Breaking the law to enforce it
+
( has received a lot of flak for it but it is a good thing that 0inister of 3ublic 6ervice 0abulala 0aseko has raised the issue of involvement of civil servants in politics.
,t is a good thing because as we go into the 1ew :e all know there is anticipation that in early , there will be negotiations between the pres ent administration and those calling for political changes. :e expect compromises and concessions. :ho knows, the involvement of civil servants in politics might Must be one of the issues under deter mination. 7his was the case in 6outh $frica after the end of apartheid. /est we forget, political parties were also banned in 6outh $frica during the apartheid era. 2nly the lily white 1ational 3arty was allowed to operate, call elections and unilaterally govern. 7he Tuestion of whether civil servants should Moin political parties therefore, did not even exist. ,n (swatini, political parties exist in disturbingly large numbers but they remain banned, in the sense that they are not allowed to participate in elections or get involved in any way in governance of the country. 7hat is what their leaders have been complain ing about ± that the national constitution allows freedom of expression and the .ing¶s 'ecree of 19 , which banned them, should have ceased to exist when the supreme law came into effect. ,n reality, their existence is still in line with that dreaded decree. 7his is highly likely to be among the issues to be discussed during the much talked about dialogue expected to commence early next year. 0inister 0aseko has been in the news lately for his tough talk on the issue of civil servants Moining political parties. He says those who wish to Moin these entities should resign from government. 7he minister says government *eneral 2rders make it clear that public servants are not allowed to Moin political parties. His view is that this was done to prevent work ers from sabotaging the same government that employs them. :hat , found interesting was the minister¶s assertion that service delivery was compromised when civil servants were involved in politics. ,n his view, they end up spending more time on the road, probably toyi-toying, than at their workstations. :ell, , am pretty sure 0aseko is aware of the complaints that most government employees are la]y and arrogant. 6ome are even corrupt and only get to render satisfactory service when their palms have been greased. 7hat is where he comes in as minister in charge. ,nstead of going on the warpath and issuing all sorts of threats against civil servants getting involved in politics, he should crack the whip in this regard. 7he minister should breathe down the necks of all heads of departments and demand continuous assessment of all civil servants and monthly or Tuarterly performance reports. 7hat is the only way to ensure excellent and Tuality service delivery. 7he minister should also guard against confusing union activism with political activity. He should be wary of breaking one law while trying to enforce another, as well. 2n the issue at hand, 3ublic 6ector $ssociations 36$s believe they have a right to get involved in politics because the national constitution, which is superior to all laws or general orders, guarantees the right to freedom of association and assembly. 7hey have a point there. 7he constitution indeed guarantees all of us that right. However, it would be a great idea for both the minister, who is relatively new to politics him self, and the 36$s, to do a bit of research on this topic. , did and came up with interesting details. ,n 6outh $frica, the 3ublic 6ervice 5egulations of 1999 do not specifically prohibit public servants from Moining political parties. However, they do state that government workers should deliver services impartially, fairly, eTuita bly and without bias. ,n the 8nited 6tates, civil servants can Moin po litical parties. 1o law or principle bars them from such. However, their political activity is restricted. $ccording to the &ivil 6ervice &ode in Hong .ong, civil servants shall uphold the principle of political neutrality, meaning that they shall serve the government of the day with total loyalty and to the best of their ability, no matter what their political beliefs are. :orth noting is that Hong .ong citi]ens have been up in arms in the last few years, demanding more freedom. ,n the 8., the basic principle for civil servants is not to undertake any activity that could call their political impartiality into Tuestion. &onduct that would give rise to criticism that public resources are being used for party political purposes is also discouraged. 7his principle not law is contained in the &ivil 6ervice &ode, which provides that whatever their political persuasion, civil servants shall serve government to the best of their ability, no matter what their own political beliefs are. ,nterestingly, the &ode also reads ³ &ivil servants in all the Murisdictions , came across in my research are expressly warned against using government resources for political party purposes. ,t would help both the minister and the 36$s to comprehend that the political neutrality of civil servants also means that they ³may not publicly defend the decisions and views of their ministers, including on social or other media.´ %eing politically neutral means doing your Mob professionally, ethically and fairly but does not entail publicly promoting the interests of the government you are serving. 7hat is for politicians to do. 7ouchp" :ell , will leave it here for now and go a bit on the softer side, as , wish you all a 0erry &hristmas and safe passage into the 1ew 6HH \RX 1(;7 <($5