02 Dec 2013

Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi says government is committed to the public service bargaining council.

Commenting on the State-of-the-Nation Address in Parliament, Mr Masisi indicated that government will be forth right, honest and sincere in rendering public service the support they needed to perform their duties efficiently.

He said government was concerned about public service welfare and the President’s frequent consultation with the public service bore testimony, adding that ministers at the same time had made efforts to consult with staff under their portfolio to deal with issues of their welfare and validate that all is in place for excellent service delivery.

He stated that government also respected the public service unions and constantly consult with them to map a way forwards in granting the public service all the support they need.

He indicated that, government had never withdrawn from the bargaining council as some reports had stated in the past. “The government has consistently and continuously objected to that which is provided for in the public service act, and demand to have neutral apolitical public service, and the government has the right to reject political statements uttered by public servants under the pretense of public workers union,” he said.

The Public Service Act, he said has been challenged over time and government is almost at the cross roads that overtime and historically even across governments all over the World, public services are often known for the elapse of time and less so for performance measures.

He said in exercise of the commitment to performance improvements in the public service, the President in his State-of-the-Nation Address, paragraph 24 clearly explains that “All organs of government have been instructed to put in place targeted interventions to address any deficiencies in the efficient delivery of quality service.”

He elucidated that there is the ten point agenda in place, which focuses on the improvement of the efficiency of the public service.

He said his ministry is currently discussion a consultancy report commissioned by the ministry to give them a comprehensive review of the condition of service of the public servants and the conditions have the intentions to improve efficiency and performance of the public service.

The outcome of consultancy report, he said will also improve reward for merit and performance in the public service, therefore once the consultation have been completed in the executive and in full realisation and respect of the Public Service Act bargaining council, the government will then give its negotiators at the bargaining council a mandate to go and bargain with the workers unions based on the conditions of service. ENDS