THERE were 1.24 million employees in the government sector last year and their salaries and allowances amounted to billions of riyals. A government employee is very important for advancing development in the country and the money set aside for salaries of public sector employees is an important part of the state budget. Al-Madinah newspaper recently published a report conducted by the Control and Investigation Bureau (CIB). The results of the visits made by CIB inspectors to four ministries discovered a high percentage of absences among government employees in addition to issues of punctuality. The report showed that there were 226,000 negligent employees in the ministries of Education, Health, Municipal and Rural Affairs and Justice. Undoubtedly, the report reflects the reality that there are a large number of negligent people employed in government jobs. The reasons for such negligence differed, according to the report. There is an absence of a system that encourages hard work and punctuality and differentiates between those who have a good work ethic and those who do not. Some government employees agreed that the absence of accountability contributes to negligence. If the office manager does not show up on time, then neither will the employees. Then there is the issue of irresponsibility. Many workers do other jobs to increase their income and take on other responsibilities in addition to their jobs. We have to ensure that government employees are accountable for their actions. It is not logical to allocate billions of riyals every year to employees who are negligent and do not show up for work. If we keep doing so, we will undermine the sense of responsibility of government employees. We are going through a new phase that requires us to be more serious. There is no place for negligence and such practices should be curbed and eradicated.
