Chronicle Editor
As we explained in our previous article, the Commission has six Commissioners at the moment, led by Dr Vincent Hungwe as Chairman. The Deputy Chairperson is Dr Nomathemba Ndiweni. The four other Commissioners are: Commissioner Ozias Hove, Commissioner George Chigora, Commissioner Professor Carroll Khombe, and Commissioner Dr Tsitsi Choruma.
This Commission Secretariat is led by Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe, who is Secretary to Service Commissions. His position should not be confused with that of Permanent Secretary, as Permanent Secretaries are the administrative heads of Government Ministries, and the Public Service Commission and the three other Commissions he serves as Secretary are not Ministries.
The Public Service Commission Secretariat does its work through six Agencies, namely: Human Capital Development and Management; Pay and Benefits Development and Management; Strategic Planning and Programme Management; Uniformed Services and Commissions; Support Services; and Legal Services, Corporate Affairs and Protocol. Four special units were created in the Secretary’s office, and these are: the Procurement Management Unit; Internal Audit and Risk Management; Performance Audit and Inspectorate; and Training Development and Management.
Agencies of the Commission
The Human Capital Development and Management Agency is responsible for drawing up the structures that support the work of Government ministries in a manner that ensures that the services expected by the public are delivered well. This Agency also helps the Commission to find and keep good workers, and keeps a register of those who apply for jobs.
When civil servants are accused of doing wrong things, the Agency is the one that must make sure that such accusations are investigated according to the rules. On a happier note, it is also the duty of this Agency to say when workers qualify to be interviewed for promotion or for being placed on higher steps in their grade. It is also responsible for informing ministries when people are being hired or transferred, and is the one that prepares information about Government jobs to be published in the newspapers.
The Pay and Benefits Development and Management Agency was created to find ways to keep improving the rewards and benefits that civil servants enjoy while serving the public, and after they retire. In addition to making sure that Government workers are paid on time through the Salary Service Bureau, the Agency keeps looking for other ways to support civil servants, which may be in the form of loans to improve their homes or to buy motor vehicles, or improved medical care when they fall ill.
It is this agency, for example, that makes sure that the promise made by Government to support civil servants who are infected by Covid-19 while they are working is kept. The Agency runs the Pension Office, from which Government workers who have retired are paid their pension benefits. It looks for ways to make sure that money which workers put aside for their retirement, together with the money which Government also puts aside to help workers to receive good pensions, does not just sit in an account, but is invested well so that the pension fund grows enough to support every worker who retires.
Strategic Planning and Programme Management makes up the third Agency of the Commission. It helps the Commission and Government ministries to plan the ways in which they will serve the public, and follows up to see how the plans are being put into action, and in what ways the things that are being done are helping to improve things for the public, since in the New Dispensation the idea is to keep producing results that improve the lives of the citizens of Zimbabwe.
This Agency also keeps Government ministries and the public informed about important Commission activities and other matters to do with serving the public. When there is need for the Commission to give information through newspapers, radio, television, the Internet or social media, the Agency prepares documents and makes the arrangements. The displays at the Public Service Commission’s stand at trade fairs and other events are created by this Agency.
Support Services is the Agency that ensures the smooth running of the Public Service Commission by providing what is needed for things to run smoothly. The Agency makes sure that the Commission has what it needs to do its work, and that money put in its budget by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development is used correctly and wisely.
It manages the vehicles used by the Commission, including the Public Service Commission buses that take civil servants from home to work and back home at the end of each day.
The agency makes sure that those vehicles have fuel, and are serviced or repaired on time. In the Commission itself, they keep the files of all staff, making sure that when people go on leave, other people do the work that those on leave usually do. They prepare papers for the employment of Commission staff, and for transfers when necessary. Since Government has decided that things must be done faster, Support Services is always busy making sure that staff are using modern tools, such as computers, in their work.
The agency is responsible for maintaining the Commission’s offices, not only in Harare and Bulawayo, but all over the country. As the name suggests, Support Services takes care of hundreds of things that make the Commission’s work possible.
This article is part of a series of articles by the Public Service Commission aimed at engaging with and updating the public on matters of public interest that fall within its mandate. For comments, enquiries and questions, please write to [email protected]. For more on the PSC and its programmes, visit www.psc.gov.zw or follow on Facebook Zimbabwe Public Service Commission or Twitter @Public Service Commission Zimbabwe
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