Gwanda (New Ziana) – A team from the Public Service Commission was in Gwanda on Monday and met provincial heads of government departments to assess and understand the way devolution is taking shape in Matabeleland South province.
PSC vice chairperson Dr Nomalanga Ndiweni who led the team, outlined its mission before responding to the issues raised by the senior government officers.
“As the Public Service Commission, we want to know who is doing what and where it is being done,” she said.
“I am happy to announce that Mat South is on course on devolution but needs serious support from the PSC and the Treasury. I know that there are some cases where budgets are released on paper and not disbursed to beneficiaries, which makes implementation of work impossible.”
During the engagement, the senior government officers told the PSC team that their biggest challenge was understaffing, shortage of office space and residential accommodation for staff members, as well as delays in releasing funds for projects.
Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic College principal Dr Ngoni Moyo said the government should prioritize the welfare of workers, especially on housing challenges that staffers were facing.
“In as much as we are understaffed, our challenge is that of staff houses,” he said.
“We might be crying that we want more staff members, yet we don’t have houses to accommodate them. I am therefore appealing to my employer to prioritise the welfare of its employees by building staff houses and even incentivizing us with houses.”
Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development provincial development officer Merjury Sikhundla complained about the delay in releasing devolution funds.
“Devolution funds are taking too long to be released. The planning process of projects and their implementation must not be miles apart.
“Suppose I would have been allocated 500 litres of fuel to implement our targeted projects and that fuel funding comes after 3 months. When I finally get the funds, they will be enough to purchase 300 litres, meaning that I won’t be able to complete my work. At the end of the day the same employer will punish me.”
In her response, Dr Ndiweni said: “The serious shortage of houses and office space is a cause for concern and the government will address it as a matter of urgency.
“Workers need to work and live in conducive environments. The issue of late disbursement of funds from the Treasury has been noted and should also be addressed soon.”
The PSC team will conduct other meetings in Bulawayo and Matabeleland North before moving to other provinces.
New Ziana
