Nuku'alofa rubbish mounts after collectors pick-up redundancy payoff

Rubbish Collectors - TamaFoa, USA

Before I open my big mouth this time, I want to apologize to those who are sick of the subject I am about to harp on. There is no doubt there are problems in the kingdom that were brought about by the Royal Family. However, in this Rubbish Scenery case, there seems to be two problematic areas in the government that neither the Royal Family nor the 8 comedians in the Parliament are part of: 1). Lack of Planning and 2). Need Improvement of Business Culture. The sad sight of the trash all over Nuku…’alofa is an indication that real leadership is needed through out the upper echelon of government, and the culture within the civil service needs major overhaul.

The Rubbish Collectors did not decide last Friday to accept the package and walked away. They were given a couple of days if not weeks of notice of this redundancy package (RP). The effective date of the action may have been adjusted but the action itself was approved before then. The Government announced it to the public as their talking point to show they are doing something. The responsible civil servants (supervisors all the way to the Directors) on the other hands sat on their pants and do nothing instead of planning what to do about the trash when the workers are gone. We do not know how the RP was processed through the system before it was approved, but it sure left a trail of trash in its path.

Understanding the cause and effect principle, how hard is it to ask, …“What will happen if this (RP) decision is made?…” Knowing each action has consequences, what was the plan to counter the impact of the decision? These are simple steps in the decision making process. The Rubbish Collectors collected their RP and went home. Because of lack of planning, the supervisors should be out there doing the work themselves until new employees are hired. When you fail to plan, you therefore plan to fail. Simple as that!

As we continue our drive for political change and our chant, …“Change Now! Change Now! Change Now!…” Why don…’t we apply it to how we do business within the civil service community? Outsourcing or contracting out rubbish collection may be the best solution. The Royal Family sure didn…’t make this mistake. Wait, they probably did when they approved or appointed those who are the key leaders of these ministries.

Changing of political climate does not bring automatic change to the system. There has to be an attitude change within the civil service community. If competency is lacking, someone must make the hard decision and hire those who can and send those who pretend elsewhere, even if they have PhDs next to their names. Then again, you don…’t need me to tell you this. I was told not to return to my elementary school because I was turning fourteen years old. Who am I being nosy? Just a thought!

TamaFoa - USA