17 Jul 2018

Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) Mr Carter Morupisi has urged public servants to embrace President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s roadmap.

Mr Morupisi made the call when laying the President’s road map for all to appreciate and heed to during a meeting with public officers in Molepolole recently.

He said in order for all public servants to fit into the President’s mandate, there was need for all public officers to understand what was expected of them. 

Therefore, he said it was crucial for all civil servants to familiarise themselves with policy making processes and influence them where necessary.

Top on the agenda, he said  was the creation of an enabling, friendly environment for the private sector to drive employment creation. 

The PSP indicated simple ways in which this could be attained citing for instance simplification of change of land use processes to create business opportunities, noting that in doing so the Land Board authorities as custodians of land should work hand in hand with other concerned parties to harmonise processes.

Mr Morupisi said the President wanted public officers to create an enabling environment to attract foreign investment in various areas of the country, which he said could be done by a citizenry that possessed competitive and winning mentality.

“Let’s change the way we look at ourselves and create a nation of winners,” he reiterated.

In order to have a brand identity of winners with integrity as a nation, he said the new culture or behaviour should be instilled in children as a starting point.

Key areas that public servants should consider in order to have efficiency in the their service included decentralization of decision making. 

He also cautioned senior public officers who were not mandated to be part of procurement processes not to interfere in such matters in order to uphold their integrity as well as that of the civil service.

To further set the President’s agenda in motion, the PSP has thus informed public officers that the President had formed a national transformation team to cement the national transformation strategy. 

Among the strategy’s deliverables are economic diversification, creation of a competitive, friendly efficient nation among others.

He however pointed out that the President had already consulted with union leaders regarding the Bargaining Council which he had instructed that it should start working before the end of September. For their part, officers requested government to consider families when effecting transfers saying that separating families caused instability and other problems in a family setup. 

Officers also complained of slow progression and stagnation in certain posts calling for government to take the matters into consideration. 

 The issue of overtime was also brought to the fore with some officers complaining that their supervisors did not want them to claim overtime.

Responding to some of their concerns Mr Morupisi said that on the issue of transfers government was going to look at everyone in the civil service and try to find a way that would bring families closer together even if it meant placing a married couple in the same area.

He further cautioned that overtime was not an entitlement but it emanated from extra work under the supervision of a supervisor.

Mr Morupisi called on everyone to submit recommendations and concerns to the office of the District Commissioner and Council secretary for further deliberations. ENDS