MoESD in P44 million deficit
Onalenna Kelebeile | Tuesday May 24, 2016 11:33
Addressing the Selebi-Phikwe sub region staff recently Molao expressed the need for all stakeholders to come together and assist not only those in the education sector.
He said the ministry was placed at position 15 out 16 ministries during the ministry reviews last year and this year managed to move to position 12.
He however told his staff that utmost dedication is needed despite all the challenges the ministry faces. “It is through you that we can move up in the next review,” he said.
He noted that MoESD has started the current financial year with a budget deficit of P44 million hence the need to seriously manage overtime. Molao said that if overtime cannot be closely monitored and controlled then the deficit escalates.
He added that if overtime can exceed one’s monthly salary, like it happens sometimes, then there is a serious problem.
He revealed that the education ministry is massive and consumes 20 percent of the national budget. “Some people think that the ministry is being given a large chunk of the budget but practically the money is just a drop in the ocean. The bulk of the money goes to recurrent budget where 60 percent goes to salaries and the little remaining is slotted to other areas of concern,” he said. Among the challenges the ministry faced, Molao said, is shortage of accommodation, currently at 5,380 housing units deficit. Also, he said the ministry has acknowledged challenges with transfers, overstaying and issues of progression that demoralises staff particularly teachers. But, he insisted, these are not peculiar to the education ministry as the challenges cut across all public sectors.
“We hope to build some houses through the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) but it is not easy. ESP will run for three financial years but we are struggling to complete projects in NDP 11. We hope that projects not included under the ESP will be done during the first two years of NDP 11,” he said.
He appealed to those in authority to always communicate with teachers to address their grievances, noting that lack of communication makes people feel that they are not valued hence despondency, hopelessness and disappointments. Molao also acknowledged concerns that it takes too long for temporary teachers to be absorbed but explained that without the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM) giving posts then the ministry is hamstrung to employ. “If temporary teachers are engaged for too long it justifies the need to create a post but without DPSM giving us posts then it is difficult for us to make any move,” he added. He further urged the central government and council to strive to work as one government and share resources where necessary. “We treat ourselves as different people more often than not. It does not make sense to have council having unoccupied houses while there is shortage of accommodation for other government employees,” he said.
In response, the regional chief education officer Lillian Matshameko said they were under pressure to meet the ever-increasing expectations with less time and money hence they have to do the right things at the right time. “Stress, burnout and disengagement are commonplace and have increased as risk taking and the means by which real improvement can be achieved are constantly constrained,” she said.
As managers, Matshameko said they need a survival guide in their search for improved job performance and attainment of high organisational productivity. “Our superiors are increasingly demanding proper accountability in terms of output. In many instances we are unable to measure up to the challenge because our efforts are constrained and frustrated because we are left alone to either swim or sink in the midst of all the challenges,” she said.
Matshameko explained that challenges common in her region include a high number of qualified temporary teachers not absorbed in the system, shortage of transport and accommodation. “We also have officers who have been stagnant in their scales since 2006,” she said. She also noted that the retention strategies that the region has employed is yielding positive results in Selebi-Phikwe as the number of dropouts have reduced though the same cannot be said about Bobirwa.