19 Dec 2022

Failure to share government policies has created the impression that they are meant to be implemented by Gaborone-based employees only.

   As a result, it was difficult  for district-based public officers to interpret policies and guide implementation of government programmes, Permanent Secretary to the President Ms Emma Peloetletse told a Performance Management Forum meeting at Morning Side Farm on Friday.

  She urged accounting officers to reset and cascade government policies to their staff, particularly those based in the districts.

Ms Peloetletse also said since public officers were frontliners, it was crucial that they engaged in discourse for purposes of getting feedback on how to better processes.

“I have been going around addressing public officers and there are many issues that are really positive.

They speak highly of some of you that you are trying your level best to engage with them,” she said.

However, she said some public officers were not happy about supervisors who showed little or no concen for staff welfare.

“I have now made it my business that as I go around visiting both new projects and old establishments, I also take time to engage with the officers. Our public officers are suffering, we have just put them there and we do not share policies with them,” she said.

Briefing the meeting on COVID-19, Ministry of Health deputy permanent secretary Mr Moses Keetile said the pandemic was seemingly under control.

He said despite the gradual increase in the number of cases, there were few hospitalisations and deaths.

“We can confidently say the situation is somehow under control at the moment thanks to different interventions,” he said. ENDs