It’s going to be a rough ride

Do you realise that managing the Lesotho government is similar to running a company made up of 55,00 staff members. 55,000! With a wage bill of over M500 million per month.

That is a humongous company by any global standards and needs a very deep understanding on the dynamics of running large organisations.

You will also agree with me that running this company made up 55 000 staff members needs very sharp human resource management skills. But here are a few questions I’d like you to digest whilst reading this week’s piece.

Question 1: Should a Principal Secretary (PS) be a career civil servant or a political appointee?
Question 2: Should a PS be granted a short-term, three-year contract or serve a seven-year (one-term) contract?
Question 3. To combat corruption and to attract the best talent, should a PS be remunerated according to public-service grades or according to the market rate of CEO’s in Lesotho? (For example: M150 000 – M250 000 per month). The success or failure of the next government lies in answers from the questions above.

In any case, I pray and sympathise with whomever will be elected Prime Minister following the October 07th, general election. It’s going to be a rough ride and they are bound to fail dismally (crash) within the first two years of their stay in office. E tlo ba puso oa poqa-futsoela (It’s going to be a very messy government).

It would not be because the leaders are incompetent but simply because the macro-economic dynamics such as inflation aren’t favourable for a new government and an inexperienced leader. More importantly, there’s just no money to run the business of the government.

As I have highlighted in previous opinion pieces, Lesotho is facing serious cash-flow challenges that have pushed it to a state of bankruptcy. What does this mean?

It simply means, cash inflows are low and slow as opposed to the high rate of expenditure (public servants wage bill).

However, at the very core of all these problems, is a public service sector that is bloated, highly ineffective (incompetent) and corrupt. To turn the tide on this enormous challenge, it could mean two terms of focused and dedicated public service reforms.

I still remember Sam Matekane’s words when he said, “ho chencha boemo ba naha ena, e tlo ba bosesane ba khoele.” Meaning, to change the economic situation in the country will be as easy as ABC. I whistled out loud whilst shaking my head and said, “Lord help us!”

In my head, I said, does Ntate Matekane know how manipulative public servants are?” “Na Ntate Maketene o tseba bahlanka tjee?”

There is an animal named NSDP-Two (National Strategic Development Plan – Part Two) that is used as a cover-up for incompetence, laziness, silliness and downright stubbornness.

My suggestion is that, the NSDP-Two document be thrown in the nearest rubbish bin and I will tell you why in the next opinion piece.

Public servants have abused this document as a way of defiance to anyone that suggests anything progressive but not featured in the NSDP-Two document. I tell you, the time will come when Matekane tries to implement change and public servants will tell him that he has to abide by the guidelines of the NSDP-Two document. Otherwise they will be expected to commit crime. Bahlanka ba ‘muso oa Motletlehi! (Civil servants of the government of Lesotho).

Running a good government starts with creating a capable state. What does a capable state mean? It means being in a position where the right people are placed in the correct positions based on their competence levels (meritocracy).

By the way, meritocracy is based on selection before election not the other way round. You set benchmarks (criteria), select then shortlist and elect from the shortlisted positions. Not this mess that the RFP made claiming it to be meritocracy. No, that’s not how the system works.

Imagine if you had to elect a university vice-chancellor before selection. This would open flood-gates for security guards and cleaners to throw in their names in the hat.

As a result, a famous security guard would be elected based on popularity and not merit. What would happen if you disqualify the elected security guard to be replaced by a qualified professor? That would be seen as an unfair practice. The system would be flawed because it would be based on a popularity contest.

Going back on running a capable state, it all starts with having a sound mind and experience on good public administration. Unfortunately, none of the politicians competing for the top position are placing emphasis on strengthening the public service sector. Ke mopoto ea li-airport Mafeteng (It’s insane talk about airports in Mafeteng).

Unfortunately, running a capable state that delivers, starts with having a competent human capital. You can’t do it without capable and experienced people. Eseng PS tsa masholu, tse shebileng ho utsoa chelete ea fertiliser (Not PS thieves who have their eyes fixed on the fetiliser budget).

However, creating a capable state is not easy at all. It also means knowing and understanding how the public service-sector functions and this is what we call public administration.

Public administration is a multi-layered cake. It goes down to a local government level, municipalities and local councils.

An example of this could be referenced to the lack of foresight that the ANC government had when it assumed power in 1994.

The ANC government focused on running a capable state mainly on a national level. But the rot happened on a local government level at various municipalities.

This cancer started spreading from rural municipalities and by the time the national government identified the problem, the cancer had already spread out to the entire body. It was just simply too late.

In summary, public administration is highly complicated (ha e hloke bo ramafofokele). It’s needs seasoned and highly experienced people to make it work.

In my honest opinion, of all the candidates contesting for the top position, it looks like Professor Mahao is best suited for the top job and please allow me to demonstrate why.

At the very core of running a capable state is a delicate matter of public safety that involves running a competent police service. This must be held with outmost care.

Not only that, but the judicial system needs to be on top of its game. These are some the elements that give investors confidence that the rule of law is of outmost importance.

As I have always said, investment needs certainty. Investment needs stability. Investment favours consistency. It needs a judicial system that works to protect investors’ money.

By the way, earlier this year, I pointed out that the High Court of Lesotho and magistrates’ courts are not compliant when it comes to fire and safety measures.

I also pointed out that the Police Headquarters does not meet modern safety regulations such as fire-escape stairs, fire-alarm and fire-sprinklers. Even today, all three buildings are at a high-risk of fire. What are we waiting for? Are we waiting for a disaster before we can act?

These are some of the things that I believe Professor Mahao is capable of attending to. We can’t have a High Court that does not have solid, digitised and fire-proof filing system. Not in 2022! Just look at the files that went missing at ‘Mahlompho’s trial. What nonsense is that?

In conclusion, it’s time that we treat and see the Ministry of Public Service as the human resource department.

‘Mako Bohloa