumbani Chauke has earned the reputation of someone who is always there to assist. As the Unit Commander for the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences SAPS Unit in Alexandra, he is fully committed...

Jean Makara-Mbele is a teacher at the IM Manchu Secondary School in Balfour, Mpumalanga. The school is located in a township and Mbele serves as the head of department for mathematics and mathematical science. She says her love for children and numbers made her...

Karen Holder serves as the Assistant Manager: Monitoring and Evaluation within the Eastern Cape Office of the Premier. For Karen Holder, being part of the public service is part of her civic duty, but it goes beyond that: on both of her parents’ sides is a long line...

Thulisile Manzini’s career in public service has spanned more than 22 years. In her various executive roles, she’s been successful in transforming organisations marred by intricate challenges and instabilities. She’s done so by implementing strategies that contribute...

It was after years of practising as an attorney that Alpheus Sipho Molope, senior manager of the legal services department at Sassa, felt a calling to join the civil service. “Private practice gave me exposure to the nature and extent of litigation against and by the...

Mpho Putu is a project manager at the department of social development. From a young age, he had a passion for helping others in his community. “I always reached out and helped students and the poor and vulnerable of our society,” he says. “Looking back, I do think I...

Mandisa Tshikwatamba was inspired to follow this line of work because many of her family members held different positions in the public service. She says: “When I obtained my first degree in the 90s as a black child, the economic transformation agenda of the [ANC]...

Miranda Henry is a senior procurement officer working in the office of the CFO at the Gauteng provincial treasury. She also serves as a shop steward for the Public Servants, Association of South Africa, where she aims to improve the working conditions of civil...

Midah Moreroa, who is the director of supply chain management at the Government Communication and Information System, says she initially went into civil service simply because she needed a job: “It happened at a time when I’d left my previous job and I had to support...

Professor Wendy Susan Stevens is the head of the department of Molecular Medicine and Haematology at the University of the Witwatersrand, a position she’s been in since 2003. She is also the founder and head of the National Priority Programmes which was designed to...

Growing up without a mother, Glenville Fransman was raised by aunts and uncles in Promosa in Potchefstroom, North West, which instilled in him the value of community and a need to give back. Fransman shares his lived experiences with the youth of Potchefstroom and...

Gustav Wilson’s passion for people and his commitment to delivering excellent services are his driving forces when it comes to bettering the lives of South Africans. He works in the department of correctional services and is dedicated to the rehabilitation of inmates....

Mbuyisa Mondli Manana is an assistant director: budget planning and control at the Gauteng department of roads and transport. He says he has always been passionate about serving others. “I think that passion was born when Dad was a town clerk at the Daveyton...

Logan Munsamy is the senior manager of operations and maintenance of water and sewer infrastructure in the City of Johannesburg. This covers all aspects of burst mains, and sewerage blockages and customer meters. He has grew up in a family of artisans and technicians...

Bejude Rampoana, has been working as a nurse for 20 years. She is now working at Ramano Integrated Healthcare Services in the Free State, she’s been on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic, working tirelessly to ensure the health and safety of her fellow community...

Even in the best of times, teachers are among the hardest working and least celebrated of our public servants. With the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, this well-recognised strain on educators was exacerbated further: many have had to adjust to online classes or risk...

Pontsho Maruping is the deputy manager of operations and business processes at the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory. She moved from the private sector into public service during South Africa’s transition to democracy because she wanted to be part of the...

Mpho Ratshisusu always knew he wanted to work for the people of South Africa. Today, he serves as the head of legal services at the department of water and sanitation. “I get up in the morning for work and realise that my contribution, no matter how small, can change...

Colonel Kervin Deslin Solomons is the station commander at the Garsfontein police station in Pretoria. Solomons is responsible for managing and leading the members of his division to secure the best service delivery in the community they serve, and to keep the...

Thabo Morobi found the civil service was a calling. He excelled from the start, and even took first position in the Logistical Support Awards 2016 while serving as an administrative clerk at Monde Primary School. He is now employed at the Gauteng department of...

Hester Wagenaar has been a public servant for 38 years, serving as the executive assistant to the chief executive of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa). Her position is that of the primary point of access to the chief executive, meaning that she must...

Growing up in apartheid South Africa, inequality was always front of mind for Tughfa Hamdulay. She’s been in the social welfare sector for 31 years, lives and breathes her ideals, and is the director of early childhood development and partial care at the Western Cape...

Remofilwe Latoya Azania Morekisi regards civil service as one of the most important sectors of society. “I grew up in a family and community that had lost faith in the civil service. That black disadvantaged people should always expect the worst when interacting with...

For Carin Koster, general manager of solutions development at Sassa (South African Social Security Agency), it’s the chance to help people who need it the most that draws her to public service. “In Sassa we care for the most vulnerable people in our country,” she...

Thega Kandasamy works in the Soweto region, where he implements and plans for the work required to reduce unaccounted for water. In a water-scarce country like South Africa, Kandasamy’s work is important. He ensures that water demand is managed and, where necessary,...