CIVIL SERVANTS UP IN ARMS OVER GOVT SPORTS DAY BAN

MANZINI – ‘We don’t have much work after 2pm’ is the justification that has been brought forward by civil servants.

This justification emanates from the recently issued memorandum by Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service Evart Madlopha, which states that Wednesday is a day full working day and there will not be any sporting activities after 2pm. However, the government employees are on a rant as they have questioned the PS if they were expected to work until they were 60 years without any exercise? This was what most civil servants wanted to know. 

This publication was inundated with calls from civil servants yesterday who said they were feeling the pinch with regard to the decision made by the ministry of banning sports day on Wednesdays. However, PS Madlopha said public servants will continue to have wellness programmes, but from now on, after working hours because Wednesday was never declared a sports day. Civil servants had said exercising was the only way they were able to relax their minds from work.
“We deal with so many people in one day and we have always thought it was important to participate in wellness programmes. If the ministry realised that there were some people who did not partake in sports or gym on Wednesdays, they could have spoken to our heads of department and suggested that they monitor their staff to ensure that people who claimed to go to the gym did so and those who did not, stayed in the office, not to impose this on us,” said one of the public servants. They further complained that there was not much work to be done after 2pm as most people only came early in the morning and this gave them enough time to partake in sports.

“They are not losing anything by allowing us to participate in sports or go to the gym after lunch. We wish they could at least let us know how we are going to keep fit if we are not going to have sports day,” said another worker.
Like the unions, employees said they were only informed through a circular memorandum that there would no longer be sports day on Wednesdays.
Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) acting Secretary General Mduduzi Gina said the public would also be affected by the reduction of wellness programmes within the public service as workers would now easily fall ill because they did not exercise their bodies.

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