Times Of Swaziland: WHO’S GOING TO SAVE GOVT FROM ITSELF?

WHO’S GOING TO SAVE GOVT FROM ITSELF?
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The Editor on 21/11/2020 23:26:00


Madam,
I have watched in awe how this nation seems to be obsessed with the size
‘big’ in everything there is, be it cars, perks and houses.
I don’t suppose, however, that has extended to features of the people we love,
like our women or men.
Most recently, someone mentioned that emaSwati live beyond their means; and he
is right. This is motivated by the desire to live large, a spirit of showiness
and status and class, which unfortunately is championed by our own government. I
mean, government seems to set the pace and emaSwati follow.
Talking of cars, government is in the process of buying new cars for ministers,
and big cars at that, all in the name of status. I mean a hefty budget has been
made to buy cars for this group of our leaders.
The last time I was schooled in job grading exercises that determine pay, perks
or remuneration we were guided by ‘dimensions’ and ‘accountabilities’,
among others.
Dimensions speak to the size of the operation, clientele base or the impact of
the position to the organisation, in this case the country.
In this connection, the population size that our Cabinet is serving should be
the determining factor in terms of what they are paid in comparison with other
countries.
On accountabilities, it would be the size of responsibility placed upon them,
and what they are expected to deliver in deliverables – in the things that
matter in terms of jobs, economic growth, etc.
Eswatini has defied all logic once again by coming up with perks that do not
augur well for the economy.
I have always wondered why these have to be top-of-the range models.
I mean we could make do with anything smaller for most of the jobs done by
ministers.
The problem with the ‘bigness’ mentality is that when it comes to cars,
bigger engines, the higher the price tag, the higher the maintenance and fuel
costs.
This could be the reason why government occasionally runs out of fuel at the CTA
and fails to fuel vehicles for service delivery when it matters the most.
Who is going to save government from itself?
Babe Dlamini