25 Aug 2021

Ministry for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration is determined to be at the forefront of living up to the Reset Agenda which prioritises public interest and saving lives.

Briefing the media in Gaborone Tuesday, Minister Kabo Morwaeng said both the political leadership and public officers had a responsibility to account to the voting public, he said.

The minister said the political pronouncements that earned the government of the day the vote must be infused into ongoing implementation, in particular, the Reset Agenda.

Minister Morwaeng said Office of the President must be the benchmark for service delivery and accountability.

As an assurance and commitment to delivering superior service to the public, he said his office would sign contractual agreements with supervisors to measure performance objectives and accountability.

Stressing the need for government organs and units to pull together, Minister Morwaeng said coordination and teamwork must define the mode of operation of the ministry.

“Information must be shared accordingly as there ought to be no contradictions between statements and actions of government organs and units,” he said.model

On transparency, the minister said it should to be practiced as far as reasonably and legally possible.

However, transparency must not be abused by way of taking internal communication and documents to third parties, he said.

Mr Morwaeng cautioned public officers against the temptation of falling into corruption.

Public officers should strive for integrity and trustworthiness which were key to gaining public confidence in the ministry responsible for good governance, he said.

He called on designated agencies such as the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) to firmly deal with corruption.

Minister Morwaeng urged senior officials to be exemplary and not to take advantage of arrangements such as working-from-home to indulge in personal affairs at the expense of official business.

Supervisors must ensure that  subordinates adhered to expectations and produce the desired output, he said.

 “This comes on the background of public feedback that suggests that some officers across government are never available and always on shift,” he explained.

On the successes attained by the ministry, Mr Morwaeng cited the reset agenda which had rearranged priorities to make saving Batswana from COVID-19 the number one priority.

Mr Morwaeng also mentioned accession of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and the passing of the Ombudsman Bill which conferred a human rights mandate on the Ombudsman’s office.

He revealed that consultations with the fourth estate were underway to repeal the Media Practitioners Act and that BOMAWU, MISA Botswana, Botswana Editors Forum and UB Media Studies Department had submitted proposals.

“The Attorney General’s Chambers will soon commence drafting a new proposed law,” he stated.

Mr Morwaeng said an inter-ministerial committee on gender based violence comprising political leaders, dikgosi, faith/religious leaders had been set up.

The minister further said senior officers vacancies in the broadcasting and information services departments had been filled.

“Moreover, government reaffirms that a constitutional review will be undertaken once practically possible to do so, that is beyond the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr Morwaeng said.

Regarding the acquisition of land by the state in the Okavango Delta, Mr Morwaeng said it was for the benefit of the public. 

“The land will be used as a retreat village for the establishment of a secure state/government facility for tourism purposes,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the ministry’s permanent secretary Ms Pearl Ramokoka has said it was of paramount importance to realign government machinery to the Reset Agenda.

Realignment included restructuring government departments to bring inter-related services in one place thereby saving the nation time.

Ms Ramokoka said digitisation would be used as a key component  of bringing services closer to the public, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic era. Ends