Saikou:
Thank you for the broader perspective.
Mr. Sallah, whether intentionally or not, generalized the workplace
calamities of the Gambia Government to include all "Gambian workers."
Which, like you, I believe is a monumental error to start with. Even
whereas one looks at the behavioral aspects of "Government workers" only
to extrapolate that unto the general population, it is obvious he failed
to take into consideration, for the purpose of this article, the work
environment these employees have to deal with on a daily basis. By
"environment" I mean both tangible and intangible motivational factors
that help get the best out of every employee in a given setting.
I must not fail to mention my agreement with Mr. Sallah on the issue of
the failure of Government in creating a mechanism where putting the right
person in the right job will be much easier. The one devastating failure
of Government is the rotting of the PMO (Personnel Management Office)
outfit in recent years. This is one important office whose power has been
usurped by non other than Yaya himself. Over the years, he has succeeded
in reducing this technical outfit into a nonentity with a bunch of
bagpipers. Yaya has succeeded in being the Human Resource Manager of the
Gambia Government over the years.
Coming back to my point on the work environment, like you, I believe the
average employee will care to stay in the office and work if and when they
expect to be able to take care of – with what they earn - their basic
needs like food, transportation, shelter, etc. at the end of the day.
Where they cannot fathom the fulfillment of their basic needs, they will
be motivated to seek other ways to help fill in the gap. This is where
that thousand pound gorilla in the form of “mochat” (side deals) comes
into play. Hence the nonchalant attitude towards any assignment that
yields no immediate dough for the employee. Let us face it, these people
have to “survive” and they have dependents to take care of. So that basic
needs come at a costly price for them.
I take issue with Mr. Sallah’s generalization of the Gambian worker’s
attitude as being nonchalant. This is hardly the case especially where the
right “environment” exists. Even within the Gambia government itself. I
can venture to say in fact majority of Government workers do the best they
can under the circumstances – again the environment comes onto play here.
The average Gambian I know is very hard working and take their duties
under employment very seriously. Just take a quick survey of working
Gambians in Europe and America. Those in nursing homes, car detailers,
janitors, security workers, managers, fast food restaurants, etc. are on
average the best in their breed. I know many of you will agree with this.
The point I am trying to emphasize is, most Gambians, given the right
environment, are very hard working indeed, and contrary to what Mr.
Sallah wants us to believe, will yield impressive returns for any
employer (including the government) when the motivational factors are
right.
--
BambaLaye
Radio Free Gambia
www.freegambia.net
<quote who="samateh saikou">
> .........books did not teach and educated man did not know reasons for the
> workingmen's behavior. Joseph Dorfma ( The economic mind in American
> Civilisation VOL 111 (1865-1914)
>
>
>
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