President Akufo-Addo tasks Public servants to deliver on mandate

President Nana Akufo-Addo, has tasked the Public Services Commission (PSC) to deliver on their mandate to the people in order to achieve the Ghana beyond Aid agenda.

The President said “many Ghanaians are not happy with the delivery, and posture and you must therefore step up your game to meet their expectations”
President Akufo-Addo who was speaking at the Opening of the 10th Annual Conference of Chairpersons and Governing Boards/Councils and Chief Executives of the Ghana Public Services in Koforidua, called for innovative ways in the public service delivery.

He told the Governing Boards and Chief Executive Officers of the various Public Service institutions that Ghanaians were more discerning and therefore their demand for better public service delivery was high and it was imperative for them to be innovative to change the trend.

President Akufo-Addo said the business as usual attitude in the Public Service should be a thing of the past adding that ‘there is the need for a paradigm shift in mentality, behaviour and attitude in the public service of today”.

Citing the banking sector, where customers could access information anytime, anywhere as an example, the President charged the Public Services Commission to ensure that such robustness was inculcated into the public service delivery where “enquiries would be responded to quickly and complaints resolved efficiently”.

He noted that in recognition of the key role of the public service in achieving the desired transformation of the national economy in line with the Ghana beyond aid agenda, government was investing in strengthening the human resource capacity of the public service sector to improve delivery.

The President said the reform strategy in the public sector would not suffer the same fate of resistance to change and fatigue as in the previous attempt and called on the conference to deliberate on the weakness of the public service and come out with strong and acceptable strategies to address them.

He reminded participants that the Ghana beyond Aid was not an NPP agenda, but a national strategy to reform the public service and expressed the hope that they would respond appropriately to the call by improving on the public’s service delivery.

Justice Anin Yeboah, a Supreme Court judge, who chaired the opening, said the leadership of the various public services institutions must adopt mechanisms to uphold integrity and honesty and boards and management must deliver on their mandate.

Dr Janet Ampadu Fofie, Chairman, PSC, called on the governing boards and CEOs and Chief Directors in the public service to avoid all forms of conflict of interest and abuse of power adding that “even perceptions of abuse of power and conflict of interest must be avoided”
She said key among the professionalism and efficiency in the public service delivery was ensuring value for money in all procurement processes to sharpen productivity through integrity and commitment to the Ghana beyond aid transformational agenda.

Dr Fofie, noted that the commission had undertaken several activities to improve the public service delivery, “but in our own assessment it’s clear that you have not shown more commitment and therefore more needs to be done”.

The Three-day conference focused on the theme “Value Creation and Efficient Service Delivery in Public Service Organisations in the Era of Ghana beyond Aid”, sensitisation on the role and expectations of the public services in the implementation of the Ghana beyond Aid policy among others.

Dr Esther Offei-Aboagye, a development Consultant was honored for her meritorious service to the PSC as raportiere-General for the annual PSC conference over the years.

Source: ghanaweb.com