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CIVIL SERVANTS NEED INTROSPECTION ON THEFT, CORRUPTION - CSC CHAIR

09/03/2022 08:48:00 Stanley Khumalo

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LOBAMBA – Civil servants should do an introspection to reflect on theft and corruption within the civil service as some of their colleagues are setting government to failure.

This was said by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) the Chairman, Simanga Mamba, as he toured the Lobamba Inkhundla Service Centre in the company of CSC Commissioners: Chief Velamuva Maseko, Prince Ngangabani, Princess Nkosingumenzi and Ntombi Mngomezulu. Also present were the secretariat of the CSC, the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development, Nonhlanhla Dlamini, Director of Decentralisation in the ministry Dumisani Sithole, Lobamba Constituency Member of Parliament (MP) Allen Stewart and Lobamba Constituency Headman Bhekisisa Bhembe. The service centre offers all government services and has a staff complement of about 20 people.

Inclusive

The departments in it are inclusive of the Immigration, Birth, Marriage and Death (BMD), Social Welfare and Revenue. It also has the master of the High Court offices and departments like Roads, Veterinary and the National Library. It forms part of the decentralisation programme of government to extend its services to the people. In his remarks, Mamba said the decentralisation programme by government should reflect that the country had over 54 years of independence.

He said it emphasised on the need for accountability from each civil servant as government was often blamed for poor service delivery. Mamba said theft and dishonesty hindered service delivery and resulted in people blaming government for being substandard in rendering its services. Making an example, the chairman said government was blamed for poor services yet there were a high number of civil servants who were facing disciplinary charges for stealing car parts. This, he said, was counter to the mandate the civil servants had – to ensure impeccable service delivery. Mamba proposed to the gathering that the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development should have awards for best performing staff in the various service centres to help improve service delivery and uproot corruption. He emphasised that civil servants stationed at the service centre should avoid turning people away on technicalities as that would result in desperation, which was a fertile ground for corruption.

“There should be feedback from the public through suggestion box to know how the public feels. This will help us know of any illicit dealings in the service centre,” Mamba said.
He implored the PS to also think about a refresher course in customer care for the civil servants at the service centre. Mamba also said there should be service charters to outline the manner in which the public service workers should behave. He emphasised that by being impeccable at rendering their services, the civil servants would be restoring confidence in the public that the Tinkhundla System of Government delivered.

He also urged them to support the system by being above reproach in executing their duties by going the extra mile. On the other hand, the chairman marvelled at the structure and its fittings, which he said should be the motivation for the civil servants stationed in it. He said the tour had been proposed by the CSC commissioners to establish if the requests for recruitment by the various ministries for personnel at the service centre had any positive spins. Mamba said the civil servants at the service centre should be visible within communities and have a slot in the ministry’s radio programme.

Recruitment

He further said the CSC would also avail its programme of action to cut back the need for people to submit applications for recruitment in the civil service in Mbabane. His vision was also shared by the CSC Executive Secretary, Amos Ngwenya, who said they also wanted to be digital and had already sought the help of the Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP) in their pursuit. Ngwenya said they were also seeking to benchmark the CSC with their regional counterparts and had already engaged Botswana on same. Meanwhile, the director of decentralisation said they had received a budget of E14 million to kickstart the decentralisation process at Lobamba Constituency in 2019.