Ngurare calls for fair, ethical public service hiring

Prime minister Elijah Ngurare has called on human resource (HR) practitioners to uphold ethics, transparency and merit-based recruitment, while saying the professionalisation of Namibia’s public service must start with fair and accountable hiring practices.

Ngurare made the call on Monday while opening the inaugural annual human resource conference for public servants at the Namibia Institute of Public Administration and Management (Nipam) in Windhoek.

The conference, attended by about 300 HR practitioners from across the public sector, is hosted by the Public Service Commission under the theme ‘Towards the Professionalisation of the Public Service of Namibia’.

Ngurare urged HR practitioners to embrace “selfless service” and become agents of nation-building, and stressed that recruitment processes must be efficient, transparent and free from favouritism.

“It is not fair to applicants to have their applications stuck in corridors,” he said, while calling for greater accountability in the handling of applications and appointments.

The prime minister also challenged HR practitioners to create opportunities for young Namibians, and questioned recruitment requirements that demand years of experience for positions that could provide entry opportunities to unemployed youth.

“Let’s have a dose of common sense,” Ngurare said.

He said a professional public service depends on competent, ethical and motivated employees who are recruited through credible processes.

The five-day conference runs from Monday to Friday at Nipam and is expected to provide a platform for HR practitioners to discuss challenges and strategies for strengthening public sector human resource management.

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