09 Feb 2015

The civil service is key to the success of government and the economy, Southern Dstrict commissioner (DC) has said.

Addressing public officers in Kanye during the national development agenda 2014/2019 appreciation meeting recently, Mr Moses Gaealashwe said it was imperative to apprise officers of the agenda because they were the drivers of the economy.

With the agenda, Mr Gaealashwe said government expressed a commitment to uplift the lives of Batswana especially those who were still living in abject poverty.

To this end, he said government would scale up efforts to create employment especially for the unemployed youth with a view to enable them to sustain themselves. He shared that all ministries have been tasked to come up with employment opportunities for Batswana.

He explained that the poverty eradication programme and the alternative packages would continue during the plan period with the view to alleviate abject poverty among Batswana.

He argued that with the Local Economic Development Drive (EDD) policy government intended to put the economy of the nation in the hands of citizens.

Mr Gaealashwe shared that government has also allowed public officers to engage in business with a view to enable them to augment their income. However, he challenged the officers to ensure the businesses they engaged in did not conflict with their day to day job operations and integrity.

The DC has further said government would intensify the fight against corruption. Thus, he warned officers to stay away from corruption in all its manifestations. He said some officers usually indulged in corruption through tenders, maladministration, promotions and nepotism. He contended that if all Batswana could stay away from corruption, government would easily distribute the available resources equitably nationwide.

On other issues, Mr Gaealashwe said government was generally concerned about the performance of the education sector. The plan therefore, he explained, would target the school environment, parents and teachers as well as the community with a view to plummeting school results.

He urged officers to take keen interest in the education of their children rather than leaving it to teachers alone. He said if the three parties could play their roles results would improve.

For her part the deputy council secretary Mrs Lenah Mahalelo advised officers to afford members of the public quality service with an agreeable spirit.

Where possible, she urged officers to discharge service without unnecessarily tossing a customer around or making them wait longer for a service they could have otherwise provided within a much shorter space of time.

One of the officers Mr Monyatsi Ramataba commended government for the move to allow the civil service to engage in business but feared that it would not get them far enough because it was generally difficult to acquire land. ENDS