11 May 2022

Overstaying of civil servants has the potential to be a catalyst for corruption, Member of Parliament for Good Hope-Mabule Mr Eric Molale has said.

Addressing residents of Mmakgori and Dikhukhung this week, Mr Molale said an officer who worked in one place for a long time, could derail from their core mandate of serving the people.

He said where possible, an officer should work in an area for only five years to avoid such incidents.

Mr Molale said this after residents of the two villages complained that some civil servants in their respective villages had remained there for a very long time.

In his welcome remarks, Kgosi Richard Kgotla said some of those civil servants were not effective, but had were now found involved in a lot of disputes in the village.

"When they stay in one place for a long time they end up making poor and biased decisions when they are supposed to help locals", he said.

For her part Village Development Committee chairperson, Ms Biki Monyatsi applauded the government for tarring the road passing through their village.

She also thanked the government for developments such as electrification and recent renovations of the village school which were accompanied by a full staff complement.

She, however, asked that their health post be upgraded and a cleaner appointed.

The villagers of the two southern villages which are along the border fence complained of high cattle rustling in their localities, saying it was no longer just livestock but also office equipment such as computers that was being stolen.

They blamed these occurrences on non-maintenance of the border fence.In response Mr Molale reminded them that they were the custodians of the fence but were failing in their duty as they always shielded those who vandalised it from the law.

He encouraged residents to vaccinate against COVID-19, saying this would help the nation resume the normal consultation routine. The

MP urged residents to always seek audience with district authorities rather than wait for him to provide answers.

He was accompanied by senior civil servants from different ministries. ENDS