The Public Service Commission (PSC) paid a courtesy visit to the Erongo Regional Council to strengthen dialogue around fair recruitment practices and balanced representation and to understand the challenges faced by the regional leadership and human resource officials in the public sector.

The delegation, led by Public Service Commission chairperson Salmaan Jacobs, engaged with regional leadership in a meeting at Swakopmund that was aimed at re-emphasising its mandate. 

The gathering was particularly focused on ensuring ethical, fair, and balanced recruitment practices in the civil service and that every Namibian has equal access to opportunities in the public sector.

"Conditions of service for our public servants are very important, and we have to look at those files to make sure that people's recruitment has been done properly. They are properly recruited into those positions; their conditions of service are in terms of maybe medical aid and their pension, and all of those records are properly captured. And ultimately, the probation periods have all been done appropriately, and therefore they are now permanently employed in the positions that they are occupying."

Looking ahead, the Commission says digitising recruitment across all public offices will be a priority to improve transparency, efficiency and accessibility.

"We cannot continue operating manually. Time should come where all these recruitment processes, as well as the capturing of the data of each individual that is employed in the public service, must be automated so that people's documents are properly captured, their probation leaves and everything that is related to them should be in that folder that belongs to them, so that we will not have any more of these issues of people going on leave, the things are not captured, and all of that should become a thing of the past. The exact time when you are going on leave, the system will tell you people must go on leave."

Public Service Commissioner Nashilongo Shivute emphasised the importance of merit-based recruitment, stating that, as critical as their roles are, many HR practitioners are overworked despite their critical role. She asserts that selection must be guided by clear, fair criteria, not tribal privileges, highlighting that in a diverse country like Namibia, inclusivity and fairness must be reflected at every level of recruitment.

"So we are not saying take different ethnic language groups just to fill positions; they must meet the criteria, but the selection process must be fair, and because we don't have a policy or a rule or measures to govern balance structuring, we are appealing to offices like yours, to whoever you are talking to, who can make a difference and also even initiate the process that we must have a policy; we must have measures to address balance structuring."

The Public Service Commission says it will continue similar engagements across the regional public offices to promote accountability, uphold ethical standards, and support HR practitioners in delivering fair and effective recruitment services in the public service.