After beginning his career in the mining industry—he holds a diploma in metaliferrous mining from the Wits Technikon and a degree in electro-mechanical engineering from the University of the Cape Town—Busi Radebe decided it was time for a switch. He joined Accenture in 2001, and is now part of the senior executive team within the Health & Public Service operating group in South Africa.
A great deal of his time has been spent working with the South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission, which has made something of a name for itself internationally as an innovative user of technology to deliver service to the country’s citizens.
“Service delivery is the biggest focus in the government sector at present,” Radebe says. “Governments are under pressure to deliver better and better service to their citizens—of course within the constraints of budgets that are always inadequate.”
The key to helping governments meet that challenge is first of all to define what citizens mean by value—Accenture talks about “Public Sector Value”, which encapsulates what citizens will use to evaluate the success or failure of government institutions or departments.
“Our biggest investment at Accenture," Radebe says, "is in the time we spend understanding what makes our clients’ businesses tick. We’re not only concerned with technology—but with what will create value for our clients. That’s exactly the process we follow with public sector organisations as well. Once we’ve established what the value is—the key performance indicators, if you like—we can start to help identify the gaps and then work with them on what they need to do to meet their goals.”
Radebe firmly believes that Accenture is well positioned to help given the global scope of its engagement with public sector organisations, which it can customise and apply to the local context.
Outside of work, Radebe works hard to maintain the healthy work/life balance he believes is so essential. “You need your support systems, and so you must invest in them,” he says. He has two children and loves everything to do with soccer—he’s a die-hard Kaizer Chiefs fan. As a total change, he is also learning to be a disk jockey with a strong predilection for house music.