Change mind-set as we Grow Zambia

THERE is a difficult conversation Zambia needs to have about public service, and it is one that should not be reduced to the familiar complaint about salaries, staffing levels or conditions of service. At the heart of the problem is something more fundamental: our attitude…

THERE is a difficult conversation Zambia needs to have about public service, and it is one that should not be reduced to the familiar complaint about salaries, staffing levels or conditions of service.

At the heart of the problem is something more fundamental: our attitude towards work and the responsibility that comes with being employed to serve the public.

Public and Allied Workers Union of Zambia president Inambao Sitwala is right to call for a mind-set change among public service workers, particularly in the health sector, where the consequences of poor work culture can be immediate and distressing.

His concerns about prolonged use of mobile phones and social media during working hours may appear to be about technology, but the bigger issue is what this behaviour reveals about our attitude towards duty.

Facebook, WhatsApp and other online platforms are not inherently bad. They are useful tools for communication, education and even professional work.

The problem arises when they become a substitute for work, consuming hours that should be devoted to patients, pupils, clients and other citizens who depend on public services. A patient who has travelled to a health facility does not go there to compete with a mobile phone for the attention of a health worker.

They go there because they need care. When a sick person is left waiting while an employee scrolls through social media, the issue is no longer merely poor customer service. It becomes a question of professional ethics and respect for another person’s time, dignity and well-being.

The same principle applies across the public service. A teacher who is absent from the classroom, an officer who routinely disappears from the workstation or an employee who reports for duty without delivering meaningful work is not merely failing an employer. Such conduct deprives citizens of services for which public resources are being spent.

We must, therefore, move beyond the mentality that reporting for work is the same as working. Being physically present in an office, hospital or school is only the first requirement. The real measure of public service is what is accomplished during the hours for which an employee is paid.

This is where the conversation about mind-set becomes important. Zambia continues to create employment opportunities because jobs are desperately needed, particularly among young people.

But employment should not produce complacency. The appointment letter should not be the point at which the hunger to prove oneself disappears. We need to ask a simple question. What are we giving back for the salary we receive? Every employee brings an input into the employment relationship.

This is time, skills, knowledge, energy and commitment and they expect remuneration in return. In the public sector, the ultimate beneficiary of that work is the citizen. If the expected service is not delivered, then public money is being spent without receiving the corresponding value.

Managers, too, must accept their share of responsibility. Poor work culture survives where supervision is weak, performance is not measured and persistent absenteeism or neglect of duty attracts no meaningful consequence.

It is unfair to hardworking employees when those who consistently fail to perform are allowed to continue without accountability. This is why the call for mind-set change must go beyond telling workers to stop using their phones. We need a broader culture in which punctuality, productivity, professionalism, courtesy and results are valued and expected, and in which managers have both the authority and responsibility to address poor performance.

The country cannot successfully pursue its development and Growth Agenda with a workforce that treats public service as a guaranteed entitlement rather than a national responsibility. Policies are made by leaders, but they are implemented by civil servants.

The quality of that implementation will ultimately determine whether many of Zambia’s ambitions remain on paper or translate into better lives. President Hakainde Hichilema is leading the way. The time has come for a serious mind-set change not only among workers but throughout the public service.

We need to restore pride in doing a day’s work for a day’s pay, while creating workplaces where good performance is supported, measured and rewarded. The country does not simply need more people on government payroll.

It needs a public service that delivers value. We should, therefore, stop asking only how many jobs have been created and begin asking the equally important question: How much work, productivity and service are we getting from those jobs? That is the difficult conversation Zambia must have if it is to turn employment into productivity and public resources into meaningful national development. https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/welcome/home