The inspector general of the State Administration, João Manuel Francisco “João Pinto”, recently suggested to the governor of Benguela that each person work within their competences, without interference in the local delegation of their institution, in order to satisfy collective needs of citizens. The inspector warns managers not to make “conscious mistakes”
The request for non-interference was transmitted to Luís Nunes, provincial governor of Benguela, in a hearing that he granted to the IGAE Inspector General, who fulfills a work agenda in the province, as part of monitoring the local structures of his institution. Upon leaving the hearing, at the Government’s administrative headquarters, João Pinto highlighted, however, in statements to the press, the need for public servants to cooperate with each other and not “fight”.
However, in this regard, João Pinto suggests that the actions of public managers must converge towards a single purpose, that of collective satisfaction, if this were not also the objective that the holder of the Executive Branch, President João Lourenço, proposed. “In a phase of economic containment, of necessity, we must dedicate ourselves, we must work, be zealous and loyal, following our hierarchical superiors. It is in times of difficulties that we all have to work to overcome.
No one gets over it by always regretting it”, warns the inspector general, who says he found an opening in Luís Nunes, whom he calls a “practical man”. “In the meeting with the governor, who is a practical man, we also tried to put, on the agenda, the approach to some issues, which is to work on each person’s skills without interfering with IGAE. We wake up, we warn about illegality, but always seeking to satisfy the collective needs of citizens”, he declares. João Pinto says he is in Benguela to find out about the normal functioning of IGAE in the province and, once again, to appeal to the need to observe ethical assumptions and the duty of urbanity.
The inspector general of the General State Administration therefore justifies that acting ethically presupposes saying that a manager’s action must be based on legality, and must avoid acting in bad faith, but always act in strict compliance with the Code of Public Servant Ethics. “There should not be a conscious error with the aim of harming, but the error resulting from human failures, lack of knowledge, because we, human beings – as the Greek philosopher Socrates said – sometimes do things with practicality and lose the values of oath, solidarity, provision of public service”, he emphasized.
The “one” number of IGAE, which is making its first visit since being appointed to the position, signals that it is the function of its institution to remind managers that the laws have existed “for thirty years” and that a plural and democratic society must be attentive and It is up to public servants to guarantee the public interest and, therefore, create a spirit of trust in citizens. “And not promote an environment of fear, ridicule, or demotivation of public servants. Those who work must be respected and supported.
If there is a mistake, it must be corrected or admit the mistakes and not demotivate them”, he stated. When asked if he had found signs at IGAE that that institution was replacing, in some cases, the PGR, he remembers that the two public institutions have different functions. “Well… this, the PGR has its own functions, which are Criminal Action and Defense of Legality. IGAE has the task of respecting legality in public service”, he stressed. He then added that “the President gave guidance, in his inauguration speech, and we will continue to work in cooperation with the competent bodies of the PGR when information becomes available.”
BY: Constantino Eduardo, in Benguela