Public want better service, says President |25 June 2009

He said sitting idly in the office and waiting for the time to go home is over, and civil servants have to be more professional. Nobody is indispensable, he added.

“We have to work with integrity and honesty. A complaint has to be considered as a way of improving the service that we provide and not as a personal criticism,” he said.

It is true clients can be difficult at times but we have to equip ourselves to face such situations, and an ongoing audit within government will allow weaknesses to be identified and adequate structures to be put in place to provide for better service delivery, Mr Michel said.

“The new course which our country has embarked on precludes all negative attitudes in our work. Those who cannot deliver will have to give up their place to those who are willing and can deliver,” he said.

“In this new course, competition in employment is becoming increasingly intense. Nobody is indispensable.”

Mr Michel said work is available for everyone who wants it, and the government aims to localise as many of the posts in our country as possible. It will continue to insist that Seychellois understudy foreigners and receive the appropriate training and expertise to replace them eventually.

He said, however, there has been much improvement in certain cases and many public servants are continually giving the best of themselves, working hard and efficiently to steer our country on the new course we have chosen. He said we have much to learn from them and congratulated them.