An Excuse To Go AWOL?
By: GWEN LISTERTHERE is a big election year ahead, with presidential, parliamentary and other contests on the calendar, and I am sure this is going to aggravate already poor productivity levels in Government.
Even President Sam Nujoma has warned that Ministers and others
intent on electioneering should delegate timeously to ensure the
smooth running of their departments, but this seems to me just
another excuse for many to justify going AWOL (absent without
leave).
ANYWAY, our politicians, whether they be Ministers or regional
councillors or parliamentarians, are all paid to do a job of work,
and their campaigning for re-election must surely be done in their
own time and not at taxpayer's expense.
Unfortunately, the President's words may have given the signal
that it is acceptable for most of these people to duck work more
often than they do at present.
Ask anyone with a commitment to their job in government, and
they will tell you that absenteeism is a huge problem, with Fridays
hardly considered a working day at all.
It stands to reason that we cannot expect Namibia to flourish
economically if this is the predominant mindset at work among our
politicians and in our civil service.
The Public Service Charter, launched and then again re-launched
by the Office of the Prime Minister, will never have the desired
effect unless there is some kind of control or overseeing mechanism
at work monitoring absenteeism.
And it does seem as if no one is responsible for checking up on
this.
If we allow the politicos to steal time from the taxpayer to do
their campaigning, then where do we draw the line on the misuse of
state resources for political work? If they can use Government or
taxpayers' time, then why not the fax machines, phones and
stationery too? National Council Chairperson Kandy Nehova's
infamous braai was an example in point.
Here he used government employees, paid for with government
money, to organise a fundraiser for Swapo in the North.
After much adverse publicity, Government was forced to
acknowledge the abuse of resources.
Have we learned nothing from this, and other similar lessons of
the past? Unfortunately the President, in his address to the first
Cabinet meeting of 2004, wasn't very clear in his utterances in
this regard, and his words are therefore liable to be
misinterpreted.
He said: "With such a busy year on the political front, I wish
to call upon all members of Cabinet to ensure that their respective
Ministries continue to deliver public services without fail".
He added: "The Ministers must ensure that, should they leave
office on account of political commitments, relevant authority is
delegated to ensure uninterrupted functioning of all Government
institutions.
In short, even during this busy period, the Government must
continue to function without hindrance at all levels".
I may be incorrect if I interpret his words to mean exactly what
I've said above: namely, that it appears to give a green light to
politicians to do exactly what they like and when they like, and
then use the excuse of campaigning for their absence from
office.
Perhaps the President should clarify because he does make a
point, elsewhere in his address, of condemning financial
malpractices, especially at State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), and the
use of government office for private political purposes is, in its
own right, just another form of corruption.
There is no reason why an election year should make any
difference to the efficient functioning of government.
That is, if it can be termed 'efficient' under normal
circumstances.
And certainly this should not contribute to a further laxity in
standards of work attendance or the quality of services offered to
the electorate.
Neither should state resources be used for the purposes of
campaigning for Swapo or any other political party, for that
matter.
If the MPs were doing their stuff as a matter of course, they
would be in touch with their electorates on an ongoing basis; and
not suddenly want to 'bond' with voters when elections are staring
them in the face as has become habitual in this country.
ANYWAY, our politicians, whether they be Ministers or regional
councillors or parliamentarians, are all paid to do a job of work,
and their campaigning for re-election must surely be done in their
own time and not at taxpayer's expense. Unfortunately, the
President's words may have given the signal that it is acceptable
for most of these people to duck work more often than they do at
present. Ask anyone with a commitment to their job in government,
and they will tell you that absenteeism is a huge problem, with
Fridays hardly considered a working day at all. It stands to reason
that we cannot expect Namibia to flourish economically if this is
the predominant mindset at work among our politicians and in our
civil service. The Public Service Charter, launched and then again
re-launched by the Office of the Prime Minister, will never have
the desired effect unless there is some kind of control or
overseeing mechanism at work monitoring absenteeism. And it does
seem as if no one is responsible for checking up on this. If we
allow the politicos to steal time from the taxpayer to do their
campaigning, then where do we draw the line on the misuse of state
resources for political work? If they can use Government or
taxpayers' time, then why not the fax machines, phones and
stationery too? National Council Chairperson Kandy Nehova's
infamous braai was an example in point. Here he used government
employees, paid for with government money, to organise a fundraiser
for Swapo in the North. After much adverse publicity, Government
was forced to acknowledge the abuse of resources. Have we learned
nothing from this, and other similar lessons of the past?
Unfortunately the President, in his address to the first Cabinet
meeting of 2004, wasn't very clear in his utterances in this
regard, and his words are therefore liable to be misinterpreted. He
said: "With such a busy year on the political front, I wish to call
upon all members of Cabinet to ensure that their respective
Ministries continue to deliver public services without fail". He
added: "The Ministers must ensure that, should they leave office on
account of political commitments, relevant authority is delegated
to ensure uninterrupted functioning of all Government institutions.
In short, even during this busy period, the Government must
continue to function without hindrance at all levels". I may be
incorrect if I interpret his words to mean exactly what I've said
above: namely, that it appears to give a green light to politicians
to do exactly what they like and when they like, and then use the
excuse of campaigning for their absence from office. Perhaps the
President should clarify because he does make a point, elsewhere in
his address, of condemning financial malpractices, especially at
State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), and the use of government office
for private political purposes is, in its own right, just another
form of corruption. There is no reason why an election year should
make any difference to the efficient functioning of government.
That is, if it can be termed 'efficient' under normal
circumstances. And certainly this should not contribute to a
further laxity in standards of work attendance or the quality of
services offered to the electorate. Neither should state resources
be used for the purposes of campaigning for Swapo or any other
political party, for that matter. If the MPs were doing their stuff
as a matter of course, they would be in touch with their
electorates on an ongoing basis; and not suddenly want to 'bond'
with voters when elections are staring them in the face as has
become habitual in this country.