A gaze at the future of the public service!!!
Correspondent | Monday June 20, 2016 12:41
That Botswana has made tremendous strides over the years cannot be disputed. Notably in spheres such as economic growth, infrastructure development, access to health, education and the rule of law.
It gives me great pride as a leader of BOPEU whose membership constitutes about 28% of the entire public service, to be associated with these positive yields in a journey spanning 50 years to date. Yes! From a 12 km tarred road at independence, to an elaborate road network by ‘African standard’, is by all means commendable.
Although it is an achievement that fills us with pride. It seems to me that it would be a tedious exercise to enumerate the countless accomplishments that has been made so far. Allow me to state without flinching that, the Public service has been, in my view, the mainstay of Botswana’s economy and progress from the birth of the republic to date. In comparison to economies that are private sector led, in Botswana, Government has always been the main employer and indeed the main engine of growth.
This should not be seen as a vote of confidence on our part, but rather as an acknowledgement that during a steadfast campaign to develop this country, over a considerable time, we were united and we should be proud of that. Our message is that this public service, with resource challenges among others, has been instrumental in Botswana’s success story. No wonder in many quarters, we have been regarded as a beacon of democracy and a template of prudent economic management (achieving “A” ratings consistently). Time and again, in many of these reports, we received accolades as one of the least corrupt countries globally. We at BOPEU abhor corrupt practices. We have witnessed the crumbling of many economies due to corruption. Corruption therefore must never be condoned either among politicians and public employees. Ironically, it is often the public service as custodians of state resources that are usually crowned both villains’ and victims of corruption.
Lessons From The Past
There are valuable lessons to draw from this long journey. In the 1980s the British government of Margaret Thatcher reigned-in heavily on union power. By the time Thatcher left office, Trade Union density in Europe were at an all-time low. In her simplistic view, Thatcher felt that trade unions were a “politicised mafia” and as such, came up with a simple strategy - to weaken trade unions. History tells us that key amongst her anti-trade union initiatives, were policies such as: outsourcing, privatisation and anti-strike laws. Sadly, it was this approach and unpopular style of public service administration that would later shape labour relations perpetually. Many of our leaders even as we speak, continue to borrow religiously from Thatcher’s vicious hand book.
2007 ushered in for many Associations in Botswana, an opportunity to unionise. However, shortly thereafter, Trade Unions realised that they would face a situation akin to the ghost of the Thatcher era. The Thatcherist approach evidently created an antagonistic labour environment over time. Unfortunately, in an environment where public service employees are expected to deliver public good, such an antagonistic labour relationship can only help to derail the very essence of the public service.
The Future Of The Public Service
In my humble view, if the tripartite, namely: Government, the Employer and public service employees are to unite and provide meaningful public good, then the current hostilities and or animosity flowing from the Thatcherist approach must receive urgent curative interventions.
Instead of a repressed public service, we strongly associate ourselves with the view that an effective service delivery within the public service can only be possible through a united, proud but also competent workforce. It is only then that the citizenry can expect employees to drive the employer’s vision.
We also hold the view that technology is ever-changing, and that Government should aggressively invest in technology so as to drive productivity and efficiency within the public service. The world is changing very fast with employees elsewhere now being replaced by technology. Elsewhere the world is opening up, especially on the migration and or immigration laws, hence the need for urgent innovations within the public service. We need to modernise now but most importantly, to dream big about the future. If we don’t act now, we will and soon have an irrelevant public service, without the competencies to drive the public service.
As we embrace innovative means of doing things we must be mindful of the fact that change does not mean throwing away everything. We must retain the good ideals that served us well even in the past. We acknowledge from the programme that we still maintain the idea of work improvement teams. We at BOPEU believe that the spirit behind this notion is result orientated as opposed to rewarding concepts.
Conclusion:
Before I conclude, let me admit that the public service of recent has been struggling with implantation challenges. Perhaps the major fault in our course has been a lack of role clarity. To the extent that those who are supposed to offer strategy often times meddle with implementation, while those who ordinarily should be implementers abdicate their responsibility. By and large, this latest approach is problematic as it stifle public service performance.
Tembo Lebang one of the founding fathers of the Botswana National Productivity Centre had this to say when retiring from the BNPC.(2016). He said and I quote:
“When I retired from BNPC in 2016, I regretted that two issues had not been corrected. Although strategic reforms such as PMS had been installed and implemented, issues such as work ethics and an enabling industrial relations environment still needed urgent intervention given the impending unionisation of the public service” Director of proceedings, I have no doubt that if quizzed today on this very same subject, he will proffer the same sentiments he made almost a decade ago.
Andrew Motsamai
*Andrew Motsamai , BOPEU President was speaking at a panel discussion at the Botswana Public Service College