BRIEF REMARKS BY PREMIER TSP MAKWETLA AT THE SERVICE
EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Secunda
Thursday, 18 November 2004
Programme Director
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
IN the name of the government of this province and the people of Mpumalanga, it gives me pleasure to welcome you this evening and to honour and recognise deserving public servants and teams who dared to act outside the boundaries of the ordinary to serve the public in this province.
The people we are honouring today are further proof that indeed in Mpumalanga we too have exceptional citizens and public institutions that are committed to excellence and to the highest ethical and professional values.
Programme Director, everywhere there are rising expectations. People demand more than the basics. They expect quality services and expect them now. Meeting these expectations is a challenge to all of us. But in the end, we have to meet them.
Many organisations have mission and value statements that people are their most important resource. Yet, in practice, few invest in people, but rather in equipment in order to achieve service excellence. It is indeed human beings, not machines, who deliver service excellence.
Programme Director, Service delivery is a process and not a once off event. We must strive for continuous excellence. We must always be aware of the interests and needs of the people we serve and we must be open and flexible.
To achieve service excellence sometimes takes nothing more than a pleasant smile and recognising the importance of the service you provide and the inherent worth of every person you deal with.
Programme Director, the challenge we face is to strive for service standards that are in keeping with the strategic objectives of the departments. To this end the importance of performance management through clearly defined performance areas cannot be over-emphasised.
In this regard it is proper for job content to form part of performance contracts. Projects, including budgets and schedules of delivery, must form part of the basis of the performance review of a manager. This would ensure that a six-months project does not end up becoming a two year project, or that a three year project only gets implemented during the last year of the project plan.
Tonight we are gathered in order to honour special people. Each one of them is an index of the calibre of Public servants our province has. Their genuine commitment to serving our people is impressive. The many innovations that they have brought forward reflect their personal skill and creativity. But above all their dedication to their fellow human beings and the quest to ameliorate human suffering.
Both individually, and as members of teams, they have made a noticeable difference in the quality of life for people in communities across this province.
Each of today's award recipients deserves our respect and admiration. Through their actions they are assisting in daily moving Mpumalanga further away from a past of an uncaring public service to one that cares and treats its people with respect and humility.
We all know that they did not ask to be recognised. Some are probably even a little embarrassed by the attention. Don't be. You have earned your distinction - and we are grateful for the inspiration you provide.
On behalf of the Government of Mpumalanga, I offer each of you my sincere congratulations. You are the pride of our public service. Let the African Sun continue to rise for the people of Mpumalanga.
I thank you.