Why the need for a clock-in system?

IT was reported in The National in Dec 20 that the Lands Minister is installing a clock-in system in the department in a bid to encourage accountability.
A department secretary made a similar comment last year for his department.
I have a problem with that decision.
With the cash-flow problem that the country is going through, is it really necessary to pay K368,000 to a firm to install the system to ensure staff are at work and do what they are supposed to be doing?
Were members of the staff not turning up for work all these years?
Would the minister’s decision mean that the clock-in system will also be installed in all Lands Department offices in all provincial centres throughout the country (where services are almost non-existent)?
And if that is so, is more money going to be paid to a firm for installing the equipment?
And then, this thought came to my mind: What happened to the simple system that was used in government offices all those years — from the 1960s up until recent times — of supervisors monitoring which staff members were present and which were absent?
How simple was that?
What has happened to our work ethics over the years? Are supervisors becoming lazy or have they been asleep and still getting paid as a supervisor?
There are disadvantages in using a clocking system. If there is no power in the building, the system is unusable.
Also, when it breaks down, it will cost the department to get the firm’s technicians to fix the system and get it up and running again.
So, my view is that the K336,000 is a waste of money when the country is strapped for cash.

PNG Tauna