Talk:Departments of the Government of South Africa

History of amendments to the Public Service Act schedules
The list of government departments is legally defined in schedules to the Public Service Act. Here are some notes describing amendments of those schedules from 1994 to the present day. - htonl (talk) 16:02, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

1994–1999
Proclamation 103 of 1994 of 3 June 1994 created the Public Service Act, 1994, which restructured the civil service after the 1994 elections. It included Schedule 1 listing national departments, and Schedule 2 listing "organisational components" which had status similar to a department. The original lists were as follows.

Schedule 1
 * Department of Agriculture
 * Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology
 * Department of Constitutional Development
 * Department of Correctional Services
 * Department of Education
 * Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
 * Department of Finance
 * Department of Foreign Affairs
 * Department of Health and Welfare
 * Department of Home Affairs
 * Department of Housing
 * Department of Justice
 * Department of Labour
 * Department of Land Affairs
 * Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs
 * Department of National Intelligence Services
 * Department of Public Works
 * Department of Sport and Recreation
 * Department of State Expenditure
 * Department of Trade and Industry
 * Department of Transport
 * Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
 * National Defence Force
 * Office of the President
 * Office of the Public Service Commission
 * SA Police Service

Schedule 2
 * Central Economic Advisory Service
 * Central Statistical Service
 * Office of the Executive Deputy President
 * Office of the Executive Deputy President from the Largest Minority Party
 * Office for Public Enterprises
 * SA Communication Service

Subsequent amendments:
 * Proclamation 106 of 1994 split the Department of Health and Welfare into Department of Health and Department of Welfare on 1 July 1994.
 * Act 38 of 1994 (the Intelligence Services Act) split the Department of National Intelligence Services into the National Intelligence Agency and the SA Secret Service on 1 January 1995.
 * Proclamation 24 of 1995 renamed the National Defence Force to the Department of Defence with effect from 1 March 1995.
 * Proclamation 49 of 1995 added the Office of the Minister for the Public Service and Administration to Schedule 1 on 5 May 1995.
 * Proclamation R63 of 1995 renamed the SA Police Service to the Department of Police on 23 June 1995.
 * Proclamation R103 of 1995 added the SA Revenue Service to Schedule 1 on 1 December 1995.
 * Proclamation 6 of 1996 added the Independent Complaints Directorate to Schedule 2 on 9 February 1996.
 * Proclamation 14 of 1996 renamed the Office of the Minister for the Public Service and Administration to the Department of Public Service and Administration, and added the SA Management Development Institute to Schedule 2, on 1 April 1996.
 * Proclamation 44 of 1996 renamed the Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs to the Department of Minerals and Energy on 8 August 1996.
 * Proclamation 51 of 1996 moved the Office of the Executive Deputy President from Schedule 2 to Schedule 1 on 6 September 1996.
 * Proclamation 13 of 1996 removed the Central Economic Advisory Service on 31 January 1997.
 * Proclamation 21 of 1997 removed the Office of the Executive Deputy President from the Largest Minority Party on 28 February 1997.
 * Act 34 of 1997 (the SA Revenue Service Act) removed the SA Revenue Service on 1 October 1997 (SARS is now a special body "outside the public service").
 * Proclamation 7 of 1998 renamed the SA Communication Service to the Department of Government Communications and Information System on 13 February 1998.
 * Act 10 of 1998 (the Department of Communications Rationalisation Act) added the Department of Communications to Schedule 1 on 1 April 1998 (it had previously been outside the public service).
 * Proclamation 62 of 1998 removed the SA Management Development Institute on 12 June 1998.
 * Proclamation 82 of 1998 renamed the Central Statistical Service to Statistics SA on 27 August 1998.
 * Proclamation 73 of 1999 removed the Office of the Executive Deputy President, and renamed the Office of the President to Office of the Presidency, on 17 June 1999.

1998–2008
Act 86 of 1998 (the Public Service Laws Amendment Act) substituted a new Schedule 1, and a new Schedule 3 (renumbering the old Schedule 2) into the Public Service Act, with effect from 1 July 1999. These lists were as follows.

