President Ramkalawan addresses the third executive forum |20 October 2023
President Ramkalawan addressing the chief executives
‘Let’s give our utmost for this country’
President Wavel Ramkalawan has called on all heads of department and chief executives to give their utmost for Seychelles, find ways to improve communication and cooperation, and not to work in silos.
He made this appeal yesterday while addressing the third executive forum for the year at the Seychelles Trading Company’s conference room on Latanier Road.
Also present at the forum was Vice-President Ahmed Afif.
“Let us definitely think of how we communicate and how we cooperate. All agencies here have to work with each other. So please, do not work in silos. There is a need to cut out this silo mentality. Do not be technocratic at all times. Yes, we have laws to follow but let us use our initiatives to see how we can make things move and ease the process, and not bypassing the law,” President Ramkalawan said.
“Running this country is about everybody and so the issue of communication needs to be resolved. Sometimes as the head you want to see things moving, but there are people within the organisations who drag their feet. So today, I appeal to you all, even if people will accuse us of micro-managing, if we have to micro-manage, let us do it.”
When agencies communicate, we do not need four visits to one place, we need only one and all issues are addressed in that one visit. If there are outstanding issues, these can be sorted out with communication, President Ramkalawan added.
He also called on the leaders of organisations not to wait for files to come to their offices but to go out there.
The president also had words of thanks for those present for their hardwork, and making a difference in keeping this country afloat, and for giving their very best.
“I know the hard work, devotion and commitment that you put in. The commitment and desire to find solutions from many of you are just unquestionable. You just go in there and do what needs to be done and you find a solution,” he said.
“By doing so, you help your organisations to be more effective and the clients you are dealing with to be satisfied and feel they have truly received a service. This is why we are all part of the civil service, we deliver and whenever a citizen of this country approaches us, a solution or an answer is needed by that person and at no time should he or she be left not knowing what to do.”
We are one team and we play for the one team called Seychelles. All of us are involved in one way or another, and if each one of us give our maximum, we will instill the same spirit in our workers, the president added.
“We will insist as a government that people get paid for the work that they do, and the assessment that will be done even for the thirteenth month salary, will continue as too many people drag their feet while others burn the midnight oil and expect the same reward. This is a mentality that has to be eliminated in this country.”
President Ramkalawan also reminded the executives that they need to take care of themselves especially their health and to make time for themselves and their family.
In an interview with local media, the chief secretary of the Public Service Bureau, Shella Mohideen, said one of the government’s strategies is to create the synergy between all organisations and to break the silo mentality.
“It is important for all the heads of department within the different ministries, agencies and organisations to discuss the main issues and to see how to support each other in carrying out these various strategies,” she said.
“We have been using the result-based management tool to see how we can improve service delivery and this forum also provides a chance to get feedback from them, to share good practices and to see how to address challenges.”
Through presentations, the forum focused mainly on planning for a common vision as well as how to be more effective and efficient by the use of digitalisation.
Photos by Joena Meme
