Works Ministry gears for year ahead

WITH his ministry self-admittedly performing at a success rate of only 35 per cent over the past year, Works and Transport Minister Helmut Angula last week addressed staff in Windhoek on his plans for improvement in the year ahead.

During his year-opening address to staffers, Angula highlighted his Ministry’s intention to start implementing a long-talked-about Government performance management system (PMS) to evaluate the performance of every single public servant.
Angula spent most of his speech addressing staff on various issues, from their duties to act as whistle-blowers against corrupt colleagues, to complaints of unauthorised leave and absenteeism, inappropriate work attire and even smoking etiquette.
The Minister went as far as announcing that he had instructed Permanent Secretary George Simataa to ensure that the ministry’s core values are installed as the screen saver on all computers used in the Ministry.
In his sternly worded address, Angula described as unacceptable the news that certain programmes started by the Ministry up to three years ago were only completed within the past year, saying he was reluctant to call the conclusion of such programmes a success.
At present, however, he said it was difficult for the Ministry to improve productivity in the absence of a workable performance management system.
‘I am aware of the attempts by the Permanent Secretary to formalise the evaluation of senior management last year. Clearly there was no support for the process from those to be evaluated,’ the Minister said.
‘I want to emphasise that PMS is a business imperative, and not anymore a matter of choice. We need to know individual performances,’ he said.
Angula encouraged staff members to report any incidents of corruption they are aware of, but to make sure of their facts.
‘We sometimes have a problem at senior level that some juniors accuse their seniors of corrupt practices, but when you ask them about it they just say so-and-so is corrupt. Such general statements, without concrete information, lead to nowhere. When I came to this ministry, everyone was saying ‘Are you sure you want to go there? Ooh the corruption there is horrendous. But up to now no one has come to me with a single concrete case,’ he said.
Staffers confronted the minister about the 24 per cent salary increase that political office-bearers will receive this year and next year, which they regard as unfair in view of the protracted struggle by ordinary civil servants to negotiate salary increases for themselves.
Angula said this was due to the inability of their union, the Namibia Public Workers’ Union (Napwu), to strike a deal with Government’s negotiating body.
‘Ministers work 24 hours a day,’ he said, adding that they are not entitled to overtime and are exposed to various job security risks not faced by ordinary workers.
‘The risks are not the same as you. A deputy minister can be fired today without the option of appealing to a court. Also with political office bearers, if you’re not re-elected, you’re not re-elected. So that commission [the Public Office-Bearers Remuneration and Benefits Commission] looks at all the risks of the job, the market, and so on, before deciding,’ he said. denver@namibian.com.na