Introduction of job evaluations long overdue

For a long time, a government job was viewed as the most secure form of employment where a worker could do very little but still remain on the payroll. It was common for senior public servants to hang their coats onto their seats to indicate they had reported to work and step out for the entire day; they were in essence absent from duty. Rather than work for the public, employees would be engaged in all sorts of private business ventures at the expense of the public, leading to gaping inefficiencies in service delivery. Those who required government services would suffer untold delays for mundane processes.

Many previous attempts at motivating civil servants to provide better services were unsuccessful. Performance contracting — where the actual work done by employees is measured — was introduced amid great resistance from workers. Meanwhile, taxpayers continued to shoulder the huge wage bill burden with very little benefits. With the rising recurrent expenditure, funds for development projects diminished significantly.