This past weekend all roads led to Jwaneng for the Toyota 1000 desert race. And, as is usually the case, many people went to partake in the event mainly as spectators. In the capital city you could tell by the few numbers of people in different shopping malls that people had left for the bundus. For once, moving around Gaborone proved a little bit easier. Not only was the congestion a non-issue, the town was generally quite. I would later during the day decide to go and buy weekend newspapers where, accidentally, I came across a friend, who also was in town against his will. Yes, this is a guy that would have been the first to leave town for Mmantshwabisi but nature has finally caught up with him. The body is no longer able to endure exposure to the elements. In his words “a sule masole a mmele ke setse ke thiba fela ka bo makatane.”
We talked about different pressing issues. Obviously, lack of electricity and water visiting many of our people proved a hot topic. He wanted me to provide answers to current challenges our economy faced. Unfortunately, I was in the same position as him. I did not know what happened to our beautiful country. I could tell from his eyes that he did not believe what I wanted him to know ÔÇô that I could not provide explanation to the mess in which we found ourselves as a people. But I stayed put with my position. There was a reason why I did not want to engage in such a conversation. To be honest, talking negatives or focusing on negatives, will it be about your country or anything was having a toll on my own perspective about life. I wanted us to talk something positive – something that will make our day a memorable one after so many years apart.
At first it was proving quite difficult to come up with anything positive about this country. It was not entirely our fault. The reporting on print and electronic media has not helped the situation. Even the national broadcaster, especially the news items, has contributed to current narrative of a country on a sickbed. Take, for example, “mmuso o tshwenyegile” caption that has of late become dominant line by the powers that be to express dissatisfaction on any issue. Effectively, we are living in a terrible phase of our development as a nation. Somehow, we finally found something positive to talk about in relation to this place.
Although the story was broadly positive, its genesis was somehow different. Spencer Mogapi on his column, The Watchdog, condemned recent decision by government allowing civil servants to dabble in business as counterproductive to service delivery. His main concern was that the decision was intended primarily to serve particular interests beyond public service. This was not a decision taken in the best interest of the country. What really surprises him is that after crafting a functional public service rooted in principle of professionalism, the current set of leaders are hell-bent, through other decisions including this one, to condemn to the dustbins of history the remarkable status achieved by our civil servants globally. Yes, this civil service has been the hallmark of the country’s success. The post-independence leadership of this country realised early that the civil service plays an important role towards development of this country. Indeed, it transformed into a powerful institution that crafted sound policies but also played an important part in the implementation of such policies.
Consequently, for the better part of our post-independence period, ours was regarded as an exemplary case of public sector management amongst developing countries generally and in Africa in particular.
My friend and I were soon involved in a debate in light of recent policy change by government, in which we largely shared Spencer’s sentiments. We could not forget that this was a widespread practise in many African countries. In here civil servants were engaged in business activities, although illegally. Yes, they have not been given a go ahead to dabble in business but the conditions under which they operated meant that they did not have any option but to pursue that route. The State in many of those countries was largely dysfunctional; unable to provide monetary rewards for civil servants. Where they were monetarily compensated, it was either done late or the pay was insufficient to cover their basic needs. This then explains why a civil servant will engage in multiple business activities and, as a result, the core functions of the State suffered in a big way. The schools, for example, are deserted because teachers are busy selling farm produce. And, this would be the situation in many other key sectors of the economy under the watch of civil servants. But, notably, they were doing that illegally.
From our engagement, we could not fully comprehend why authorities in our semi-arid place decided on that policy. Perhaps political expediency could explain such horrendous development, but one could still not understand where the echelon of the civil service was when such policy was conceived. And what are the trade unions (Bofepusu) saying about this development? The truth of the matter is that public service and business/entrepreneurship are two distinct areas of engagement with different rules of engagement. Obviously, business is about profit and public service, like the name suggests, is about provision of selfless service. The values underpinning the two, therefore, remain a world apart.
There is good news, however, from this move by the agents. These individuals, it would appear are not listening to their principals. Since the announcement of this new policy, civil servants have not come out celebrating. They are cautious and, in a good way, suspicions of the efficacy of the new development. They somehow have strong reservations about this policy. It would not take themselves or the country forward; I suspect this would be a general feeling amongst them. Yes, they are professionals and they know what is good for them and their country. The lack of celebration on their part, therefore, should provide a good feel to many of us who still regard public service as a call. 
Dr Molefhe teaches Public Administration at the University of Botswana
