10 May 2017

Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Eric Molale has encouraged public officers to show leadership skills by being responsible and accountable in their different departments.

Addressing officers during an extensions services workshop in Tonota hosted by the Tonota Sub-district council recently, Minister Molale informed them that as public servants in the district, their first allegiance should be joint programming in the district in order to facilitate bottom up planning.

“We are all participants in the development of this sovereign republic and we must deliver within the confines of the law, upholding regulations and standard procedures,” he said.

Mr Molale further encouraged participants to plan, implement the plans and to continuously check if things were going accordingly on a daily basis in order to achieve good service delivery.

The minister also indicated that the leadership of the country ‘cannot always be where they are needed at all times’, adding that it was upon the stakeholders of the workshop to help government achieve her goals as they were the interface between the government and the community.

For his part, the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture Development, also Member of Parliament for Tonota, Mr Thapelo Olopeng encouraged officers to cooperate amongst various departments to foster good service delivery to the public.

Mr Olopeng said there should be a common understanding amongst different government departments, adding that government goals could be derailed due to lack of unity and cooperation amongst departments.

“We serve one government and we urge you to understand who you are and what your role is in this government,” he said.

Mr Olopeng further said, “heads of departments and community leaders are the foundation of the government, as they deal with the day to day delivery of government programmes.”

Outlining the objectives of the seminar, the deputy district commissioner, Ms Boitumelo Mokwena said as the leadership of Tonota and the district, they had seen it necessary to host a workshop of this nature in order to discuss and exchange ideas on how service delivery could be improved in the community.

She further added that it was important for heads of department, dikgosi, village development committees and other leaders in Tonota to share and disseminate information adding that a united front would ensure good service delivery. ENDS