The public 'are your real bosses’, PM tells public servants

Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare has issued a stark reminder to Namibia’s over 110 000 public servants, telling them that their ultimate responsibility is not to government but to members of the public.

“We are not here for fun. We are here to provide service to the people of Namibia, who, by the way, are our real bosses,” Ngurare said on Monday.

The prime minister made the remarks at the opening of the annual human resource conference on Monday, where he called for a fundamental shift towards a professional, accountable and results-driven public service approach.

He warned that well-developed policies, strategies and budgets are set to fail without competent public officials.

“If we want an effective State, we must develop capable institutions. If we want capable institutions, we must develop capable people,” he said.

‘Our people come first’

His remarks come as the government grapples with unemployment, service-delivery frustrations and the need to modernise a public administration that still relies heavily on manual processes.

“Every Namibian expects government institutions to serve them efficiently, fairly and with dignity,” he said.

“Our people come first. We must solve their problems. In doing so, we must be humane," he added.

Ngurare disclosed that a number of public servants had been fired since the start of the eighth administration for "engaging themselves in acts unbecoming of a public servant".

He did not disclose the number of officials dismissed or provide details of the cases.

He also called on human resource officers to strengthen consequence management, arguing that performance agreements must be tied to actual output and that government decisions must be consistent.

“The term 'consequence management' is increasingly being used,” Ngurare said.

Considerate upgrades

Ngurare also took aim at government bureaucracy, particularly the continued use of manual job applications.

He said public service application forms remain difficult to access in rural areas and called for the entire process to be digitised.

“In this age, we cannot afford to see people joining long queues to make copies and send their applications manually. And worse still, they pile up in your offices,” he said. “Remember that behind every application form that piles up in your office, there is a human being desperately looking for a job.”

Ngurare said government had recently taken a decision to appoint more nurses, teachers and critical workers in other fields but warned that the public service could not be expected to absorb everyone.

“The public service is the biggest employer, and we want the private sector to turn the tide,” he said.

Ngurare further called for accelerated digital transformation, saying the government cannot continue operating systems that force citizens to queue and submit paperwork manually.

But he challenged government to go further, saying Namibia must develop its own digital capacity instead of merely consuming technology developed elsewhere. “We must not only be consumers of technological infrastructure from other continents,” he said.

“Reform is not achieved through policies and circulars alone,” he said. “It requires commitment from every leader, manager and public servant.” “When we build the capacity of our public servants, we build the capacity of our nation.”

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