05 Mar 2015

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Slumber Tsogwane, says ministerial work improvement teams (WITs) awards are for those who brought substantial improvements within their departments regarding service delivery.

Speaking at the ministerial performance awards ceremony, Mr Tsogwane said this signaled the spirit of team work that was exhibited by all team members. He said the award ceremony recognised individuals, teams and institutions that had made noteworthy performance and innovations.

Concerning public outcry on poor service delivery, the minister said his ministerial institutions were making a positive impact on the livelihood of Batswana. “As a ministry, whilst the winner takes it all, we all deserve to be awarded because of the crucial role we play in the provision of services that touch on the lives of ordinary citizens,” he said.

The coordination role that all staff members had given was also a mammoth task which could only be achieved by all who have what it takes. Excellence and high performance culture, he added continued to be a journey beckoning the whole ministry.

Mr Tsogwane said that the public service still faces service delivery issues as was raised in the last customer satisfaction survey which included poor quality and delay in service provision and delivery of projects. He said that failure to adhere to Public Service Charter remained widespread across the entire public service hence the need to deal with those challenges and find lasting solutions.

Minister Tsogwane told the recipients of the awards to step up their performance reviews, noting that only 100 individuals were going to be given best performance awards which was far below 10 per cent of the ministry’s target of 2 400.

For her part, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Ms Botlogile Tshireletso said that the awards were a demonstration of team work and unity.

Ms Tshireletso said that as a ministry they had to follow the notion that “united we stand and divided we fall” and carry this team spirit to all districts and support one another in service delivery efforts.

She said that the race has just started and all should take the ministry and the country to new heights as the staff strives for improved quality of life of Batswana. ENDS