The National Development Plan (NDP) (2012) emphasises that a capable and developmental state will only be realised if the public service workforce is professionalised. Since 1995, the government has ushered in a series of frameworks in a bid to contextualise professionalism in the public service. Unfortunately, due to the rampant ethical transgressions that engulf the entire public sector, the efforts to promote the highest standards of professional ethics for developmental-oriented public administration became rhetoric. This article is based on a study which sought to identify the state of professionalism in the South African public service, determine the role of values in enhancing public service professionalism, indicate the implications of the lack of professionalism for e