SONNY SERITE
At least 1300 job seekers rushed to submit applications when the Directorate of Public Service Management (DPSM)ran an advertisement in January last year calling for the services of ‘‘talented, self-driven and experienced’’ locals for 37 positions of Customer Service Relations Coordinator tenable at various government Ministries.
Even though about 50 applicants were called for interviews 9 months later in September and promised that they will receive their results in two weeks, nothing has been communicated to them, five months down the line. Some of the people who were interviewed for the positions have told this publication how officials at DPSM are not forthcoming with information on their applications. ‘‘They just tell us it is now beyond their level and handled by the Director,’’ one of the applicants told this publication.
There have also been allegations that three people have, however, been headhunted and given the positions despite them having not sat for the mandatory interviews. In an interview with this publication on Monday, DPSM Director Ruth Maphorisa said government has since decided to halt the recruitment of Customer Service Relations Coordinators for ministries and instead take all the positions to the Districts. ‘‘We have reprioritized and decided to take the positions to the Districts,’’ Maphorisa said in an interview, adding that the posts will be re-advertised, now under the Districts.
On how they decided to take the positions that are pegged at D1 to the Districts when the Districts are only permitted to recruit for positions at D2 and below, Maphorisa said the recruitment will follow the established recruitment channels. ‘‘The initial thinking was to establish positions at headquarters (Ministry) but we then reassessed the impact it will make as opposed to placing them at service delivery point,’’ the DPSM boss said.
She said this arrangement will give them the opportunity to create more positions and also hire people at the right level (process) rather than policy/coordination. ‘‘These positions will be now established at all offices of District Commissioners at both district and sub district level overseeing services across,’’ Maphorisa added. She also revealed that the person appointed will sit at the District sub Development Committee and report on issues that affect customers for major services offered. ‘‘As for recruitment, it will follow the established recruitment channels,’’ Maphorisa assured. She said she was not aware that the people who were interviewed were never informed of the new development as she had expected her Human Resources department to have done so.