Restoring patriotism and professionalism

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson, High Court Judge Chifundo Kachale, was among the speakers to watch at the Anti-Corruption Bureau awareness fofurm in Lilongwe. Our Staff Writer JAMES CHAVULA breaks down the MEC chief’s talking points.

Your thoughts on the theme: restoring patriotism and professionalism in the workplace?

There is a clear recognition that the twin values of patriotism and professionalism might hold the key to unlocking the considerable potential the working majority possesses to move our economy forward. I fully subscribe to that view. Professionalism and patriotism require each one of us to take an active role.

To undertake a huge project effectively, it is usually broken down into smaller tasks assigned to implementing units responsible for their portion: when each does their part well, the entire project will be a success. Like Nehemiah’s rebuilding exercise in the Bible, restoring these values will require every single one of us to take responsibility for the wall right in front of them. As we do our part faithfully, the rest of the edifice will emerge, strong and ready to serve all of us!

How do you define a workplace, patriotism and professionalism?

One should not think of the workplace as only the office where men and women in [business] suits or some formal dress gather from Monday to Friday to earn a living. Rather, the term workplace refers to any space where productive human activity is undertaken, be it in a small garden or a big estate, at a small garage fixing motorcycles in Biwi or in a bank, at Capital Hill or in a classroom, at a private clinic or a public hospital and even when a charity worker visits a flood-stricken location to distribute relief items. All these are workplaces for different people.

Professionalism refers to the manner in which one performs his or her work. This connotes the discharge of your work with your best skills and ability in accordance with well-defined standards of proficiency and ethics appropriate to your trade or profession. Most professions such as medicine, teaching, law, accounting and engineering have professional codes of ethics as well as performance indicators of a job well done. Professionalism describes the performance of work in fidelity to such established standards of expected delivery.

Patriotism, on the other hand, describes one’s attitude to one’s homeland or country of birth or residence. It refers to doing that which is good for one’s country as opposed to thinking only of yourself and your loved ones. In my view, it stems from a decision rooted in the realisation of the blessing of having a homeland from which one can gainfully undertake life and pursue the opportunities that come with that.

In that sense, patriotism is foundational to a healthy sense of personal dignity; without such one usually lacks the sense of security and belonging which provides the springboard for productive living.

Any practical instances of lack of professionalism and patriotism?

I would like to highlight some instances in which lack of professionalism and patriotism might manifest in our society:

When a clinical officer or other health practitioner diverts medical supplies meant for a public hospital to his or her private clinic and allow the ordinary citizen to go without access to basic health care, that is quite unpatriotic.

When a teacher neglects to provide adequate learning in class so that learners can pay for extra classes or when a male lecturer uses his position to exploit female learners sexually in return for grades, that is quite unpatriotic and unprofessional.

When an engineer certifies a substandard project as duly completed and in collusion with the accountant processes full payment for shoddy work that is clearly unprofessional. It places lives of end-users, whether it is a road or other infrastructure, in real jeopardy.

If court staff connive with litigants to misplace vital documents of evidence and compromise the outcome of a case,  that is clearly unprofessional.

Whenever a procurement officer connives with a supplier of goods or services to inflate prices at the expense of quality and money value, that is clearly unprofessional.

When nurses treat their patients without any kindness or consideration and serve only those who can pay for an otherwise free service, this is unprofessional.

When a village head falsifies the list of beneficiaries for subsidised farm inputs or social cash transfers to benefit himself or his cronies, that is unpatriotic.

Whenever a religious minister condones the unfaithful behaviour of a church member because he [or she] pays a hefty contribution to the church coffers, that too is quite inappropriate.

When the recruitment process is compromised based on ethnic or other inappropriate considerations (as opposed to proficiency and merit) that is quite unprofessional.

Whenever a journalist or editor obtains illicit payments to publish a story or inaccurate reports, that too is quite unprofessional.

When a police officer allows an unroadworthy vehicle to travel with passengers on our roads because he or she has been paid something, that is quite unprofessional.

This list is not exhaustive at all; but such selfish and unprofessional conduct clearly undermines the welfare of people directly and in other systemic ways whose impacts might not be always obvious initially.

What are the adverse impacts of lack of professionalism and patriotism at work?

There are many adverse, but I will highlight only a couple of real-life consquences.

First, failure to act professionally perpetuates injustice and unfairness. A person may be denied a chance in life to alter their life circumstances and that of their family, for example, through education.

Nelson Mandela once said: “It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of a mine; that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation.” This is also true in Malawi. When we were young and teachers taught faithfully even on small salaries, it was very common to have young people who slept on mats in villages, end up at University of Malawi and subsequently gainfully employed upon completion of their tertiary.

What was the impact? Their entire family would be transformed because that one person accessed education and employment fairly.

Over the years, whenever I encounter a street vendor who is clearly smart and astute, I sometimes ask myself: Are we sure, this was not a bank manager who was betrayed by lack of access to quality public services due to lack of unpatriotic and unprofessional service-providers?

The second impact is what I call erosion of dignity: A society in which substandard work is certified as properly completed and fully paid for will degenerate into one in which the people’s dignity is greatly diminished. If not addressed, this trend might breed the kind of negative social sentiment which entrenches poverty due to lack of legitimate opportunities.