20 Nov 2022

The rising number of complaints about poor public service delivery has compelled government to establish a full fledged office to deal with such.

Addressing public servants from Tutume, Serowe, Tonota, Masunga and Francistown in the second city on Thursday, Permanent Secretary to the President, (PSP), Ms Emmah Peloetletse said the office would be housed in the Ministry for State President. 

Ms Peloetletse informed the meeting comprising heads of departments, dikgosi and village development committee representatives that there was a countrywide public outcry about poor service delivery in the public service.

She said the poor work ethic in public institutions defeated government’s efforts to develop Batswana. She therefore appealed to public servants to up their game and ensure that service delivery was at the core of their daily business. 

The head of the public service also expressed concern about leakage of confidential information by public servants, saying some was not even factual. 

Ms Peloetletse further cited delays in completion of government projects as one of the concerns leading to rampant wastage of government resources and breeding corruption.

To this end, she said government was working round the clock to close loopholes in the tendering processes and procedures. 

On other issues, Ms Peloetletse urged public servants to familiarise themselves with the Public Service Charter and its principles. 

She said the charter sets out the basic principles to guide officers, both in their relations with each other and in their duties.

“I therefore appeal to you to familiarise yourselves with this important document,” said the head of the public service, who is on the second leg of her countrywide tour to address and engage with public servants; to appreciate their concerns and or challenges in their duty stations.

Ms Peloetletse also briefed the meeting on the Reset Agenda, strategic laws and initiatives implemented by government in the recent past.

For her part, Director of Public Service Management (DPSM), Ms Gaone Macholo also underscored the need for public servants to go an extra mile in serving Batswana in order to minimise complaints. 

She urged them to remain patient because criticism would always be there as long as they served. 

Some public servants welcomed the tour, saying the engagements would, in the end, address some of their grievances. Ends