Keetmanshoop – //Karas Regional Council Chairperson Jan Scholtz says personal issues and vendettas among council employees should never be allowed to affect operations and the mission to develop the region.
Speaking to New Era recently, Scholtz pointed out the lack of effective communication at the institution, saying this problem is mostly caused by personal issues amongst workers and is hindering service delivery.
He narrated that sometimes work is delayed due to files and other documents not moving from one desk or office to the other on time, due to personal issues.
He added that although there are similar problems within other institutions, there is a big need for improvement in this area at the //Karas Regional Council, stressing that he doesn’t care whether people like each other, but they should carry out the duties as assigned to them, as this is what they are paid for.
“These things of ‘I’m not going to do this because I don’t like person A and B’ should come to an end. These personal vendettas have gotten to the extent of affecting proper administration and service delivery and it’s unacceptable,” he said.
New Era has it on good grounds that petty personal issues amongst employees is a huge problem, with some saying it has gotten to a point where some senior staff members refuse to sign important documents, and that at some point last year workers’ salaries were allegedly paid late because one of the senior staff members had refused to sign release of funds.
The chairperson indicated that the council wants to live by its mission and vision, that of being an industrialised, globally competitive and eco-friendly centre of excellence, as well as promoting and facilitating socio-economic development, and therefore things need to change as there can’t be development without proper administration.
“The pre-requisite of development is proper administrative support, proper communication and maintaining the chain of command, and without this, development will remain a far-fetched dream,” he said, adding: “These small and personal things should not hamper our efforts to work and deliver services to our people.”
Scholtz called on different ministries and other stakeholders to work hard as a team, and be ready to consult each other on issues affecting the region, saying “our roles are interdependent and therefore consultation is key”.