03 Dec 2014

Employees of the Ministry of Agriculture in the central district have been urged to look after their wellbeing as productivity goes hand in hand with good health.

The deputy permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr Kekgonne Baipoledi said this at the official opening of the ministry’s wellness week in Nata on Tuesday December 2.

Dr Kekgonne Baipoledi called upon public officers to take responsibility for their actions and health so that they remain productive.

He said through government initiatives, the workforce could produce enough food locally.  With a healthy a workforce, Dr Baipoledi said the set targets by the ministry to meet the nation’s expectation would be met.

He said the expectation from their clients and stakeholders was to receive up to standard service every time they needed it.

Dr Baipoledi said it was for that reason the ministry initiated wellness events which are held annually since the inaugural event in 2010.

The purpose of such events, he said, was to educate and inform staff on health and wellness issues through educational talks.He further highlighted that such events were also part of their ministry’s response to the national strategy on HIV/AIDS.

The deputy permanent secretary asserted that during the peak of the HIV/AIDS in the late 1990’s and early 2000, the ministry like many other organisations was adversely affected.

The epidemic, he said affected different sectors distinctively mainly because of their core mandate or businesses.

This, he said, was indicated by the high rates of mortality, morbidity, light duties and absenteeism amongst employees.He, however, noted that it was pleasing that over the recent years there had been a tremendous decline in the rates of factors which affected performance in the ministry. 

This, he added, was attributed to the programmes that the ministry undertook in its response to the national strategy.With a total of 7374 employees, he added that the Ministry of Agriculture found it important to expand its wellness initiatives beyond HIV/AIDS to address a wider scope of wellness issues including health screening, psychosocial issues, safety and behavioural changes.

Furthermore, he said they recently launched “Mogotlheng Agricultural Men Sector” which aimed at helping the ministry to openly discuss issues of HIV/AIDS and health in general, especially their rights, roles and responsibilities in sexual and reproductive matters.

Men, he said are not often forthcoming on issues of health and wellbeing and through their men sector, they wanted to create a conducive environment for them to come forth and be assisted.

He implored the staff at the ministry to take up responsibility on their health so that the ministry could remain relevant to the people they serve.

The event was held under the theme “ A healthy workforce, key to food security.” ENDS