Burning issue of passion

Iremember a time when you either wanted to be a teacher, nurse, police officer or even in the army. But there was a time when being a public servant required one to possess a quality that today is scarce: pride.

There are allegations of nurses insulting patients, government employees who take extended tea breaks, teachers who father their pupils’ children and police officers who victimise the same communities they are meant to protect and serve.

Where is the pride in your work? Nowadays, the person who is tasked with helping you is on a mission to test the longevity of his chewing gum – leading you to rather apply for marriage and driver’s licences online, just to avoid the human interaction.

I applaud bursary programmes like Funza Lushaka that encourage people into a teaching career, and the departments of health and correctional services are doing the same. But are we producing professionals who exude pride in their work, or have we just offered an alternative to unemployment by means of a paid internship?

We cannot pay people to be passionate and can we really teach them to be passionate? A mountain of allegations of bad service delivery is proof to this effect.

At a time where social platforms are the new ombuds, one would think public servants would shape up, but the bad ones keep shipping in.

It seems the new input is attendance and the output is ... a salary. Forget about job satisfaction. Do children still aspire to teach, nurse and serve the communities? Could the rotten apples have already spoiled the plantation?

I went through the hands of a teacher who taught with passion, who engaged my mind and helped mould the person I am today.

We need to hear more stories of transformational teachers – and the same of hospitals, police stations and military bases.

Society needs to push for good service, without burning. We need to expect good service without the “I pay your salary because I pay tax”. We need to ask: are we still cultivating a nation of passionate professionals?

Batho pele, should not just be a catchy phrase.