Schedule 1
 * Department of Agriculture
 * Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology
 * Department of Communications
 * Department of Constitutional Development
 * Department of Correctional Services
 * Department of Defence
 * Department of Education
 * Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
 * Department of Finance
 * Department of Foreign Affairs
 * Department of Government Communications and Information System
 * Department of Health
 * Department of Home Affairs
 * Department of Housing
 * Department of Justice
 * Department of Labour
 * Department of Land Affairs
 * Department of Minerals and Energy
 * Department of Public Service and Administration
 * Department of Public Works
 * Department of Safety and Security
 * Department of Sport and Recreation
 * Department of State Expenditure
 * Department of Trade and Industry
 * Department of Transport
 * Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
 * Department of Welfare
 * National Intelligence Agency
 * Office of the President
 * Office of the Executive Deputy President
 * Office of the Public Service Commission
 * SA Secret Service

Schedule 3
 * Central Statistical Service
 * Independent Complaints Directorate
 * Office for Public Enterprises

It will be observed that this enactment made no changes in the list except to reverse the changes made in Proclamations 82/1998 and 73/1999. Proclamation 117 of 1999 reinstated those changes retroactively to 1 July 1999.

Subsequent amendments:
 * Proclamation 82 of 1999 renamed the Office for Public Enterprises to the Department of Public Enterprises, and moved it from Schedule 3 to Schedule 1, on 20 July 1999.
 * Proclamation 104 of 1999 added the SA Management and Development Institute to Schedule 1 on 1 October 1999.
 * Proclamation 118 of 1999 renamed the Department of Constitutional Development to the Department of Provincial and Local Government on 1 November 1999.
 * Proclamation 17 of 2000 renamed the Department of Sport and Recreation to Sport and Recreation South Africa, and moved it from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3, on 1 April 2000.
 * Proclamation 39 of 2000 merged the Department of Finance and Department of State Expenditure to create the National Treasury also on 1 April 2000.
 * Proclamation 25 of 2000 renamed the Office of the Presidency to The Presidency on 27 April 2000.
 * Proclamation 37 of 2000 renamed the Department of Welfare to the Department of Social Development on 1 July 2000.
 * Proclamation 71 of 2000 moved Statistics SA from Schedule 3 to Schedule 1 on 1 December 2000.
 * Proclamation 62 of 2002 split the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology into the Department of Arts and Culture and the Department of Science and Technology on 1 August 2002.
 * Proclamation R14 of 2003 moved Sport and Recreation South Africa back from Schedule 3 to Schedule 1 on 28 February 2003.
 * Proclamation R33 of 2002 added the SA National Academy of Intelligence to Schedule 3 on 17 April 2003.
 * Proclamation R39 of 2006 added the Inspectorate for Social Assistance to Schedule 3 on 22 September 2006.

2008–2009
Act 30 of 2007 (the Public Service Amendment Act) substituted a new Schedule 1 into the Public Service Act with effect from 1 April 2008. The distinction between Schedule 3 departments and Schedule 1 departments was abolished with them all being included in Schedule 1. The new list was as follows.


 * Department of Agriculture
 * Department of Arts and Culture
 * Department of Communications
 * Department of Correctional Services
 * Department of Defence
 * Department of Education
 * Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
 * Department of Foreign Affairs
 * Department of Government Communications and Information System
 * Department of Health
 * Department of Home Affairs
 * Department of Housing
 * Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
 * Department of Labour
 * Department of Land Affairs
 * Department of Minerals and Energy
 * Department of Provincial and Local Government
 * Department of Public Enterprises
 * Department of Public Service and Administration
 * Department of Public Works
 * Department of Safety and Security
 * Department of Science and Technology
 * Department of Social Development
 * Department of Trade and Industry
 * Department of Transport
 * Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
 * Independent Complaints Directorate
 * Inspectorate for Social Assistance
 * National Intelligence Agency
 * National Treasury
 * Office of the Public Service Commission
 * SA Management and Development Institute
 * SA National Academy of Intelligence
 * SA Secret Service
 * Sport and Recreation SA
 * Statistics SA
 * The Presidency

The only actual change (besides merging Schedule 3 into Schedule 1) was to rename the Department of Justice to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.

