Leonard Kanime
I CONSTANTLY hear comments like “The government doesn’t do this and that,” “Projects don’t move forward,” “It’s incredibly corrupt,” and so on. The reasons are obvious, even without doing a thorough research.
Since the government is unable to run itself, who should lead it and its goals in the first place? A few employees of different government departments are the reason the government fails to carry out its mandates. The government needs someone to transport its services from point A to point B, and that someone is us.
Whatever our position inside the institution, we must realize that if we are not trying our hardest to improve society, nothing will change. The failure to deliver services on time, put off work on desks, approve projects while out of the office, and conduct monitoring and evaluation because you are too lazy to drive to the locations, are just a few of the challenges that impede the success of government service delivery. How can we anticipate proactive and effective government action?
You may have seen how certain employees in certain institutions decide what to do, how to respond, and what to say to someone who comes in seeking help or information. It also feels like an invasion of privacy to visit the personnel office. Some employees don’t work hard when there is a project that needs to be completed, which causes projects or service delivery to take longer than they should to finish, even though these kinds of assignments or projects can take up to a week to do. I once heard a staff member in a government institution casually remarking: “I studied to be here,” to the clients waiting in line, which shocked me.
You must put the needs of the people first because it is your duty as a government employee to carry out and realize the organization’s mission. To realize the government’s ambitions and be proactive, we require abilities including multi-cultural competency, objectivity, and hands-on experience.
* Leonard Kanime is a social commentator. He can be reached at leokanime@gmail.com