Premier urges civil servants to join forces

Senior government officials who failed to honour the invitation for a two-day Executive Council (Exco) Lekgotla that was held at Protea Hotel Ranch Resort last week might be in hot water following Premier Stan Mathabatha’s pronouncement that such civil servants should be made to understand that it was not optional to attend meetings of this nature.
During his closing address Mathabatha said no one can contract out of the obligation to work as collective and added that the spirit of cooperative governance compels officials to strategise and plan together. He stressed that team work was more important now in the context of the District Development Model which has become the new buzz-word in government. He went on to mention that the model requires that they should abolish the artificial divides between the local and the provincial sphere of government and repeated that this meant that they would expect greater presence and participation of municipal representatives in forums of this nature.
The District Development Model aims to improve the impact of government service delivery with focus on districts as centres of service delivery and economic development which include job creation, Mathabatha outlined. He added that it was for this reason that the participation of municipalities in provincial government planning forums was a necessary imperative.
“The truth is that we would not achieve much if we do not improve on our work ethic. The culture of business as usual can no longer be sustainable, let alone be tolerated. We need to pull up our socks. We must always remember that people are not interest in our great plans and eloquent pronouncements. People are interested in practical deliverables. People want to see running water, maintained roads and they want the roof over their heads. They want us to rescue them from the indignity of lack of proper sanitation facilities. People want improved quality of education for their children. They want us to deliver on the commitment to grow the economy and create the much-needed jobs, particularly for the youth,” Mathabatha said.
He further stressed that people want improved access to primary healthcare and a positive change which will improve the quality of their lives. He urged officials to do their best with the power, the authority and the resources at their disposal and turn the ideas into tangible deliverables. He pleaded with officials to deliver on the commitment of good governance and build an ethical, professional and effective public service. There is no excuse for breaking the law, Mathabatha remarked and reiterated that ignorance of the law is in itself not a valid excuse in court. He urged attendees to conduct research, consult and seek legal advice when in doubt of their decisions. He, however, warned that legal advice does not in any way replace the responsibility of Accounting Officers to do due diligence.
Mathabatha concluded by saying “Let us go out and implement the Auditor-General’s recommendations, insist on doing things the right way, ensure the recruitment and appointment of staff is done in a legal way, adhere to all the supply chain prescripts, ensure that our assets registers are credible and also ensure that each cent is spent for its intended purpose and for maximum value.”

Story: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za