2009–2014
Proclamation 48 of 2009 substituted a new Schedule 1 on 7 July 2009. The list was as follows. It will be noted that when departments were split, the old department was also retained on the list - the old department needed to remain in existence while budget and staff were transferred to the new departments. These residual departments are marked in italics (and see the note about Proclamation 18/2013 below).


 * Department of Agriculture
 * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
 * Department of Arts and Culture
 * Department of Basic Education
 * Department of Communications
 * Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
 * Department of Correctional Services
 * Department of Defence and Military Veterans
 * Department of Education
 * Department of Energy
 * Department of Environmental Affairs
 * Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
 * Department of Health
 * Department of Higher Education and Training
 * Department of Home Affairs
 * Department of Human Settlements
 * Department of International Relations and Cooperation
 * Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
 * Department of Labour
 * Department of Mineral Resources
 * Department of Minerals and Energy
 * Department of Police
 * Department of Public Enterprises
 * Department of Public Service and Administration
 * Department of Public Works
 * Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
 * Department of Science and Technology
 * Department of Social Development
 * Department of Tourism
 * Department of Trade and Industry
 * Department of Transport
 * Department of Water Affairs
 * Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
 * Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities
 * Economic Development Department
 * Government Communication and Information System
 * Independent Complaints Directorate
 * National Intelligence Agency
 * National Treasury
 * Office of the Public Service Commission
 * Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy
 * SA National Academy of Intelligence
 * SA Secret Service
 * Sport and Recreation SA
 * Statistics SA
 * The Presidency

The changes made by this proclamation are as follows.
 * New departments created:
 * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries created out of the Department of Agriculture, the forestry section of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, and the fisheries section of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
 * Department of Basic Education and Department of Higher Education and Training created out of the Department of Education.
 * Department of Energy and Department of Mineral Resources created out of the Department of Minerals and Energy.
 * Department of Environmental Affairs and Department of Tourism created out of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (except the fisheries section, see above).
 * Department of Water Affairs created from the water section of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.
 * Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities newly created.
 * Economic Development Department newly created.
 * Departments renamed:
 * Department of Defence to Department of Defence and Military Veterans.
 * Department of Foreign Affairs to Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
 * Department of Government Communications and Information System to Government Communications and Information System (without the "Department of").
 * Department of Housing to Department of Human Settlements.
 * Department of Land Affairs to Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.
 * Department of Provincial and Local Government to Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
 * Department of Safety and Security to Department of Police.
 * SA Management and Development Institute to Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy.
 * The Inspectorate for Social Assistance was removed.

Subsequent amendments:
 * Proclamation 59 of 2009 merged the National Intelligence Agency and the SA Secret Service to create the State Security Agency on 11 September 2009.
 * Proclamation R82 of 2009 split the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs into the Department of Cooperative Governance and the Department of Traditional Affairs on 1 December 2009.
 * Proclamation 92 of 2009 split the Department of Defence and Military Veterans into the Department of Defence and the Department of Military Veterans on 28 December 2009.
 * Proclamation 91 of 2009 added the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation on 1 January 2010.
 * Proclamation 44 of 2010 added the Office of the Chief Justice on 3 September 2010.
 * Proclamation 22 of 2012 renamed the Independent Complaints Directorate to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate on 1 April 2012.
 * Proclamation 18 of 2013 finally removed the residual departments (Agriculture; Education; Environmental Affairs and Tourism; Minerals and Energy; Water Affairs and Forestry) on 14 June 2013.
 * Act 11 of 2013 (the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Act) removed the SA National Academy of Intelligence on 29 July 2013 (presumably merged into the State Security Agency).
 * Proclamation 46 of 2013 renamed the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy to the National School of Government on 21 October 2013.

2014–2019
Proclamation 43 of 2014 substituted a new Schedule 1. As before, when new departments were created the old department was also retained on the list for transitional purposes. These residual departments are marked in italics.


