The government has instructed ministries and departments to bar employees showing signs of illness (flue-like symptoms) or any other symptoms from coming to work amid a surge in new Covid-19 cases.
In a circular savingram dated 6th August 2021 seen by this publication and addressed to ministries and departments, acting director of the Directorate of Public Services Management (DPMS) Dr Omponye Kereteletswe said such employees should not come to work and instead immediately inform their supervisors and seek medical assistance.
He said to ensure the health and safety of employees who would be providing services during this period, ministries and departments must take precautionary measures as guided by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
Kereteletswe stated: “His Excellency, the President Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi has identified “saving Botswana’s population from Covid-19” as a top priority in his RESET Agenda. It is therefore an imperative that as Government ensures continual service delivery during this pandemic, employees are also protected from Covid-19.”
With the high increase in the number of Covid-19 infections across the country, the acting DPSM director said, government ministries and departments should utilise the flexible working arrangements.
“In considering the work scheduling options, Accounting Officers should take the following into account, routine responsibilities/tasks that cannot be fulfilled while working remotely and their impact on operations or other people. Therefore, consider coming up with innovative ways (shifts/staggering arrangements) to reduce the impacts of these tasks, e.g records management services,” he said.
He said special projects or tasks that can be done while working from home and how to monitor progress made should be another option adding that events or meetings which have been scheduled should be done virtually.
Kereteletswe said utilisation of leave balances as a determining factor for scheduling employees should be encouraged as well as those employees with high leave balances should be encouraged to take vacation leave.
“It is incumbent on Ministries/Departments/Agencies (MDAs) to revisit internal administrative arrangements) that best suit their day to day operations. MDAs are requested to inform the public on their service delivery plans during this period,” said the acting DPSM.
He said revisiting the arrangement of employees and customers to ensure continuation of service delivery in their respective sectors given the above work scheduling options.
Kereteletswe said while evidence collected showed that MDAs had embarked on a number of interventions to reduce possibilities of employees contracting the Covid-19 in the work place by reducing the number of employees at any given time, there was little evidence pertaining to provision of psycho-social support given to employees which corroborates assertions by some ministries of exhaustion due to work-life balance resulting negative psychological wear-off culminating into mental health challenges.
He said therefore the Directorate would in due course embark on a programme aimed at addressing the issue of psycho-social support in the public service.
