15 Dec 2016

The Letlhakeng Sub-District Council, on December 14, held its inaugural event to recognise outstanding employees.

Giving a keynote address at the awards ceremony, the Thebephatshwa Air Base commander, Colonel Hendrik Rakgantswana said the purpose of such awards was not only to recognise those who performed well, but to also encourage those who did not do well to improve.

He therefore implored those who did not get awards to consider the positive side and feel challenged to do better next time.

”I therefore advise employees that the reputation of the sub-district relies solely on their collective effort towards excellence.  I applaud employees for their good performance amid challenges in the area such as shortage of resources and workforce, poor roads and limited budget among others,” he said.

He encouraged them to soldier on and not let such challenges affect their morale since government had tasked them with improving social, economic and living standards of the localities to which they had been posted.

Col Rakgantswana also advised employees to use the challenges they experienced daily while on duty as life lessons and work as a team for more positive results.

“It can no longer be enough for government to motivate us but we should also have the zeal to perform better without any push of the external reinforcements,” he said.

Col. Rakgantswana also implored the employees to learn government processes and become accustomed to government policies as this can help improve customer service and employee performance.

He emphasized the need for the senior management of the sub council to always share the mission and vision of the council with employees as they were the ones close to the customers and in a position to give better feedback about customer needs.

For his part, the Senior Assistant Council Secretary for Letlhakeng sub district, Mr Nigel Mangoye hailed the awards as the first of their kind in the sub district, and said apart from recognising those deserving and encouraging those that did not get awards, the ceremony was also meant to nurture the culture of hardwork that would help the area to perform well through the application of limited resources for best possible outcome.

“We also want to encourage the employees to love their job as a happy employee is a productive one. We also note that recognition is not only in monetary form or promotion, and I would like to encourage those that did not get any award not to despair, but strive for better next time.

Those that have been recognised should also to rest with the belief that they have achieved the ultimate,” he said.

Giving a word of encouragement, the former area Member of Parliament for Kweneng West and Botswana’s ambassador to Switzerland, Mr Boometswe Mokgothu advised the employees that they were representative of the government and should ensure their service delivery was up to standard.

He said this included friendly service to customers such that they will always feel free to visit offices to enquire on available government prorammes and initiatives on offer.

Mr Mokgothu also advised the employees to desist from corruption as it had the potential to cripple the whole government system and ultimately, the economy and governance. ENDS