​Rofhiwa Tshitahe-Marubini
September 2022, marks twenty-five years since South Africa adopted the Batho Pele Principles and the White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery.
Batho Pele, a Sotho word meaning "Putting People First", requires all public servants to practice eight guidelines. These are consultation, service standards, courtesy, access, information, openness and transparency, dealing with complaints and giving the best value.
In March 2022, Cabinet approved the Batho Pele Revitalisation Strategy, which is part of the overall efforts of government to professionalise the Public Service in line with Priority 1 of government of Building of a Capable, Ethical and Developmental State. 
The revitalisation strategy seeks to reaffirm the significance of Batho Pele in transforming public service delivery whilst securing maximum benefits for citizens in line with their constitutional rights to be treated with dignity and courtesy and to receive quality and sustainable public services. 
It further provides the five pillars which will guide government departments and give effect to a citizen-centred public service delivery programme to be adhered to by all departments. 
The five pillars of the strategy are: 
Taking the Lead: by building capacity and learning from past and current Batho Pele implementation practices.
Development: of context specific Batho Pele standards and communication approaches in consultation with a diversity of stakeholders.
Fostering Compliance: with agreed to and publicised Batho Pele standards through appropriate monitoring of compliance tools.
Reinforcement: of Batho Pele standards through appropriate measures where there is evidence of poor or non-compliance with publicised standards.
Redress: for citizens who are the centre of government's constitutional obligations.
The operationalisation of the Batho Pele Revitalisation Strategy will bring about a public administration that personifies the democratic values and principles enshrined in the Bill of Rights and a timeous response to the voices of citizens calling for a public administration system that puts their needs and aspirations first. 
The government says this Integrated Public Service Month (IPSM) will bring the Batho Pele Revitalisation Strategy to life, reignite and reinforce public servants to be service-oriented, strive for excellence, and commit to continuous service delivery improvement. 
The department describes the IPSM as a service delivery improvement mechanism that serves as a month set aside to honour men and women who serve the nation throughout the three spheres of government.
The theme for this year is "Batho Pele Revitalisation-walking the talk."