Slow response to queries the thin edge of the wedge

Rozario Brown, by e-mail: Service delivery is in crisis in our country.

The problem does not lie in the fact that we lack resources, rather in the fact that our resources are not spent wisely by those who are in control of it.

Service delivery does not cover only house building, the provision of clean drinking water, safe roads and other infrastructure projects; it includes a speedy reply to letters and proposals from the public.

How is it possible for US President Barack Obama and his team to reply to a letter in less than 10 days, but when you write to a government department in this country, you have to wait for months for a reply?

Nobody can deny the fact that we have many committed public servants in this country, but we should also have the courage to publicly state that we have, in equal proportion, many lazy people working in various local, provincial and national government departments who make their political leaders look totally incompetent.

These lazy officials are usually also the most incompetent staffers in those departments.

They are usually the culprits who tell members of the public, telephonically, that they are snowed under with work, take their telephone numbers, promise to get back to them shortly and fail to honour their commitment to ratepayers or taxpayers.

These lazy staffers will sit on the department's telephones and make calls to friends or family members, rather than help the public.

When members of the public desperately try to get assistance from these lazy officials, you will more than likely find them on Facebook or playing Solitaire on the department's computers.

Their political leaders and senior managers would more than likely know exactly who they are, but would not do a thing about it.

Such lazy and incompetent officials would also be my first suspects when confidential documents are leaked to the media.

My advice to all mayors, premiers, MECs and national Cabinet ministers is to have a close look at what is really happening or not happening within your departments and start taking action against lazy and incompetent staffers.

They will, eventually, make you look incompetent.

Also, implement policies and deadlines for responding to letters, proposals and complaints from the public.

It would certainly go a long way in dealing with our high levels of frustration when dealing with government.

We need to speed up levels of delivery to all our people.