Political Perspective

WE can say what we will, and blame whom we want, but Namibians seriously need to develop a work ethic if we want to advance socially and economically.

I hate to buy into generalisations, but we will quickly develop a reputation for incompetence and laziness if there’s not a change for the better. There are of course many Namibians who are exceptionally hard-working, but the complaints about inefficiencies and disinterest continue to escalate.WHETHER it is Government service or private sector, there is room for considerable improvement across the board.One of the most frequently targeted institutions in this regard is none other than the Home Affairs Ministry, and there is scant indication that they’ve even attempted to clean up their act because most groan openly at the prospect of having to do business there, and it’s perhaps small wonder there are thousands of unclaimed identity documents under the circumstances! If there’s a Namibian who hasn’t suffered a bad experience at the hands of this Ministry, I would be surprised, judging from the range of complaints received.It is undoubtedly one of the busiest government departments, but all the more reason to get things right.Complaints range from queuing for hours; to disinterested and/or surly staff spending a lot of time on their cellphones on personal calls while people have been waiting in line for extended periods; to the reported absolute mess with regard documentation waiting to be processed.Perhaps our Prime Minister could do a tour, and tell us if it is true that there is a floor with folders and applications and passports and other documents scattered all over.No alphabetical or other ordering of documentation, let alone a filing system.So again, no surprise that documentation is regularly lost, causing applicants to have to go to the expense of collating a new set.What will it take to get someone with organisational capacity to institute a proper system? Other ministries, perhaps not as high-profile as this one, are problematic too, and there are constant complaints of telephones not being answered; employees busy with personal phone calls; people out-of-office for long periods of time; and lunches that merge into dinners, with hardly anyone on duty at all.Fridays are a no-no to even try and attempt to work with Government departments, and officials have usually left for farms or home or shopping well before the end of the business day.The Public Service Charter is hardly worth the paper it is written on, unfortunately, and there is an urgent need for Government to consider rules for employees, that could, for example, prevent those serving the public from using their cellphones while on the job, among others, and promote speedy and efficient service.But it is not only Government that suffers from this malaise.The private sector is also often remiss when it comes to service.Again, there are always exceptions, but they are all too few and far between, and in most cases it comes across to the consumer that these employees are bored stiff with the jobs that are hard to come by in the first place, and couldn’t be bothered to crack a smile or offer a greeting and who don’t know the meaning of the phrase ‘satisfied customer’! Perhaps some of these companies could institute ’employee of the month’ awards or something similar to act as an incentive to give pleasant and efficient service.The public could play a role too, in encouraging a good service sector.I tip car guards as a matter of principle, and when I come across helpful attendants who greet you and try to assist as best they can, I give them more.There’s a parking garage attendant in a kiosk in town, for example, that I usually give a small chocolate to after shopping, because she is always so pleasant.For the rest, the hand emerges abruptly from the kiosk without greeting or acknowledgement, and one is then disinclined to be pleasant in return.Where queues form in supermarkets for example, the alert and attentive employee would surely note who was in line first, and try and serve people in order of their arrival, but you seldom find this kind of employee.They simply couldn’t be bothered.And if Namibians themselves are irritated, then imagine the impressions of the visitor or tourist who almost always meets an unfriendly and uncommunicative face? Namibia, the smile on the face of Africa? I think not.Across the board we need to get our house in order to earn this praise.There are of course many Namibians who are exceptionally hard-working, but the complaints about inefficiencies and disinterest continue to escalate.WHETHER it is Government service or private sector, there is room for considerable improvement across the board.One of the most frequently targeted institutions in this regard is none other than the Home Affairs Ministry, and there is scant indication that they’ve even attempted to clean up their act because most groan openly at the prospect of having to do business there, and it’s perhaps small wonder there are thousands of unclaimed identity documents under the circumstances! If there’s a Namibian who hasn’t suffered a bad experience at the hands of this Ministry, I would be surprised, judging from the range of complaints received.It is undoubtedly one of the busiest government departments, but all the more reason to get things right.Complaints range from queuing for hours; to disinterested and/or surly staff spending a lot of time on their cellphones on personal calls while people have been waiting in line for extended periods; to the reported absolute mess with regard documentation waiting to be processed.Perhaps our Prime Minister could do a tour, and tell us if it is true that there is a floor with folders and applications and passports and other documents scattered all over.No alphabetical or other ordering of documentation, let alone a filing system.So again, no surprise that documentation is regularly lost, causing applicants to have to go to the expense of collating a new set.What will it take to get someone with organisational capacity to institute a proper system? Other ministries, perhaps not as high-profile as this one, are problematic too, and there are constant complaints of telephones not being answered; employees busy with personal phone calls; people out-of-office for long periods of time; and lunches that merge into dinners, with hardly anyone on duty at all.Fridays are a no-no to even try and attempt to work with Government departments, and officials have usually left for farms or home or shopping well before the end of the business day.The Public Service Charter is hardly worth the paper it is written on, unfortunately, and there is an urgent need for Government to consider rules for employees, that could, for example, prevent those serving the public from using their cellphones while on the job, among others, and promote speedy and efficient service.But it is not only Government that suffers from this malaise.The private sector is also often remiss when it comes to service.Again, there are always exceptions, but they are all too few and far between, and in most cases it comes across to the consumer that these employees are bored stiff with the jobs that are hard to come by in the first place, and couldn’t be bothered to crack a smile or offer a greeting and who don’t know the meaning of the phrase ‘satisfied customer’! Perhaps some of these companies could institute ’employee of the month’ awards or something similar to act as an incentive to give pleasant and efficient service.The public could play a role too, in encouraging a good service sector.I tip car guards as a matter of principle, and when I come across helpful attendants who greet you and try to assist as best they can, I give them more.There’s a parking garage attendant in a kiosk in town, for example, that I usually give a small chocolate to after shopping, because she is always so pleasant.For the rest, the hand emerges abruptly from the kiosk without greeting or acknowledgement, and one is then disinclined to be pleasant in return.Where queues form in supermarkets for example, the alert and attentive employee would surely note who was in line first, and try and serve people in order of their arrival, but you seldom find this kind of employee.They simply couldn’t be bothered.And if Namibians themselves are irritated, then imagine the impressions of the visitor or tourist who almost always meets an unfriendly and uncommunicative face? Namibia, the smile on the face of Africa? I think not.Across the board we need to get our house in order to earn this praise.