The Ministry of Housing is facing significant challenges due to a high turnover rate within its accounts department. During a recent review of the 2022 Audit Reports on the Social Services Sector, Permanent Secretary Manasa Lesuma emphasized that this ongoing issue has been a major problem for the ministry.
Lesuma acknowledged that the turnover has contributed to various complications within the department. He expressed that efforts are being made to rectify the situation by ensuring the recruitment of qualified personnel.
“When I arrived, one of the issues I encountered was the difficulty in locating documents and tracking where the previous officers had relocated,” he stated.
He added that the ministry is fortunate to have stabilized its workforce, allowing them to address some of the inherited deficiencies.
Lesuma also expressed gratitude towards the Ministry of Finance for allocating funds to recruit the appropriate staff to address the flaws identified by auditors. “We are optimistic that this will lead to improvements,” he said.
Another challenge highlighted was the lack of personnel to manage correspondence and mail within the ministry. Lesuma pointed out that there had been no system in place following its separation from the Ministry of Local Government.
The ministry is currently undergoing refurbishment and has assigned dedicated officers to manage its registry, overseeing all incoming and outgoing correspondence.
A new unit has been established to fulfill basic functions, including filing and handling communication for the ministry.