We understand that President Ian Khama has instructed the Minister of Local Government, Lebonaamang Mokalake, that he should ensure that Home Based Care volunteers and Ipelegeng workers in Kweneng District should be paid their dues on time.

We view with Khama because this is a countrywide problem affecting these workers. Most of us have come to accept that it is impossible to pay these workers. Government officials make it seem like they have important business to perform and wages for these workers is an irritation that can only be paid once all the other matters have been attended to. From the conduct of civil servants, these people do not matter.

Despite the important and often thankless tasks that these workers perform, it seems no one appreciates the good that they are doing in our communities. We all know that in some places, Home Based Care volunteers are the only support system that is available to the sick with immediate family members having surrendered to all manner of afflictions.

It is disheartening to learn that sometimes, it takes up to three to four months before these workers are paid. This does not only show the laxity in the civil service but the contempt with which such people are treated.

These workers do not belong to any organisation and they hardly have a champion that can articulate their concerns. Hence they are forever moaning without being heard.

We hope the President's intervention will help stop the rot. The Ministry of Local Government like all the other ministries, in particular the Ministry of Trade, should set themselves turn around time for everything they do.

All the other departments will have to take the cue from what the President has said and they should not be reminded that people need to be paid on time, be they workers or service providers in government. It is now a public knowledge that to win a government tender, one has to grease palms. Even more importantly, for you to be paid after delivering, you have to be nice to officers and grease many more palms for your cheque to processed quickly. This is an accepted practice and those that do not want to play along are left frustrated with unpaid bills that accumulate over many months of waiting for a government that never comes. This is the rot that Khama will have to attend to before this country's image is tarnished by unscrupulous government officers.