15 May 2013

Rewarding employees is essential to building a better public service, says the Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Giving a keynote address during the Ministry of State President employees’ awards ceremony held in Gaborone on May 13, Minister Masisi said he was pleased that the application of performance management system tools and frameworks such as PBRS and rewards menu was beginning to bear fruit.

The process of identifying the recipients for the awards was premised on the need for excellence, fairness and transparency which are the guiding principles of Public Service Performance process.

He highlighted that much more needs to be done to ensure that management in the public service becomes better aligned with the challenges of the competitive world.

He said there was thus a continuing need for public service managers to achieve a performance culture at all levels of the public service to ensure optimal service delivery.

Mr Masisi noted that a continued commitment on the part of everyone to develop a customer focused approach was required in the workplace, which ultimately places the needs of citizens and the nation first.

He said any responsible government must be able to adjust itself in order to meet the evolving demands and expectations of the nation its serves.

The minister noted that it was in this context that various performance improvement initiatives, such as Performance Based Reward System (PBRS), have been introduced.

Mr Masisi said one challenge in moving forward was to find appropriate ways to recognize superior individual performance without compromising team effort, and in this respect the event was dedicated to recognizing collective progress, as well as individual effort.

He pointed out that this would require the ministry to become much more productive than it currently is, starting with an urgent need to improve overall work ethic.

Botswana, he said, has been on the decline in the World Economic Forum’s annual global competitiveness indices, stating that in 2010/11 Botswana was ranked position 76 while in 2011/12 she dropped to position 80.

He stated that a major factor in the decline had been issues of productivity and work ethics, in the private and parastatal as well as public sectors.

Increased productivity, he said, also lies at the core of the ministry’s efforts to eradicate poverty as well as achieve economic diversification by helping citizens to help themselves through the incubation of Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME).

The Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration Dr Gloria Somolokae said the awards were a testimony that their efforts were recognized when they applied themselves.

Dr Somolokae urged the recipients to applaud their supervisors because they have provided a platform for them to excel, adding that without recognizing and respecting efforts made by other people the ministry could not succeed.

The director of Directorate of Public Service Management Mr Carter Morupisi, encouraged those awarded certificates to do more by providing quality service.

DailyNews graphics designer, Ms Vanessa Monosi-Tsie and photographer, Mr Yobe Shonga of the Department of Information Services were among those who received certificates and a weekend away for two, as well as Broadcasting Services department Engineer, Mr Maibi Gaotlolwe and the department’s driver, Mr Thatayaone Bato among others. ENDS