 * Civilian Secretariat for the Police Service
 * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
 * Department of Arts and Culture
 * Department of Basic Education
 * Department of Communications
 * Department of Cooperative Governance
 * Department of Correctional Services
 * Department of Defence
 * Department of Energy
 * Department of Environmental Affairs
 * Department of Health
 * Department of Higher Education and Training
 * Department of Home Affairs
 * Department of Human Settlements
 * Department of International Relations and Cooperation
 * Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
 * Department of Labour
 * Department of Military Veterans
 * Department of Mineral Resources
 * Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation
 * Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
 * Department of Police
 * Department of Public Enterprises
 * Department of Public Service and Administration
 * Department of Public Works
 * Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
 * Department of Science and Technology
 * Department of Small Business Development
 * Department of Social Development
 * Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services
 * Department of Tourism
 * Department of Trade and Industry
 * Department of Traditional Affairs
 * Department of Transport
 * Department of Water Affairs
 * Department of Water and Sanitation
 * Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities
 * Department of Women
 * Economic Development D
 * Government Communication and Information System
 * Independent Police Investigative Directorate
 * National Treasury
 * Office of the Chief Justice
 * Office of the Public Service Commission
 * National School of Government
 * Sport and Recreation SA
 * State Security Agency
 * Statistics SA
 * The Presidency

The changes made by this proclamation are as follows.
 * Added the Civilian Secretariat for the Police Service.
 * The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation created from the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation plus various other bits and pieces of other departments.
 * Department of Small Business Development newly created.
 * The "old" Department of Communications split to create the "new" Department of Communications and the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services.
 * The Department of Water and Sanitation created from the Department of Water Affairs plus the sanitation functions of the Department of Human Settlements.
 * The Department of Women created from the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities (I belive the responsibility for children and PWD was transferred to the Department of Social Development).

Subsequently Proclamation 52 of 2016 removed the residual departments from the reshuffle (Performance Monitoring and Evaluation; Water Affairs; Women, Children and People with Disabilities) on 19 August 2016.

2019–
Proclamation 25 of 2019 substituted a new Schedule 1. As before, when new departments were created the old department was also retained on the list for transitional purposes. These residual departments are marked in italics.


 * Civilian Secretariat for the Police Service
 * Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
 * Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
 * Department of Arts and Culture
 * Department of Basic Education
 * Department of Communications
 * Department of Communications and Digital Technologies
 * Department of Cooperative Governance
 * Department of Correctional Services
 * Department of Defence
 * Department of Employment and Labour
 * Department of Energy
 * Department of Environmental Affairs
 * Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries
 * Department of Health
 * Department of Higher Education and Training
 * Department of Home Affairs
 * Department of Human Settlements
 * Department of International Relations and Cooperation
 * Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
 * Department of Labour
 * Department of Military Veterans
 * Department of Mineral Resources
 * Department of Mineral Resources and Energy
 * Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
 * Department of Police
 * Department of Public Enterprises
 * Department of Public Service and Administration
 * Department of Public Works
 * Department of Public Works and Infrastructure
 * Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
 * Department of Science and Innovation
 * Department of Science and Technology
 * Department of Small Business Development
 * Department of Social Development
 * Department of Sports, Arts and Culture
 * Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services
 * Department of Tourism
 * Department of Trade and Industry
 * Department of Trade, Industry and Competition
 * Department of Traditional Affairs
 * Department of Transport
 * Department of Water and Sanitation
 * Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities
 * Department of Women
 * Economic Development Department
 * Government Communication and Information System
 * Independent Police Investigative Directorate
 * National Treasury
 * Office of the Chief Justice
 * Office of the Public Service Commission
 * National School of Government
 * Sport and Recreation SA
 * State Security Agency
 * Statistics SA
 * The Presidency

The changes made by this proclamation are as follows.
 * The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development created out of the agriculture part of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries plus the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.
 * The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies created out of the Department of Communications and the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services.
 * The Department of Employment and Labour created in place of the Department of Labour.
 * The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries created out of the Department of Environmental Affairs plus the forestry and fisheries sections of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
 * The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy created out of the Department of Mineral Resources and the Department of Energy.
 * The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure created in place of the Department of Public Works.
 * The Department of Science and Innovation created in place of the Department of Science and Technology.
 * The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture created out of the Department of Arts and Culture and Sport and Recreation SA.
 * The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition created out of the Department of Trade and Industry and the Economic Development Department.
 * The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities created out of the Department of Women plus the youth and PWD functions from the Department of Social Development.

State department
policy of any state department 41.115.84.168 (talk) 19:05, 1 April 2023 (UTC)